Re: Health Ministers comments on NACO being visionless

[Guest guest]

Dear Forum:

I agree with the long list of questions raised by Dr. Gangopadhyay.

It is better being late then never. I feel that Dr. Ramdoss is

looking for ideas to revamp the national AIDS programme. Obviously,

the first step should be to find visionary technocrats, plenty of

whom are now available in India, and get rid of IAS lobby that has

so mercilessly slaughtered the programme. NACO should be

restructured on the same lines as the department of biotechnology

where DG is a technocrat. The selection of DG, NACO should be done

through a national search committee comprising of experts in the

field.

Unfortunately, NACO is being run by international donors such as the

World Bank who thrust their ill qualified consultants from Latin

America on to India. What a pitiable condition!

Can Dr. Ramdoss gather guts to take on a strong foreign lobby to

safeguard the national health by bringing best Indian minds to run

this programme.

Anonymous

[Guest guest]

[Moderator's note on the new DG, NACO follows the message]

Dear Forum

Here issue is not technocrat & bureacrat. The issue is the visionary

approach. As far as the current PD of NACO is concerned he is highly

competent in development communication. If he comes out from

bureacratic shell he is the apt person. Commenting like this simply

discourages the line functionaries. Being a politician does not mean

he can comment on the competence of the organization as a whole.

This problem is a social problem. Let it not be hijacked by

tecnocrat. You require better strategist than simply technocrat.

Dr S K Trivedi

Director IIDM

E-mail: <iidmbpl@...>

___________________________________________

[Moderators note: Ms. Sujata Rao, IAS is the New Director general of National

AIDS Control Organization (NACO). Earlier Ms. Rao, was the Joint Secretary,

Deptt. of Health, Govt. of India, member secretary of the National Commission

on Macroeconomics and Health in India and an alumna of the Harvard School of

Public Health (HSPH) ]