Global Fund: Disappointment with CCM in India

[Guest guest]

Dear friends and colleagues,

Having followed this fund's conception, birth and present stages in

its milestones, I have also been listening to the views expressed on this

list with great interest. Just to identify myself, I have been working in

the sector of health and human rights for 15 years now and have close

direct experience in AIDS work throughout the 90s. I am located in Manipur

in the North Eastern region of India. I have also been associated with WHO

both at country, regional and headquarters levels form time to time over

the past decade. My focus also includes the issues of indigenous and

tribalpeoples in India as well internationally. In this domain, I have been

co-chairing an international caucus group known as the Committee on

Indigeous Health since 1997. The Committee is a focal lobby and

monitoring group for standard setting activities in the UN as well policy and

programme areas concerning indigenous peoples' health within the

specialised agencies of the UN family. As a committee member, I

raised our concerns about GFATM last July 2001 before the working group on

indigenous populations during debates in Geneva

I wish to share my disappointing experience in contacting the CCM in

India. We wrote formally and in time as soon as we became aware that

the India initiative was getting underway. As perhaps in other countries

too, the national AIDS control organisation became one of the key players

in the India CCM. WHO India was not directly involved but as it works

closely with NACO, it was also aware of the developments. Others included

highranking bureaucrats from the Health Ministry and I believe some

NGOs - these identities have only been revealed to privileged eyes and ears.

This is in vast contrast, for example, to the experience in Sri Lanka.

First of all, we had offered cooperation and also requested more

information on the composition and planned activities of the CCM.

Nothing aggressive and as suggested by NGO groups in the region associated

with the process. But we did not get an appropriate response; in fact, we

got a rather a delayed response briefly effectively saying that there is a

second round so hang around. Since we have friends who also work at

the governmental health decision making levels, if not directly, we also

requested them to facilitate us in staying in contact with the

process again quite normal and innocuous. From the feedback we got, word

started passing around, questions were raised and files that were circulating

on the GFATM became mysteriously untraceable. Then we heard, soon after

the deadline was passed, that the coordinating person of the CCM in

India, had become a member of the Technical Review Group, and flown off to

Geneva on 24 March 2002, for the same proposals he had developed in India.

I have very serious reservations on ethical grounds regarding this

process, and I think there is no question about this. On a wider

perspective, the involvement of the private sector in " new fangled "

governance experiments (such as the recent one of the World

Commission on Dams), in my view have two very serious problems - one, it lacks

legitimacy when it comes to the brass tacks, governments can always

back out when the stakes are not in their favour; and two, it has not

really improved upon the issue of transparency at all - rather detracted from

previous levels. Finally, the advantages envisioned from " globalised "

efforts may be yet another set of nail for the large coffin being

prepared for the vulnerable populations who always have little if at all

access to healthcare and support services.

So we have a spread of vastly different experiences for NGOs as well

as governments at GFATM. But looking at the spectrum, the spread reflects

more like a money spinning fair (something like a health Las Vegas

nightmare) where the dice are loaded heavily, and the lives of those

living HIV/AIDS, TB or Malaria are up in bids. I sound very cynical,

no doubt, but my recent experiences inject fresh truthful realism, not

corporate realism, into my perceptions of the work I do in this

sector.

One of the frightening things about this experience, is that there is

no independent and fair accountability mechanism kicking in at the same

time. The executive is the lawmaker, arbiter, executor, everything.

I hope that this feedback will also be included among the rest.

Thank you

Dr. Roy Laifungbam, MPH

Director

Centre for Organisation Research & Education

Ghari, Airport Road

Impal 795001

Manipur, INDIA

Tel: +91 385 441339

Email: coremanipur@...

_____________________________________

Cross posted from : BREAK THE SILENCE: break-the-silence@...

http://www.hdnet.org

________________________

[Guest guest]

Dear Samy, Vimla, Jarjum and friends

I am extremely concerned to know that many in India still do not know that there

is a CCM set up and that proposals may actually have gone from India in time for

the first round. I have posted earlier and would like to repeat that I welcome

all suggestions from all concerned on how we should proceed collectively under

these trying circumstances.

I received a mail in response to my first posting on the BTS list-serve from Dr.

Ibrahim Atta, National Moderator, Civil Society Consultative Group on HIV/AIDS

in Nigeria, CiSCGHAN. He gave very constructive suggestions and I append his

message in entirety for the information of all. I thank him warmly for his very

helpful thoughts.

One possible route is to form an NGO/CSOs' national coalition to respond to the

GFATM in India. As far as I know, this has not been done so far. We could invite

all csorganisations and individuals, including institutions, who are working in

the sectors of HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria. This could be the beginning of our

answer to this " collective " onslaught on all our sensibilities and decency

including the interests of all those who continue to suffer from these problems

across the country whom we serve. As you are aware, my region - the North

Eastern region - has very big problems on all the fronts. The women and children

in particular have been and continue to bear the brunt.

The way the government of India, whose responsibility it is to respond

appropriately to the guidelines and spirit with which the GF was set up, has it

seems failed to live up to obligations. I fact, there seems to be a deliberate

attempt to " stonewall " NGOs across the board! This is unacceptable and we cannot

stand mute.

I would welcome reponses from every one, giving some direction as to how we

should go.....I shall be also happy to be a part of any initiative who may wish

to take the reponsibility to take this suggestion of a 'collectivity approach'

to fruition.

Regards

Dr, Roy Laifungbam

Director

CORE Manipur Loisanglen

Ghari, Airport Road

Imphal 795001, MANIPUR

Tel/Fax: +91 385 441339

Email: coremanipur@...

--------------------------------------------------------------------