US embassy cable - 03ROME832

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ROME 000832 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
 
FROM U.S. MISSION IN ROME 
 
USUN NEW YORK FOR AMBASSADOR NEGROPONTE AND CSERWER 
USAID/W FOR ADMINISTRATOR NATSIOS, D/A SCHIECK, AA/DCHA 
WINTER, AA/AFR NEWMAN AND DAA/AFR BROWN, DCHA/D/FFP LANDIS, 
D/OFDA MCCONNELL, AA/GLOBAL PETERSON 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
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STATE FOR IO A/S HOLMES, A/S PRM DEWEY, A/S AFR KANSTEINER, 
AFR/EA, IO/EDA WINNICK 
USMISSION GENEVA FOR AMBASSADOR MOLRY AND USAID/KYLOH 
BRUSSELS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS AND USAID/LERNER 
NSC FOR JDWORKEN AND AFRICA DIRECTORATE 
 
E.O.  12958:  N/A 
TAGS: EAID, AORC, PREF, EAGR, AORC, PREF, EAGR, EU, WFP, UN, EU    EAID, WFP, UN 
SUBJECT:  LETTER TO U/SYG KENZO OSHIMA, UNDP ADMINISTRATOR 
MALLOCH BROWN AND UNICEF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CAROL BELLAMY 
FROM AMBASSADOR TONY P. HALL ON THE PRESENT CRISIS IN THE 
HORN OF AFRICA 
 
1. FOLLOWING IS TEXT OF A LETTER TO U/SYG KENZO OSHIMA, UNDP 
ADMINISTRATOR MALLOCH BROWN AND UNICEF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 
CAROL BELLAMY DATED FEBRUARY 27, 2003 FROM TONY P. HALL, 
AMBASSADOR, U.S. MISSION TO THE UN AGENCIES, ROME. BEGIN 
LETTER: 
 
THE HONORABLE KENZO OSHIMA, U/SYG, UN OFFICE FOR THE 
COORDINATION OF HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS (OCHA) 
MARK MALLOCH BROWN, UNDP ADMINISTRATOR 
CAROL BELLAMY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, UNICEF 
UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS 
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK 10017-3505 
 
DEAR UN COLLEAGUES, 
 
     I HAVE JUST RETURNED FROM A TRIP TO ETHIOPIA (FEBRUARY 
15-21), A COUNTRY I VISITED FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 1984 
DURING A DEVASTATING FAMINE THAT ULTIMATELY SAW OVER ONE 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
PAGE 03        ROME  00832  01 OF 02  271638Z 
MILLION PEOPLE DIE OF STARVATION AND RELATED CAUSES. I HAD 
THE GOOD FORTUNE THIS TIME TO BE ACCOMPANIED BY USAID 
ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR ROGER WINTER (WHO FOR MANY YEARS 
ABLY MANAGED THE U.S. COMMITTEE FOR REFUGEES), AND WE WERE 
ABLE TO VISIT A NUMBER OF RURAL SITES IN EAST SHEWA, OMOMIYA 
AND SOUTHERN NATIONS (SNNPR). 
 
     AS PER THE U.S. CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL (CDC) 
(PRESENTLY ASSESSING THE NUTRITIONAL AND CONTAGIOUS DISEASE 
STATUS IN FOUR ETHIOPIAN GEOGRAPHIC ZONES), THEY ESTIMATE 
(FEBRUARY-JUNE 2003) 32,000 EXCESS DEATHS DUE TO DROUGHT 
WILL OCCUR IN THE REVIEWED AREAS. IF THIS TREND IS PROJECTED 
NATIONALLY, UNLESS VIGOROUS ACTION IS TAKEN NOW WITH THE UN 
AGENCIES IN A LEADING ROLE, EXCESS DEATHS COULD REACH AS 
HIGH AS 300,000 TO 500,000 PEOPLE BY THE END OF 2003. 
 
     I MUST BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION THAT WE REPEATEDLY HEARD 
THAT IN THIS CRISIS, EXCEPTING WFP, THE REST OF THE UN 
ORGANIZATIONS IN ETHIOPIA "DO NOT HAVE A SENSE OF THE DEPTH 
OF THE EMERGENCY AND ARE NOT DOING ENOUGH." THE TRUTH IS 
POSSIBLY THAT IN ETHIOPIA THE UN AGENCIES ARE GEARED FAR 
MORE TOWARD DEVELOPMENT THAN EMERGENCY RESPONSE. GIVEN THE 
WIDESPREAD DETERIORATION IN THE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION, 
HOWEVER, THIS NEEDS TO BE ADJUSTED. 
 
     SPECIFICALLY, I WOULD ASK YOU TO SERIOUSLY CONSIDER: 
 
- NAMING A RESIDENT HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR TO FOCUS ON 
IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY AND OVERALL EFFECTIVENESS OF UN 
OPERATIONS IN RESPONDING TO THE PRESENT CRISIS IN BOTH 
ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA; 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
PAGE 04        ROME  00832  01 OF 02  271638Z 
 
- PRIORITIZING ASSISTANCE TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A 
NATIONWIDE NUTRITION SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM. WE ARE SIMPLY NOT 
GETTING THE "WARNING" DATA WE NEED TO RESPOND AS REQUIRED; 
 
- THE UN (AND THEIR PARTNER NGOS) SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF 
FOOD DELIVERIES (WHERE LARGE NUMBERS OF BENEFICIARIES OFTEN 
WAIT FOR HOURS TO RECEIVE THEIR RATION) TO IMPART MOTHER- 
CHILD CARE HEALTH TRAINING AND NUTRITION EDUCATION MESSAGES. 
IN PARTICULAR, FEEDING SITES SHOULD SERVE AS FOCAL POINTS 
FOR IMMUNIZATIONS AGAINST MEASLES AND OTHER CONTAGIOUS 
DISEASES SUCH AS TYPHUS, RELAPSING FEVER, MENINGITIS. 
 
     IN MY MANY YEARS IN CONGRESS, I FULLY ENDORSED 
APPROPRIATIONS FOR UN AGENCIES AND AM HONORED TO BE 
REPRESENTING MY COUNTRY TO THE UN AGENCIES ON FOOD AND 
AGRICULTURE HERE IN ROME. FOR ME, ETHIOPIA IS UNIQUE AMONG 
AFRICAN COUNTRIES FOR HAVING NEVER BEEN COLONIZED. IT IS 
TRULY BLESSED WITH A RICH CULTURE, HISTORY AND TRADITIONAL 
KNOWLEDGE. BUT THIS PRESENT CRISIS, UNLESS DEFTLY HANDLED, 
COULD SETBACK YEARS OF DEVELOPMENT GAINS. WE ALL NEED TO 
INTENSIFY OUR EFFORTS. 
 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
                           UNCLASSIFIED     PTQ5097 
 
PAGE 01        ROME  00832  02 OF 02  271638Z 
ACTION AID-00 
 
INFO  LOG-00   NP-00    AF-00    AGRE-00  CIAE-00  USNW-00  DODE-00 
      SRPP-00  EB-00    EUR-00   UTED-00  VC-00    TEDE-00  INR-00 
      IO-00    VCE-00   NEA-00   NSAE-00  NSCE-00  OES-00   OIC-02 
      PER-00   TEST-00  SA-00    PRM-00   SAS-00     /002W 
                  ------------------3C79B1  271639Z /38 
P 271545Z FEB 03 
FM AMEMBASSY ROME 
TO USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 
SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8499 
INFO AMEMBASSY ADDIS ABABA 
AMEMBASSY ASMARA 
EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE 
IGAD COLLECTIVE 
USEU BRUSSELS 3151 
USMISSION GENEVA 
 
UNCLAS SECTION 02 OF 02 ROME 000832 
 
SIPDIS 
 
AIDAC 
 
FROM U.S. MISSION IN ROME 
 
USUN NEW YORK FOR AMBASSADOR NEGROPONTE AND CSERWER 
USAID/W FOR ADMINISTRATOR NATSIOS, D/A SCHIECK, AA/DCHA 
WINTER, AA/AFR NEWMAN AND DAA/AFR BROWN, DCHA/D/FFP LANDIS, 
D/OFDA MCCONNELL, AA/GLOBAL PETERSON 
STATE FOR IO A/S HOLMES, A/S PRM DEWEY, A/S AFR KANSTEINER, 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
PAGE 02        ROME  00832  02 OF 02  271638Z 
AFR/EA, IO/EDA WINNICK 
USMISSION GENEVA FOR AMBASSADOR MOLRY AND USAID/KYLOH 
BRUSSELS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS AND USAID/LERNER 
NSC FOR JDWORKEN AND AFRICA DIRECTORATE 
 
E.O.  12958:  N/A 
TAGS:     EAID, AORC, WFP, UN, PREF, EAGR, EU 
SUBJECT:  LETTER TO U/SYG KENZO OSHIMA, UNDP ADMINISTRATOR 
MALLOCH BROWN AND UNICEF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR CAROL BELLAMY 
FROM AMBASSADOR TONY P. HALL ON THE PRESENT CRISIS IN THE 
HORN OF AFRICA 
 
      I AM MOST OPEN TO DISCUSSING THIS PERSONALLY IN 
GREATER DETAIL WITH EACH OF YOU AND CAN BE REACHED HERE IN 
ROME AT 39-06-4674-3500.  SINCERELY, AMBASSADOR TONY P. 
HALL. END OF LETTER. 
 
2. US MISSION ROME WOULD BE GRATEFUL IF USUN NEW YORK COULD 
PASS THIS TEXT ALONG TO OUR RESPECTIVE UN COLLEAGUES. 
 
3. ORIGINAL SIGNED LETTER TO EACH WILL FOLLOW. HALL 
 
                       UNCLASSIFIED 
 
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 2003ROME00832 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED