Re: Comment on Gates Foundation

December 9, 2005

Dear Forum,

In response to the comment on the Gates foundation promoting Microsoft, (AIDS

INDIA e FORUM Message # 5262 Re: Bill, Melinda Gates to review AIDS initiative

in India By Mariette Correa on Dec 8, 2005) I wanted to say that perhaps we

are expecting too much.

If a donor gives to a cause, shouldn't he expect to be recognized for his

efforts? Gates has given more money to the HIV/AIDS cause than the US government

gives per year. I think that we should be engaging the private sector much more

often than governments at this point when we all know how little we can rely

upon governments to live up to their promises, especially the US government.

(Such funds come with such harmful clauses anyway! Abstinence only,

opposition to sex work, etc.)

For the record, I do not agree with the huge profits Western pharmaceuticals are

making off ARVs that can be sold at fractions of the price they charge.

These two paragraphs are from a friend, not from me, and he wishes to remain

anonymous: " I read that comment. Being extremely cynical myself, I know its

hard for some people to believe that some things are done without ulterior

motive, but i know first hand that all grants are going to organizations that

are performing or will perform actual field work in education and prevention.

Is hard to completely separate microsoft from the gates foundation because

obviously all the money came from microsoft, so whenever bill travels, he cant

help but have the dual role of microsoft founder + philanthropist, and thats how

the media will report it.

And about the pharmaceuticals, if you have a lot of money invested (as i'm sure

he does), and someone is managing those investments as part of a large fund, its

pretty much impossible not to have some of it ending up in one of america's many

pharmaceutical companies. If the donation to avahan was really to support is own

investments, he would have started a treatment program which would have

purchased millions of dollars in drugs from these companies, instead of a

prevention program which purchases none! "

Thanks,

Joya Banerjee

E-mail: <joya.banerjee@...>

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