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Govt under fire for not allowing health agency to accept funds

Last Updated 12 June 2017, 19:21 IST

The central government on Monday came under sharp criticism from a leading medical journal for its decision to bar the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) from accepting foreign funding.

“It is worrying that at a time when healthcare in India is most in need, the government has opted to push for a wholly political and nationalistic agenda at the cost of public health, which clearly needs foreign investment to realistically meet the growing burden of non-communicable diseases across the country,” says an editorial in the journal Lancet Oncology. In April, the Union home ministry issued a notification cancelling PHFI’s licence under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010, which is required for receiving foreign donations.

The foundation used to get donations from various non-governmental organisations, including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The home ministry said it took the action after a probe established PHFI was diverting foreign funds for purposes other than what is intended for that fund. Subsequently, the PHFI was taken off from the national immunisation programme by the health ministry, which roped in US-based non-profit outfit John Snow International for the task.

In its reaction, the PHFI maintained that certain observations were made by the home ministry on the utilisation of funds related to its projects on tobacco, HIV/AIDS and its financial reports. “PHFI is seeking an early resolution of the issue and continuation of the FCRA registration, based on the clarifications provided,” it said.

“This means increasing, not reducing, the availability of funds to help promote public health campaigns that encourage healthy lifestyles, reduce tobacco use, improve cancer registries, and increase the availability of cancer screening,” it adds.
 

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(Published 12 June 2017, 19:21 IST)

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