The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is accentuating the positive after news broke that the Indian government is taking over from the foundation part of a years-long immunization initiative that vaccinates 27 million babies for diseases like measles and polio each year.
Reuters reported that the move is part of a broader clampdown on non-governmental, and particularly foreign, organizations.
Critics are concerned about conflicts of interest because of the Gates Foundation’s backing for GAVI, the global vaccine alliance that counts big pharmaceutical companies as partners.
A spokeswoman told ImpactAlphathe foundation welcomed the transition to government funding when its grant for the Immunization Technical Support Unit (ITSU) ends this month.
The foundation provides time-limited support and structures transition, she said, “so that critical experiential knowledge and capabilities stay within the (Indian) government system when our support winds down.”
Photo credit: PIYAL ADHIKARY/epa/Corbis
