Tobacco Control in Africa - TCA

For the record: 28 questions about the evaluation of the ATSA project we would like the IDRC external review to consider but we very much doubt it will

1. Why decide to work only with 10 to 14 countries when the budget allowed to involve all the countries of Sub-Sahara Africa? 

Barbara McDougall's conflict of interest now on Wikipedia

The Wikipedia notice has been updated:

In December 2007, Barbara McDougall was appointed Chair of the board of Canada's International Development Research Centre

Barbara McDougall also serves on the Board of Directors of Imperial Tobacco Canada, the Canadian subsidiary of British American Tobacco. In that capacity, she chairs the Corporate Social Responsibility Committee of Imperial Tobacco Canada.^[1] Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett criticized her appointment as Chair of IDRC because of the conflict of interest it creates between her role as director of a tobacco company and chair of an agency that funds tobacco control efforts. ^[2]

[edit]References

1. ^ Imperial Tobacco Canada. "Social report 2006-2007 Let's talk" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-03-16.
2. ^ Carolyn Bennett, MP. "Conservatives put Canada’s tobacco control leadership in disrepute" (html). Retrieved 2010-03-31.

An appropriate cartoon from the New Yorker magazine

"Let us never forget that the public's desire for transparency is to be balanced by our need for concealment"

caption of a cartoon by Robert Mankoff published on February 1, 2010.

When Barbara McDougall was helping IMASCO (Imperial Tobacco Canada previous identity) to diversify

Found by Stan Shatenstein in the Legacy archives. 

From 1970 to 2000, Imperial Tobacco Canada was actually owned by a holding company, Imasco, with British American Tobacco a minority shareholder (41.5%) until 2000 when it bought the rest of the company. In 1986, Imasco was attempting to acquire a large financial institution, Genstar, in part to diversify its holdings away from tainted tobacco. The then Minister of State (Finance) took the lead for the Conservative government of the day in monitoring the potential deal (which did eventually go through) because, as she stated in the House of Commons on April 17, 1986, "The House is well aware that regulatory efforts to protect the public interest and preserve financial stability in the financial sector raise complex and challenging issues. These include self-dealing, increased concentration of ownership, links between non-financial and financial companies, reduction of competition and conflict of interest."

And, who was that guardian of the public trust, so concerned with conflict of interest and related issues? Yes, none other than Barbara McDougall.

 http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/wud67a99/pdf

Another older and incriminating link between IDRC and BAT

Pascal Diethelm has searched the Legacy archives where he has found this incriminating memo of 1996. That puts a much darker and heavier signification on Barbara McDougall's appointment that was certainly valuable for BAT.

When IDRC was inviting African tobacco control advocates in Ottawa but not telling them its newly appointed Chair was Director of BAT's Imperial Tobacco Canada

ATSA Consultation Summary and Meeting Notes
Ottawa - January 15-16 2008

Attending: 

 IDRC: Brent Herbert-Copley, Director, Social and Economic Policy, IDRC  
Rohinton Medhora, Vice-President, Programs, IDRC
Christina Zarowsky, Acting Program Leader, Research for International Tobacco Control (RITC), IDRC

Linda Waverley, Consultant to IDRC

Jacqui Drope, Senior Program Officer, RITC

Who -among them- knew of Barbara McDougall's affiliation with BAT's Imperial Tobacco Canada but did not mention it?

----

The guests who were not told: 

Kathy Cahill, Deputy Director, Integrated Health Solutions Development, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Kathy Cahill joined the meeting, teleconferencing from Seattle

Michael Eriksen

Ghana—Agyeman Akosa, Executive Director, Healthy Ghana

Niger—Inoussa Saouna, President, SOS Tabagisme (Niger)/Observatoire du TABAC en Afrique Francophone (OTAF)/FCA etc.

Liberal MP criticizes the appointment of Barbara McDougall

OTTAWA – The Harper government appointed a director of Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. as Chair of a Crown corporation charged with building healthier societies in the developing world, a conflict of interest that has harmed Canada’s reputation for tobacco control, Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett said today.

Government programs and agencies devoted to tobacco control in Africa

I have put together a table extracted from the tables in the WHO 2009 report. It shows country by country the data about the existence or not of a tobacco control staff at the national level and its budget. Some of the figures look strange. Maybe you could check the data for your own country?

The Association pour la défense de Droits des Consommateurs (Chad) awarded $475,000 for a 4 countries project

This information was found while visiting at random the google map where the grants awarded by the Bloomberg Initiative are posted. 

The project aims to secure adoption and full enforcement of tobacco control legislation and/or regulations in line with FCTC COP guidelines and international best practice in Burkina Faso, Chad and Niger, and to support FCTC ratification by Côte d’Ivoire. It aims to share experiences on FCTC implementation between francophone African countries, improve preparation for COP-4 and illicit trade protocol negotiations, and develop strategies for improving tobacco control resources.

ADC is managed by Daouda Elhadj Adam

Country: Chad
Focus: Tobacco Control Policy (general)
Amount: $475,000
Start Date: Dec 2009
End Date: May 2011

Qui participera à la réunion de Dakar corganisée par ACTA et le CRDI? Le CRDI devrait-il en être exclu?

Des militants Africains réclament l'exclusion du CRDI de l'organisation de la réunion de Dakar le mois prochain en raison des liens de sa Présidente, Barbara McDougall avec BAT/Imperial Tobacco Canada.

Ils plaident pour que le financement de la réunion soit assuré par d'autres organisations ayant reçu des fonds de la Fondation Gates (comme ACTA ou l'OMS) et que le CDRI soit contraint de rendre les fonds non encore dépensés et de ne plus assurer la gestion du programme qui ne lui aurait pas été confiée si l'appartenance de sa Présidente au CA d'Imperial Tobacco avait été connue de la Fondation Gates.

Quelle est sur ce sujet la position des autres partenaires d'ATCA comme la Société Norvégienne du Cancer, CTFK, FCA? et des autres invités de marque comme l'OMS, le CDC, la Fondation Gates, etc.

La lecture des statuts d'ACTA semble claire avec l'article 4.6 d consacré aux Principes et valeurs précisant en point d: Aucun lien quel qu'il en soit  avec l'industrie du tabac.

Ce principe sera-t-il respecté?

Who will attend the meeting co-organized by ATCA and IDRC in Dakar next month? Should IDRC be excluded?

Some African advocates have asked for IDRC to be excluded from the organization of the Dakar's meeting because of Barbara McDougall's involvement with BAT's Imperial Tobacco Canada and the fact that IDRC concealed this information that would very probably have prevented their contract with the Gates Foundation.

They insist that money should not be an obstacle as the Gates Foundation has recently largely funded ATCA/ACS along with WHO to promote tobacco control in Africa. They also consider that IDRC should give back the money not yet spent and transfer the management of the program to another group without links to the tobacco industry.

It would be interesting to know how ATCA and the other partners think about this situation: the Norwegian Cancer Society, CTFK and FCA are listed as partners on the web page announcing the meeting.. What about other key guests like the Gates Foundation, ACS, Bloomberg,  CDC, World Bank, DFID, WHO... Do they care attending a meeting organized by a group whose Chair is part of the Tobacco Industry? 

ATCA's Constitution is clear on that point: its article 4.6 Principles and values states: d. No linkages whatsoever with the tobacco industry. 

Will this principle be implemented? 

Barbara McDougall as Chair of Imperial Tobacco Canada Corporate Social Responsibility Committee

From the ITC social report 2006-2007 (pdf, page 10) and Barbara here as Chair of IDRC.

Synthesis of the budget increases in ATSA projects

1. Eritrea: + 64.700, + 60%    2. Kenya: + 63.400, + 53%    3. Nigeria: +62.400, + 52%

4. Mauritius: + 61.142, + 51%,  5. Zambia: +38.700, + 36%,  6. ATCRI: +22.300, + 16%

Total increase: 312.642

Strange increase in the budget of a few projects within the IDRC's ATSA program while the funds allocated to Africa still represent only about 30% of the global budget

In February I had updated the list of the ATSA projects financed by IDRC and I had noted that the budget for Eritrea had increased from 106.300 to 170.000 but I had not checked all the others, thinking it was an isolated change. It looks in fact that several budgets have significantly increased.

When have such changes been decided and why? Is it because many projects have been delayed and granted extensions? Why those delays and why those increases for budgets that were already significant compared to the objectives?

In any case, despite the increases, the funds directly allocated to Africa still represent about 30% of the global budget. Where was the rest spent?

Mali: projet de loi adopté par le gouvernement

Le projet de loi a été adopté le 17 mars 2010. Et ensuite?

Etrange gonflement des budgets dans le cadre du programme ATSA qui continuent cependant de ne représenter qu'environ 30% du budget global

En février j'avais mis à jour la liste des projets financés par IDRC et j'avais noté que pour l'Eritrée le budget avait sensiblement augmenté, passant de 106.300 à 170.000 mais je n'avais pas vérifié les autres, pensant qu'il s'agissait d'un changement isolé. Il semble que cela ne soit pas le cas et que plusieurs des budgets ont été revus à la hausse. Quand ces décisions ont-elles été prises et pour quelles raisons? Est-ce parce que la plupart des projets se sont également vus accorder des délais supplémentaires? Pourquoi ces délais, pourquoi ces augmentations? 

En tout état de cause on reste toujours à environ 30% du budget global distribué aux projets. Où est passé le reste?

A letter from the Canadian Coalition for Action on Tobacco

Read it here. What's next? No need to worry as after March 31, Barbara is no longer a Director of Imperial Tobacco Canada?

About Imperial Tobacco Canada

A little googling about Imperial Tobacco Canada: fined CAD$ 200 million in July 2008 for “aiding persons to sell and be in possession of tobacco manufactured in Canada that was not packed and was not stamped in conformity with the Excise Act.” (smuggling). Also fined $815 million in civil damages (jointly with Rothmans).

 Comments by tobacco control advocates: François Damphousse, Quebec director of the Non-Smokers' Rights Association. “But when you look at the executives who were behind this fraud, they're getting off scot free, and I think that's despicable.”

Rob Cunningham of the Canadian Cancer Society said much the same.

Africa at INB 4: more articles

Several articles about Africa are in the FCA Bulletin 101 (pdf format) including a map on page 2. The articles are about: the West African situation (map), BAT’s complicity in smuggling, Tracking & tracing works in Kenya, Les douanes doivent être davantage impliquées en Afrique.

What will happen to the ATSA consultation meeting in Dakar (April 20/22)?

This meeting is jointly organized by IDRC and ATCA. Can ATCA continue to partner with IDRC? What will happen to the meeting? Note the restrictions posted about eventual links to the tobacco industry (the form is at the bottom of the page or reproduced here). Also listed as partners are the Norwegian Cancer Society, CTFK and FCA. Do they also endorse Barbara McDougall's dual role as Director of Imperial Tobacco Canada and IDRC's Chair?

ATCRI's position about Barbara McDougall: an inacceptable conflict of interest

In this March 14 letter to IDRC's President, David Maolone, ATCRI's Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi concludes with the same formula as FCA:

" ATCRI is currently implementing joint projects with the IDRC's program RITC. While we value this relationship, ATCRI has a strict policy of not knowingly contracting with any person or ogranization with ties to the tobacco industry.

We again seek immediate action on this inacceptable conflict of interest."

What's next? 

ATCRI publie une lettre d'information qui massacre la langue française

Ici. Pourquoi ATCRI refuse-t-elle de faire réviser les textes par un(e) francophone? Ce ne sont pourtant pas les ressources financières qui manquent. Publier un document dans un tel charabia ne sert pas l'image ni la crédibilité d'ATCRI, au moins auprès des francophones. Dès la création d'ATCRI en 2008, les versions françaises ont été éxécrables. Pourquoi un tel acharnement alors qu'il serait si simple de faire revoir les textes par quelqu'un qui parle vraiment le français au lieu d'utiliser un stupide robot?

ATCRI presents its projects with IDRC on a new website but it says nothing about IDRC's connection to BAT despite March 14 letter

The new website is atsa.atcri.org. Here is the March 14 dated letter sent by ATCRI's Board to protest Barbara McDougall's link with BAT/ITC.

A defiant IDRC stands behind the appointment of Barbara McDougall

IDRC has responded via the following email to a Canadian tobacco control advocate (Errol E. Povah) who asked about their position concerning the link of Barbara McDougall with Imperial Tobacco Canada. What do you think?

-----Original Message-----

From: Angela Prokopiak [mailto:[email protected]] 
Sent: March 16, 2010 8:53 AM
To: '[email protected]'
Subject: Reply to your letter

Dear Mr. Povah,

 

I am writing in response to your email of March 11 that was sent to the [email protected] address. I would like to acknowledge and respond to your concern about the Chairman of the International Development Research Centre’s Board of Governors also being a Director of Imperial Tobacco Canada.

Can Tobacco Control donors and African advocates learn something from Dead Aid?

The main lessons from Dead Aid concern the need for strict accountability, transparency, the effectiveness of small sized conditional grants/loans vs big unaccountable grants. They should apply to tobacco control grants in Africa that have remained mostly unaccountable, not transparent, too big and restricted to a few lucky ones, mostly the same: despite the false claim of "limited resources" (in spite of the millions now available) there is largely enough to effectively support advocacy programs in every African country but the repartition has to be fair and not biased in favor of a few unduly privileged entities and people, with excessive administrative costs, out of control travel and hospitality (tourism) expenses. As was/is the case in IDRC's management of the Gates Foundation grant.

The root of IDRC's "problem": the lack of transparency and what to do about it.

Why was Barbara McDougall's obvious conflict of interest not disclosed earlier? Because the information was voluntarily "omitted" then replaced by a vague formula by IDRC. The tobacco control community and the media should have been more vigilant, should have checked deeper than the official press releases that concealed a very inconvenient truth but first of all IDRC and the Canadian Government should have been fully transparent.

ATCA's letter to IDRC's President, Chair and Members of the Board

Dear ATCA members,

The announcement of the news that the Hon. Barbara McDougall is currently both Chair of the Board of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and a Director of Imperial Tobacco Canada came when ATCA board members are travelling to the INB-4 meeting and we couldn't have time to react sooner. We are very sorry for the delay. On behalf of the board, I would like to thanks Phillippe for this important information.

Please see bellow the letter sent to IDRC yesterday. We will follow up and inform you.

FCA's letter to IDRC's President, Chair and Board Members

The FCA takes very seriously the fact that Barbara Mc Dougall, a Director of Imperial Tobacco in Canada, is on the Board of IDRC.  The FCA has sent a formal letter to the President International of IDRC and the Board of IDRC. 

The text of the letter is pasted below.

Africans at INB4 - Illicit tobacco trade in Togo

The article reproduced below in html if from the FCA Bulletin 97 p.3 (pdf format). It is by Trina Tune.

The illicit tobacco trade in Togo is depriving the West African nation of millions of dollars, according to a recent ANCE-Togo report.

Africans at INB4 - Cigarette smuggling and fraudulent practices in Sub-Saharan Africa

The article reproduced below in html format is from the FCA Bulletin 97 p.6 (pdf). It is by Dr. Kristof Titeca.

Kenya: Kenyan girls puff away

An article by Catherine Karongo of Capital News. Have a look at the comments at the bottom. They are also interesting.

List of Tobacco control advocates attending INB4 in Geneva

Here it is (pdf format), pages 25 and 26 and below (in yellow 10 or so African advocates).

The position of Greg Hallen, IDRC's Tobacco Control Program leader (posted on Globalink's African Forum Discussions on Thursday March 11)

Subject: Chair of the IDRC Board of Directors and Imperial Tobacco Canada

Dear Colleagues,

 

As the Program Leader for Research for International Tobacco Control (RITC), IDRC's tobacco control program, I would like to acknowledge and respond to the concerns that have been expressed through a number of channels about the Chair of IDRC's Board of Governors also being a Director of Imperial Tobacco Canada and Chair of ITC's Corporate Social Responsibility Committee.

Aid agencies under pressure to prove how money is spent

A very interesting article from the Business Daily. I like the requirement (to come?) by DFID to allocate 10% of any budget to "outreach/communication" (on page 2). We formulated (to no effect yet) the same suggestion for the tobacco control grants.

Article 5.3 of the FCTC on the protection of public policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry

Another nail in the coffin of Barbara McDougall as Chair of IDRC and Director of Imperial Tobacco Canada: the Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC. International obligations the Canadian Government should respect.

A little unintended humor: The Declaration Regarding Tobacco Industry Relationships requested from guests at the IDRC conference in Dakar

IDRC is very strict concerning the potential conflict of interests of the guests to the conference it organizes April 20/22 in Dakar. That would certainly prevent Barbara McDougall, actual Chair of IDRC (and Director of Imperial Tobacco Canada) to attend. Read the declaration (pdf format) or below.

Nigerian Tobacco Control Advocate Eze Eluchie calls for a boycott of the upcoming tobacco control conference in Dakar (sponsored by IDRC) if Barbara McDougall does not resign as Chair of IDRC

Eze Eluchie explains why he thinks tobacco control advocates should boycott the upcoming meeting in Dakar, sponsored by IDRC if Barbara McDougall (a Director of Imperial Tobacco Canada) remains as Chair  and member of the Board of IDRC. He calls for her immediate resignation.

In view of the conflict of interests occasioned by the presence of Ms. Barbara McDougall on the Board of Governors of IDRC at a time when the said IDRC is planning a meeting for African Tobacco Control advocates in collaboration with ATCA, I call upon Ms. Barbara McDougall to immediately resign her membership of the Board of Governors of the IDRC

IDRC's conflict of interest policy: does it apply to Barbara McDougall? to the rest of IDRC's staff?

Here is IDRC's conflict of interest policy. It makes for interesting reading:

Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest exists in any situation where employees' ability to fulfill their official duties and responsibilities could be adversely affected by their private interests or personal considerations. This goes beyond a financial or economic interest to include any personal interest that arises from business dealings, social ties, or other personal considerations.

As employees of the Centre, we conduct ourselves and perform our duties in a manner that reflects the values, principles, standards, and best interests of IDRC, and in a transparent way that enhances public confidence and trust in the integrity of the Centre.

We act in a manner that will bear the closest public scrutiny and foster public confidence.

We strive to avoid situations that place us in an actual, potential, or apparent conflict of interest and report on all such conflicts, in accordance with the Centre's governing policies. We regularly review IDRC's conflicts of interest policies to ensure compliance and raise any concerns we may have directly with our fellow employees, supervisor, or if unadvisable or inappropriate, the next level of supervision.

And further:

When faced with a difficult business decision that is not addressed in this Code, a few questions may help us determine the appropriate course of action:

Is it ethical?

Is it legal?

Is the decision defensible in the eyes of the public?

What would a reasonable person think about our decision/action?

Does it have the potential to reflect negatively on DRC or us?

Would we be embarrassed if others knew we took this action?

Is there an alternative course that may not pose the same ethical conflict/dilemma

If still in doubt about a situation or whether it is consistent with IDRC's high ethical standards, we must seek help and guidance from our supervisor, or if inappropriate or otherwise unadvisable to do so, the next level of supervision, or such other office that may be designated from time to time.

We, members of management and staff alike, are all responsible for ensuring that we read, understand, and uphold the values, principles and standards outlined in the Code and in the supporting Centre policies. To be effective, the Code must be integral to everything we do.

Avenue of Resolution

Concerns about this Code and its application should first be discussed with management. When unable to raise the concern with a direct supervisor, we are to consult the next higher level of authority or, ultimately, such other office that may be designated from time to time.

In all cases, reporting requirements related to the disclosure of wrongdoings and the protections afforded to those employees who, acting in good faith and without being frivolous or vexatious, have made an allegation of wrongdoing, will be consistent with the requirements of the Public Servants Disclosure Protection Act.

Failure to Comply

The Code forms part of our conditions of employment at IDRC. We are expected to operate within and uphold the highest standard of conduct. We understand that any failure to do so will be viewed as falling short of IDRC's acceptable standards of conduct as defined in the Management Policy Manual, Section 4.28 - Discipline, and may therefore lead to disciplinary action.

Warren Buffet's philanthropic advice: pick the right people.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy reports about this advice given by Warren Buffet about philanthropic choices: Pick the right people.  I’m looking for somebody who will get the job done and is in synch with my goals,...“You can have the greatest goals in the world, but if you have the wrong people running it, it isn’t going to work. On the other hand, if you’ve got the right person running it, almost anything is possible.”

Was it the case for the tobacco control grants?

Barbara McDougall, Chair of the Board of Governors of IDRC is also a Director of Imperial Tobacco Canada. Is that acceptable?

On January 30 2007, the Foreign Minister of Canada announces the nomination of Barbara McDougall to the IDRC Board of Governors. The official press release mentions she belongs to the Board of "several Canadian corporations", names a few but not Imperial Tobacco Canada: this is strange as the site of the Toronto's Law Firm Aird & Berlis where Barbara McDougall is an Advisor used to mention Imperial Tobacco in her bio (this mention has since been erased). Imperial Tobacco Canada is since 2000 a wholly owned subsidiary of British American Tobacco (BAT).

Barbara McDougall Présidente du Conseil des Gouverneurs du CRDI est aussi Directeur d'Imperial Tobacco Canada. Est-ce acceptable?

Le 30 janvier 2007, le Ministre des Affaires Etrangères du Canada annonce la nomination de Barbara McDougall au Conseil des Gouverneurs du CRDI. Le communiqué de presse officiel mentionne qu'elle appartient au Conseil d'Administration de différentes sociétés, en cite quelques unes mais ne mentionne pas Imperial Tobacco Canada: une curieuse omission alors qu'Imperial Tobacco Canada figure sur la bio de Barabara MacDougall sur le site du cabinet d'avocats de Toronto Aird & Berlis (seulement en anglais).

Discours de Margaret Chan, Directeur Générale de l'OMS à l’occasion du cinquième anniversaire de l’entrée en vigueur de la Convention-cadre de l’OMS pour la lutte antitabac

Une critique en règle de l'industrie du tabac.

WHO's Chief Margaret Chan speech to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the entry into force of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Here is the complete text of Margaret Chan's speech. She is not tender with the tobacco industry.

Tosin Orogun joins Africa News

Tosin Orogun posted this article on Africa News. This is his first contribution to this network of African reporters. it is about Margaret Chan's speech for the FCTC's 5th anniversary. She said: "Like my predecessors, I am not on speaking terms with the tobacco industry, but I will say this: we've come a long way, bullies." 

Rendez-vous with Vinayak Prasad, Senior Adviser for WHO's Africa initiative

Rendez-vous with Vinayak Prasad, Senior Adviser for WHO's Africa initiative (this cyberinterview was initially produced for the blog Rendez-vous)

Thank you Vinayak for taking the time to be with us today.

May I ask you to introduce yourself by giving us some background (educational, professional) information about yourself and by telling us how, when and why you got involved in tobacco control.

Vinayak Prasad: : Let me thank you for giving me this opportunity to discuss the WHO project for Africa. My Background: I joined the WHO Tobacco Free Initiative in Dec 2009 to work on the Gates Africa project.

I was working with the Government of India for the past 20 years in different capacities in the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Health. Some of my initial years were spent in working with Indian Customs, working on trade facilitation and strengthening capacity to tackle illicit trade.