VZCZCXRO7885
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0302/01 0450825
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 140825Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7994
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA
INFO RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEHRC/USDA FAS WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI//J07/CATMED/CAT//
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 8329
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2000
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 1085
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 7731
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 000302
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
DEPT FOR EAP/MTS, G/AIAG AND OES
USAID FOR ANE/CLEMENTS AND GH/CARROLL
DEPT ALSO PASS TO HHS/WSTEIGER/ABHAT/MSTLOUIS AND HHS/NIH
GENEVA FOR WHO/HOHMAN
USDA/FAS/OSTA BRANT, ROSENBLUM
USDA/APHIS ANNELLI
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: TBIO AMED CASC EAGR AMGT PGOV ID
SUBJECT: INDONESIA - TANGERANG AI UPDATE
REF: A) Jakarta 137 B) Jakarta 126
1. (SBU) Summary. With the spiking number of cases (eight) occurring
in Tangerang in the past three months, key donor stakeholders are
increasingly focusing on Avian Influenza (AI) surveillance and
prevention efforts in Tangerang. The Tangerang district governor
recently established an AI task force, reporting hotlines and will
be opening a AI command center. Embassy officials from USAID, CDC,
USDA and the Regional Emerging Diseases Intervention (REDI) Center
participated in a series of meetings on January 31 with key
officials from the Government of Indonesia, the Government of
Singapore and donor stakeholders. During January 22-24, USDA/APHIS
and the National Committee on Avian Influenza Control and Pandemic
Preparedness (KOMNAS) co-sponsored a three-day Live Bird Market
Workshop and developed national strategies for restructuring bird
markets and poultry distribution chain. End Summary.
--------------------------------------------- ---
TASK FORCES ESTABLISHED, CRISIS CENTER ANNOUNCED
--------------------------------------------- ----
2. The Jakarta Post reported on February 9 that the governor of
Tangerang regency directed officials to open a bird flu crisis
center to curb the spread of avian influenza in the regency.
Tangerang officials told us that the center will be a command and
control center that will coordinate AI response activities within
the local government. Thus far they have established an official
task force to coordinate local activities and a hotline for AI case
reporting in poultry in the district. Since November 2007, eight of
the last 15 cases in Indonesia occurred in Tangerang, thereby
creating pressure for the local government to act quickly.
--------------------------------------
RAMPING UP ANIMAL CONTROL IN TANGERANG
--------------------------------------
3. (U) On January 21, we met with the United Nations International
Children's Fund (UNICEF) and USAID and other USG funded partners
including the World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), REDI Center and the Community Based Avian
Influenza Control Project (CBAIC) to organize an intensified
response to increasing numbers of Avian Influenza cases in
Tangerang. On January 31, the same stakeholders joined officials
from the Singaporean Government, the Ministry of Health (MOH) and
the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) at a Tangerang Trilateral
Secretariat meeting that was called to help accelerated government
SIPDIS
and stakeholder activities in Tangerang.
4 (U) FAO began profiling commercial poultry operations in
Tangerang, as part of their overall West Java commercial poultry
profiling activity to better understand risk factors in the
commercial sector. With funding from USAID, FAO/MOA will train 24
new Participatory Disease Surveillance and Response (PDSR) officers
from Tangerang city and district (12 each), bringing the total to 40
officers. In the meantime, Tangerang will support increased workload
through a combination of approved overtime and PDSR officers loaned
from neighboring districts. In the past two weeks, USAID sent 40
additional disinfection kits to Tangerang with plans to replenish
supplies.
5. (U) USDA/APHIS, KOMNAS and the Tangerang Trilateral Secretariat
co-sponsored a January 22-24 Live Bird Market Workshop to formulate
national strategies to restructure wet markets including a pilot
Tangerang market. As part of the Tangerang Trilateral project,
USDA/APHIS is also funding a baseline survey for the Tangerang
district to identify current wet markets, poultry slaughterhouses,
commercial farms and prevailing practices.
-----------------------------------
HUMAN HEALTH ACTIVITIES INTENSIFIED
-----------------------------------
6. (U) WHO committed to expanding human surveillance activities in
Tangerang; training of primary health care workers, and
JAKARTA 00000302 002 OF 002
restructuring of wet markets to reduce environmental risk to humans.
WHO, FAO, and CBAIC are developing a uniform reporting format to
integrate poultry and human surveillance data to promote early
detection and treatment of human AI cases.
--------------------------------
COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND OUTREACH
--------------------------------
7. (U) The Tangerang task force informed FAO that the district plans
to launch a public awareness campaign in 36 sub-districts and the
city is conducting a massive disinfection campaign on February
15-16. The district is distributing a letter with guidance for
raising of poultry in residential areas (e.g. caging) to be followed
by a local government decree to enforce the guidance. The task
force indicated that both the city and district want to reorganize
and improve hygiene at markets and that WHO and USDA will pilot
activities in one market each, noting that Tangerang has 16 markets
operating seven days per week and 22 village markets that operate
three days per week. The task force has met with officials of the
MOA, which will be providing technical support for the project.
8. (U) USAID's CBAIC program is sending an instant text messaging
system (SMS) alert to 150 of its 200 Community AI Coordinators in
Tangerang. The message alerts the Coordinators that the virus is
active in Tangerang and reminds them to implement key actions, such
as reporting and avoiding contact with poultry. On January 27,
USAID launched a three month television and radio public service
announcement (PSA) campaign with key control messages. Five national
TV stations will air two PSAs for three months. In addition, three
local radio stations will air PSAs in Tangerang as well as in other
endemic districts.
9. (U) CARE, Indonesia through a grant from CDC, plans to conduct a
baseline Knowledge, Attitudes, Practices (KAP) survey in Tangerang
Municipality. UNICEF is expanding their school-based AI education
campaign into Tangerang.
----------------
CHALLENGES AHEAD
----------------
10. (SBU) The Tangerang Secretariat with support from Singapore and
the USG through the REDI Center and other funded partners has made
progress in organizing and coordinating activities in the District
and Municipality of Tangerang. Donors are intensifying activities in
an effort to get the disease under control. However, the lack of
GOI funding continues to restrict full implementation of the
Trilateral project. According to a Singapore official, District
officials can use Singaporean funding to cover local operating costs
until the Tangerang Secretariat is able to secure its funding from
GOI. With the recent expansion of activities, the Tangerang
Secretariat will be challenged to maintain close communication and
SIPDIS
coordination among the many stakeholders in order to move the pilot
project forward.
HEFFERN