Durban: The Indian government on Thursday came under heavy criticism from health activists, international organisations and civil society groups at the ongoing International AIDS conference in Durban for launching veiled attacks on NGOs and giving into the pressure of the west to impose regulations on the generic drug industry.
Leading international civil society groups such as South Africa's Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), Section 27 and US-based Health Gap condemned the BJP government for suspending the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration of NGO Lawyers Collective's (LC) for six months in June for alleged irregularities in spending of funds. The protest in an international forum comes within days of the government stating in a written reply to the Lok Sabha that 14,222 non-profit organisations were barred from receiving foreign funds in the past four years.
Lawyer's Collective in the past has represented people living with HIV in a public interest litigation and got them access to free and quality antiretroviral therapy (ART) medication. They have also won cases against pharmaceutical giants which worked in favour of the generic drug industry and facilitated the availability of affordable HIV drugs for several lower and middle-income nations. According to reports, their registration was cancelled on the grounds of inappropriate use of the money, unauthorised transfer from one account to another, organising rallies of political hue, etc.
Mark Heywood of Section 27 said that the clamp down on non-profits, who have fought for human and patient rights, is a critical threat to the global AIDS response as India's generic drug market manufactures 80% of the ART drugs used around the world. "The affordable HIV drugs available used in large part of the world, including throughout Africa, is because of the work of LC to maintain space for generic medicines. If you take down the NGO, you take away the safeguards of the industry," he said.
Steven Lewis, former UN envoy for HIV/AIDS in South Africa said that sabotaging non-profits can deliver a fatal blow to global public health. "Lawyers's Collective is being targeted because the government has no tolerance for civic society. The government is irritated with the LC for taking a moral position on HIV, LGBT rights, domestic violence and human rights," he said.
Around 100 of these protesters belonging to several African nations, India and Pakistan marched to the Indian embassy in Durban on Thursday to submit a memorandum demanding an end to "witch-hunting" of NGOs. The memorandum also stated that the Indian government should ensure that the Indian generic companies are not taken over by the multinational pharmaceutical. While the security did not allow the protesters inside the embassy premises, an official received it on behalf of the Consul General.
A member of one of the Indian NGOs, who did not wish to be identified, said that there is an "environment of fear". "NGOs, particularly those working in the HIV space, are a lot dependant on the government funding. The situation has become worse with, on one hand, the global funds drying up, and on another, the government creating hurdles on the way of getting foreign money. The FCRA permissions for several non-profits are pending currently," the member said.
A June 20 notification by the government to bring non-governmental agencies under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act of 2013 is also seen as a reason for the growing distance between the government and the NGOs. It states that trustees or heads of any registered society, NGO getting government grants of Rs 10 million or above annually, or receiving international funds to the tune of Rs one million or more, will have to declare their assets.
"In the name of transparency, the government is trying to scare people. There are many agencies who work as non-financial partners with NGOs. Why should they be subjected to such scrutiny? There is an overwhelming concern that the democratic space in the country is shrinking," said Meena Seshu, founder of SANGRAM, a voluntary organisation that works with sex workers on HIV/AIDS-related issues. The NGO member said the government has to initiate dialogue with the civil society so that the trust built over years, which also forms the basis for several health programmes, doesn't collapse.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/NGOs-civil-society-organisations-throttled-in-India-international-activists/articleshow/53336277.cms
Leading international civil society groups such as South Africa's Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), Section 27 and US-based Health Gap condemned the BJP government for suspending the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) registration of NGO Lawyers Collective's (LC) for six months in June for alleged irregularities in spending of funds. The protest in an international forum comes within days of the government stating in a written reply to the Lok Sabha that 14,222 non-profit organisations were barred from receiving foreign funds in the past four years.
Lawyer's Collective in the past has represented people living with HIV in a public interest litigation and got them access to free and quality antiretroviral therapy (ART) medication. They have also won cases against pharmaceutical giants which worked in favour of the generic drug industry and facilitated the availability of affordable HIV drugs for several lower and middle-income nations. According to reports, their registration was cancelled on the grounds of inappropriate use of the money, unauthorised transfer from one account to another, organising rallies of political hue, etc.
Mark Heywood of Section 27 said that the clamp down on non-profits, who have fought for human and patient rights, is a critical threat to the global AIDS response as India's generic drug market manufactures 80% of the ART drugs used around the world. "The affordable HIV drugs available used in large part of the world, including throughout Africa, is because of the work of LC to maintain space for generic medicines. If you take down the NGO, you take away the safeguards of the industry," he said.
Steven Lewis, former UN envoy for HIV/AIDS in South Africa said that sabotaging non-profits can deliver a fatal blow to global public health. "Lawyers's Collective is being targeted because the government has no tolerance for civic society. The government is irritated with the LC for taking a moral position on HIV, LGBT rights, domestic violence and human rights," he said.
Around 100 of these protesters belonging to several African nations, India and Pakistan marched to the Indian embassy in Durban on Thursday to submit a memorandum demanding an end to "witch-hunting" of NGOs. The memorandum also stated that the Indian government should ensure that the Indian generic companies are not taken over by the multinational pharmaceutical. While the security did not allow the protesters inside the embassy premises, an official received it on behalf of the Consul General.
A member of one of the Indian NGOs, who did not wish to be identified, said that there is an "environment of fear". "NGOs, particularly those working in the HIV space, are a lot dependant on the government funding. The situation has become worse with, on one hand, the global funds drying up, and on another, the government creating hurdles on the way of getting foreign money. The FCRA permissions for several non-profits are pending currently," the member said.
A June 20 notification by the government to bring non-governmental agencies under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act of 2013 is also seen as a reason for the growing distance between the government and the NGOs. It states that trustees or heads of any registered society, NGO getting government grants of Rs 10 million or above annually, or receiving international funds to the tune of Rs one million or more, will have to declare their assets.
"In the name of transparency, the government is trying to scare people. There are many agencies who work as non-financial partners with NGOs. Why should they be subjected to such scrutiny? There is an overwhelming concern that the democratic space in the country is shrinking," said Meena Seshu, founder of SANGRAM, a voluntary organisation that works with sex workers on HIV/AIDS-related issues. The NGO member said the government has to initiate dialogue with the civil society so that the trust built over years, which also forms the basis for several health programmes, doesn't collapse.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/NGOs-civil-society-organisations-throttled-in-India-international-activists/articleshow/53336277.cms
