Civil Society's Duty to Raise Questions about HIV Response in India

[Guest guest]

Dear Forum,

A genuine democracy and genuine leadership always encourages voices

that raise questions and " stick their neck out " and thereby keep you

on toes and not get complacent and play fair and transparent in

public affairs and ensure good governance.

It also in a way makes things clean and raises standards and reputation when

you are not only tolerant but also ready to take healthy criticism and

" uncomfortable " queries.

Unfortunately the NACO Leadership and the CCM (of the Global Fund) India does

not seem to believe in geniunie debate, dialogue and openness and transparency

in discussion.

In fact they believe in either " co-opting " voices, people and institutions so as

to buy, mute their silence or using scare and threat tactics to ward off civil

society members and organisation's questions on unfair and non transparent

processes and procedures followed in round 8 of GFATM in India.

Reading the Minutes of CCM India meeting on 24 July 08 (agenda 5:

Miscellaneous) will clearly show all and everyone to see NACO Leadership does

not like criticism and does not like being put in a spot when questioned about

" (unfair) processes and (non)transparency " .

Making the attack personal, The NACO Leadership through NACOs and other

channels has directly and indirectly tried to presurrise others to " disown and

put down " tactics to voices that raised serious concerns and demonstrated the

lapses and holes in the claim to GFATM in the round 8 proposal.

There are serious issues in selection process of the PRs, selection

process of the new members to CCM India and " the insiders club of UN

agencies, bilaterals and Foundations and even some CSO members who

have gotten favours " playing favourites and doing favours to their

candidates and applicants closer to them.

They have manipulated and manuvered the whole GFATM process and made a mockery

of it.

The matter of the fact is that GFATM proposal team has raised a lot

of questions to CCM India and in particular to the HIV section and

this is making them (very!) uncomfortable because they have gotten

away with this previously but this time it is not the case.

Why should asking questions " upsetting staff and taking a lot of time as it is

questioning the integrity of the process " .

I think it is a shame that instead to having a dialogue with the

persons and institution who dares to " stick one's neck out " (which itself

requires some daring in the hostile environment)NACO and CCM India is trying to

scuttle these voices.

Let me say this- It will be not be silenced or bought or muted!

I urge CSOs and others to see through the unjust, unfair and non

transparent effort to almost another fraud in the making like the

World Bank on going case investigation where they tried to do the

similar thing but had later to eat their own words.

Let there be light. I urge you to write back, support and come out

from the self imposed " silent " support or let your institutional

affiliations not make you impotent in your being and indirectly

becomes accomplices in the wrong doing.

This is not about a person or a personal attack or a disgruntled reaction but

just a small effort to ensure clean good governance with accountability,

transparency and fair and clean equal and level playing process in HIV response.

Thanks

Dr Sanjeev Kumar

Independent Consultant

New Delhi India

e-mail: <sanjeevbcc@...>