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 In a letter to the health ministry dated May 3, the non-profit said
many of its programs linked to the ministry were in "suspended
animation" and that its domestic funds would only help it run
operations until June.
Affected programs included those on eliminating black fever, HIV
prevention, tobacco control and universal health coverage, PHFI
wrote in the letter, which was reviewed by Reuters.
PHFI activities such as training health workers for government
programs and research into non-communicable diseases could be hurt
by the funding ban, said Soumya Swaminathan, secretary of the
department of health research in the federal health ministry.
"They are important partners. They have several important projects
on the ground with states," Swaminathan told Reuters.
Since Narendra Modi was elected prime minister in May 2014, India
has canceled the foreign funding licenses of more than 9,000
foreign-funded non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and sacked
dozens of government consultants who were paid by global aid
agencies.
Some of Modi’s Hindu nationalist supporters have targeted PHFI and
other groups they say favor foreign companies and act against
India’s interests.
The cancellation of PHFI's license on April 10 is significant
because it supports several federal and state health departments and
counts senior government officials among its members, unlike most
charities which have no government links.
The PHFI has filed a request with the government for reinstatement
of its license.
Swaminathan, who is a member of some PHFI committees in her capacity
as a ministry official, said the health secretary had written to
Modi's office, giving details about what the PHFI provides to the
health system.
Modi's office did not respond to Reuters queries.
Foreign funding licenses allow organizations working in India to
receive donations from abroad. Without one, a group like PHFI, which
receives about 65 percent of its money from foreign sources, would
struggle to stay afloat.
About a third of the roughly $30 million foreign contributions PHFI
received in 2015-16 came from the Gates Foundation, according to a
document seen by Reuters.
An India spokeswoman for the foundation, which was founded by
Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda, said that it
works with federal and state governments "on their request, on
projects aligned with their priorities".
"UNDESIRABLE ACTIVITIES"
In cancelling PHFI's license, the federal home ministry said the
group had engaged in "diversion of funds" and not declared certain
foreign receipts. Such violations, the ministry said, were
"detrimental to public interest".
It also said the group used foreign contributions to “lobby” media,
parliamentarians and government on policy aimed at controlling
tobacco consumption. Those attempts to influence, the government
said, violated India's foreign funding rules.
The PHFI denied it had lobbied anyone but said it did take part in
information campaigns on the dangers of tobacco use on the
instructions of the health ministry.
All PHFI activities were "fully aligned to national health goals and
serve (the) national interest," said PHFI head K. Srinath Reddy, who
is also a professor at the Harvard School of Public Health and
former president of the World Heart Federation.
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Pradeep Haldar, an official in the health ministry, told Reuters on
Monday that an essential immunization unit funded by the Gates
Foundation that had been managed by PHFI will now be run by
Boston-based public health group John Snow Inc.
The unit provides strategy and monitoring support for the
government's immunization program, which is one of the world's
largest, reaching 26 million infants each year.
PHFI said it would work with the health ministry to ensure a smooth
transition, which has to be achieved by June 1. Haldar said the
transition to John Snow will be "seamless".
A source close to the Gates Foundation said John Snow will take time
to adapt to the program and vaccination targets could suffer in the
meantime.
There was no one available to comment in John Snow's India office
and the group did not respond to emails.
"WHITE MAN'S BURDEN"
Swadeshi Jagran Manch, a nationalist group linked to Rashtriya
Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological parent of Modi's party, has
raised objections against the PHFI in the past.
A senior member of Swadeshi Jagran Manch, Ashwani Mahajan, said he
told the health minister in March that the Gates Foundation and its
partners like PHFI promoted policies that favoured foreign companies
and were against national interests.
The Gates Foundation has in the past been accused of possible
conflicts of interest in its association with India's immunization
program because it backs GAVI, a global vaccine alliance that
includes the big multinational pharmaceutical companies.
"We don't need you," Mahajan told Reuters, calling on the Gates
Foundation to not think of India as a "white man's burden."
It is unclear whether Mahajan’s intervention influenced the
government’s decision.
Mahajan said his group would look into the new John Snow
arrangement.
"We'd like to study the credentials of the new partner, the
government should be more cautious," he said.
Asked about the possible health impacts of PHFI's license
cancellation, Mahajan said: "In all ways, our country is
self-reliant."
(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Sonya
Hepinstall)
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