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? 

ATSA CONSULTATION MEETING DAKAR, SENEGAL Date: 20, 21 22, April 2010 Venue: Hotel Méridien Président, Dakar, Senegal The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and the African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) will be holding a regional consultative meeting in Dakar Senegal in April 2010. IDRC and ATCA invite African researchers, tobacco control advocates and government officials interested in participating in this regional consultative meeting to submit the following questionnaire in order to be considered for participation. The information that candidates provide will help IDRC and ATCA to craft an agenda most responsive to participants’ needs. A brief description of the meeting as well as the Criteria for Selection for Participation follow: Description of the meeting In early 2010, the African Tobacco Situational Analysis (ATSA) initiative will hold a final meeting in Africa to share the results of the country syntheses and country team projects with key African tobacco control stakeholders and decision makers as well as global partners. The 18 countries that have participated in the ATSA Initiative are Kenya, Tanzania, Eritrea, Cameroun, Zambia, Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Mauritius, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Malawi, Ethiopia, Benin, Togo, Botswana, Mozambique and Uganda.  This meeting will provide an opportunity to discuss the implications of the country reports with key African decision makers and global partners and to discuss plans for future activities and collaborative opportunities. This meeting will be co-chaired by the African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) and IDRC/RITC. Objectives of the meeting  The specific objectives of the meeting are to: • Present highlights and findings from the original twelve ATSA country syntheses and team policy projects as well as preliminary findings resulting from the ATCRI six countries study (ATSA team leaders)  • Present the current situation with respect to the development of regional activities (ATCA, ATCRI, FCA Africa regional leaders)  • Discuss the implications of the country tobacco control syntheses and policy work and identify plans for disseminating and using the findings to build a solid strategy to advance tobacco control efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa.  • Identify policy priorities for the short-, medium- and longer-term at the national and regional level  • Identify research priorities to support policy objectives  • Identify barriers and ways to overcome them  • Identify the potential sources/mechanism of funding  • Determine roles of international partners in implementing future policy work  Invitees will include: • One presenter from each of the twelve original ATSA countries and the six ATCRI/ATSA country projects (18 persons)  • Key decision makers from government ministries from the eighteen ATSA countries (18 people selected by ATCA and ATSA team leaders)  • Key tobacco control stakeholders from other Sub-Saharan countries (30 people selected from applicants who fill in the questionnaire, taking into consideration an appropriate mix of professional background, a limit on the number of people from one country, and gender equality)  • Global partners working in Africa (These people – approximately 20 people will be invited and expected to pay their own travel costs. Gates, ACS, Bloomberg, CDC, World Bank, FCA, DFID, WHO etc.)  English and French interpretation will be provided. Registration  There is no registration fees. The meeting can be attended by invitation only. If you like to be invited please contact the ATCA secretariat by email at [email protected] Grant A full grant will be provided for participants from the 18 ATSA/ATCRI countries, Key decision makers from government ministries from the eighteen ATSA/ATCRI countries and Key tobacco control stakeholders from other Sub-Saharan countries (30 people selected from applicants who fill in the questionnaire, taking into consideration an appropriate mix of professional background, a limit on the number of people from one country, and gender equality). If you are intendind to apply for a grant, please fill in the following documents and return them to [email protected]. • Questionnaire for selection of participants  • Declaration Regarding Tobacco Industry Relationships

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