Tobacco Control in Africa - TCA

State of achievement of the various IDRC-ATSA sub-grants. What happens to them?

What will happen to the grants awarded by IDRC under the contract with the Gates Foundation that are not over yet, now that the Foundation has terminated its grant to IDRC? Are concerned 9 grants (at least): ATCA (end date september 22, 2010), ATCRI (september 18, 2010), Kenya (August 31, 2010), Mauritius (August 31, 2010), Senegal (August 28, 2010), Eritrea (July 6, 2010), Nigeria (June 24, 2010), South Africa (June 19), Zambia (June 18). Who is going to manage them?

ATCA's reaction to the termination of IDRC grant by the Gates Foundation

Here is the press release (pdf format). ATCA signed a contract with IDRC in september 2009. What is going to happen to this project and all the other grants that are still on going?

IDRC's announcement (by Greg Hallen) about the termination of the grant with the Gates Foundation

Here is the text of Greg Hallen's email. IDRC's website does not mention (yet?) this decision.

It is with sincere regret that I inform you that the African Tobacco Situational Analyses (ATSA) Final Consultation meeting in Dakar is cancelled.  This decision has been made as we have just been informed that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has terminated its grant with IDRC, as a result of the association that the Chair of the IDRC Board of Governors had with a tobacco company.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation terminates its tobacco control grant with IDRC

Here is the statement published by the Gates Foundation on Friday afternoon:

The foundation was recently informed that the chair of the board of our partner, the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), has until recently also been a Director of Imperial Tobacco Canada, Ltd.  

We are deeply disappointed by this revelation and feel this conflict is unacceptable as we work to support meaningful tobacco control programs in Africa.  Therefore, we are terminating our tobacco control grant to IDRC, effective immediately.  We remain committed to tobacco control work and look forward to continuing to partner with the anti-tobacco community to reduce tobacco use in Africa.

VISA-Mauritius President, Véronique Le Clézio announces VISA will not attend the IDRC meeting in Dakar

Véronique Le Clézio commends ATCA's decision not to attend the meeting and seconds it by announcing the Mauritian NGO will not go to Dakar, stating that  "IDRC, the organizer of this meeting of Dakar has hidden for years the real identity of its Chair Ms McDougall who was CSR at BAT... IDRC is totally disqualified for tobacco control and for any health and poverty reduction agenda."

ATCA (Africa Tobacco Control Alliance) disengages from IDRC meeting in Dakar, calls for a boycott from its members because of IDRC's compromission with tobacco industry.

ATCA's Board has decided on April 6 not to co-host the IDRC meeting planned for April 20/22 in Dakar: ATCA's Board members will not participate and call all their members to boycott the meeting as well.

This information is not posted -yet- on ATCA's website nor on the ATCRI-ATSA site.

ATCA's borad members are: Rachel Kitonyo (Kenya) President, Patricia Lambert (South Africa), Patrick Musavuli (DRC), Yussuf Salooje (South Africa), Mohamed Sidi (Burkina Faso), Issa Ali (Ghana), Francisco Cabo (Mozambique)

Dear ATCA members,

As many of you are aware, the Africa Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) has been cohosting the Africa Tobacco Control Situational Analysis (ATSA) final meeting to be held in Dakar, Senegal between April 20-22, 2010.

During the final stages of planning, however, it was brought to our notice, that the Chair of the IDRC Board, Ms Barbara McDougall is also a Director of Imperial Tobacco Ltd, a Canadian subsidiary of British American Tobacco Ltd.

This situation poses a conflict of interest for ATCA on the basis of Art 4.1 of the ATCA Constitution, which expressly prohibits ATCA or its members from having any affiliation, whether direct or indirect, with the tobacco industry.

The situation also contravenes Art 5.3 of the FCTC and the guidelines adopted thereunder.

To date, the ATCA Board has taken the following actions to try and deal with the situation:

Consultations with FCA, ATCRI and Canadian NGOs involved in tobacco control.

A formal letter to IDRC drawing their attention to the issue and asking them to resolve it. (This letter was copied to you)

A follow-up phone call with the Head of Programmes at RITC (Greg

Hallen) and the head of the Health Equity Programme under which RITC falls (Michael Clarke).
E-mail and other consultations with ATSA Country team leaders.
A further letter to IDRC dated 1st April 2010 asking for a postponement of the Dakar meeting until the issue is resolved. (This letter was also copied to you.)

Following an email notification to the ATSA group on 2nd April 2010 by IDRC that they would proceed with the meeting, the ATCA Board on Tuesday April 6, 2010, has unanimously adopted the decision N°0002/ATCA/04/10 of April 6, 2010 as follows:

1) THAT ATCA officially withdraws from co-hosting the ATSA final consultation in Dakar, Senegal with all the ATCA Board members> withdrawing from participating in the meeting;
2) THAT in light of the provisions in Article 4.1 of ATCA’s constitution, the Board urges all ATCA members not to participate in the meeting.

We thank all our members for bearing with us as we came to this difficult but necessary decision. We appreciate our members’ efforts in carrying out tobacco control in Africa, and in particular for their efforts to promote the implementation of Article 5.3 of the FCTC.

As your Board, we are committed to promoting the implementation of the FCTC in Africa, supporting you in your efforts to do so and in working with others of a like mind.
Together, the fight continues.

On behalf of the ATCA board,
Ebeh Kodjo Fabrice, Executive Secretary

Mauritius: $130K from the Bloomberg Initiative to enforce smoke-free regulations

The project aims to achieve 100% smokefree environments in Mauritius in accordance with Article 8 of the FCTC and the national legislation of 2008. It will: strengthen the enforcement of smokefree regulations; increase awareness of the regulations and respond to public information needs; mobilise key groups to increase support and facilitate enforcement; monitor and evaluate the impact of smokefree mobilisation.

Country: Mauritius, grantee Ministry of Health and quality of life.
Focus: Smokefree  Amount: $130,000  Start Date: Mar 2010   End Date: May 2011

Source: Bloomberg Initiative Map

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.

Transparency International in Sub-Sahara Africa

A program funded by the Gates Foundation.

South Africa: The National Council Against Smoking (NCAS) urges finance minister Pravin Gordhan to review tobacco tax rates

Source: AllAfrica

Voice of America: Smoking in Africa: The Business, The culture, The risks.

Voice of America has produced a series of segments about tobacco smoking in Africa.

Listen to the podcasts.

Source: Voice of America

How Bill Gates got involved in tobacco control

Researching for some background about the Gates Foundation's involvement in tobacco control I found this article of July 24 2008 by Kristi Heim and Sandi Doughton of the Seattle Times. It was very informative and interesting and still is now.

IDRC has selected two reviewers: Mira Aghi and Burke Fishburn

The two experts selected by IDRC are: Mira Aghi and Burke Fishurn

Jeff Raikes, CEO of the Gates Foundation, considers changes in the way it operates. Any consequence for the tobacco control projects?

In an interview with the Chronicle of Philanthropy, Jeff Raikes who is the CEO for the Gates Foundation talked about a few changes he is considering to improve its operations: "They include using communications technology to get “real-time feedback” from grantees, creating an “ombudsman” position within the foundation, and surveying nonprofit groups that have had grant requests rejected."

Tunisia: ratification of the FCTC

The Chamber of Deputies adopted, on Feburary 9, during a plenary session held under the chairmanship of Speaker Mr. Foued Mebazaa, a draft bill providing for Tunisia’s ratification of the World Health Organization (WHO) convention aiming at fighting against smoking.

Source: Tunisiaonlinenews

Thank you Kristi

Kristi Heim, the Seattle Times journalist who writes the blog The business of giving, gently refers her readers to TCA at the end of her post devoted to the new grants awarded by the Gates Foundation to promote tobacco control in Africa. Thank you Kristi. Our readers know that as much as I admire the generosity of the Gates and Bloomberg Foundations to promote tobacco control I am also very concerned about the way their money is used: I think much more attention should be given to the principles of transparency, good governance, accountability, participation of all, control of travel and hospitality expenses. What lessons (if any) will be learned from the way IDRC managed the first 5.2 million grant?  How will ACS and the Consortium partners integrate those basic principles -or not- in their management remains to be seen.

What about a project similar to the Africa reporting project for the tobacco control program funded by the Gates Foundation?

The Africa Reporting Program funded by the Gates Foundation with the University of Berkeley looks like an interesting model although I think the program for tobacco control could hire more local journalists, in every country and with a detailed deadline and content requirements. Less than 10% of the budget could certainly pay for one journalist per country publishing one article per month. That would be effective communication and advocacy. A French speaking example is Baleki Congo Blog Net, the collective blog open in RDC with the support of the Lille's school of journalism. I am not sure there is any article in French in the Africa Reporting Program. I think each journalist is compensated $50 per post.

The American Cancer Society (ACS) announces it is going to manage the next grant given by the Gates Foundation, along with an African Tobacco Control Consortium

As for now there was no announcement on the site of the Gates Foundation on the pages devoted to tobacco control nor on the Gates notes. Here is the text of the press release from ACS.

Atlanta - February 3, 2010 - The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has given a grant of $7 million over five years to the American Cancer Society to manage the African Tobacco Control Consortium, a global coalition of public health-oriented organizations focusing on using addition to the Society, the consortium includes the Africa Tobacco Control Regional Initiative (ATCRI), Africa Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA), Framework Convention Alliance (FCA), Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK), and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union).

The business of giving: Kristi Heim has a conversation with Bill Gates where he emphasizes the importance of feedback

Kristi Heim is a reporter with the Seattle Times and she writes a blog devoted to The business of giving.
She interviewed Bill Gates right after he opened his new personal website and started to post on Twitter.

He emphasizes the importance of getting feedback (good or bad): "My being out on the Internet will let us know what people think and what they agree or don't agree with."

I cannot agree more but I am not sure he can be the only channel to receive feedback. I think there should be easy ways for anybody who is concerned with a project/grant to provide feedback and to know the contribution has been received, duly recorded and taken into consideration.

Reporting on the implementation of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Each country that signed the FCTC has tu submit regular reports about the way the treaty is implemented. WHO is collecting the reports and making them available on line. Unfortunately the documents are on a pdf format that makes them much less user-friendly. Still it is worth visiting and it would be worth having comments by advocates about their assessment of the situation in their country. For instance I read the report (in French) about Cameroon and I wonder what our friends from Cameroon think about it.

Lorraine Gareau is the new Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator for IDRC

Source: Treasury Board of Canada (scroll down the list)

International Development Research Centre
Lorraine Gareau
Access to Information and Privacy Coordinator
150 Kent Street
P.O. Box 8500
Ottawa, Ontario  K1P 0B2
Telephone: 613-696-2348  
Facsimile: 613-235-6391
[email protected]

Also useful the site of the Information Commissioner

No fly summit: a good idea for tobacco control meetings in Africa?

Church leaders used ning for an internet video-conference, a no-fly summit that saved plenty of money, time and reduced the carbon footprint. What about tobacco control advocates?

Bill Gates is leading the way: can the people and organisations he is supporting do the same?

At the end of his just published annual newsletter Bill Gates confirms he is going to communicate more regularly via his new personal website:
"I have decided to take the notes I make after taking a trip, reading a book, or meeting with someone interesting and pull them together on a web site called www.gatesnotes.com. This will let me share thoughts on foundation-related topics and other areas on a regular basis."

Shouldn't the organizations he supports do the same: take notes after taking trips, meeting people, sharing what they are doing?

Ghana: We need a tobacco control law

This article by Jeorge Wilson Kingson of the Media Alliance on Tobacco Control was published January 21 on Ghana Web.

Not many speak their mind to Gates Foundation

This excellent article  is about the need for honest feedback but how difficult it is for the Gates Foundation to get it. It was written by Sandi Doughton and  was published on August 3 2008 in the Seattle Times: "The Gates Foundation says it wants to hear from its critics. But with so many in the global health world dependent on the foundation's cash, honest feedback is hard to come by."

Kenya: the Bloomberg Initiative supports the creation of the Journalists Against Tobacco Forum

To develop a network of journalists (the Journalists Against Tobacco Forum) to cover and report on tobacco control issues in Kenya in a secure consistent and positive way, the Bloomberg Initiative grants $30,545 for one year to the Institute for Legislative Affairs.

Country: Kenya   Website: http://ilakenya.org  Amount: $30,545
Start Date: Jan 2010   End Date: Dec 2010

Bill Gates blogs (sort of) and is on Twitter: both initiatives are worth visiting

Here is his first message on Twitter, that sends to his new website that is (almost) like a blog. We can only encourage Bill to continue: the more he shares the best.  There are interesting sections about what he reads, thinks about, a few places where he has been and a small Q&A. No possibilities to comment directly and no direct way to subscribe for updates. I also hope this will inspire other people within the Foundation to share more about what they are doing.
"My new website is live check out www.thegatesnotes.com. Excited to share more about what I’m learning, hope you like it!". I do. All my best wishes and thanks for sharing more.

Bill is also on Facebook.

Nigeria: the Bloomberg Initiative supports the campaign to pass a tobacco control Act

To facilitate passage of the National Tobacco Control bill through lobbying and advocacy strategies; to mobilize public support for passage of the National Tobacco Control Bill; to monitor tobacco industry activities, the Bloomberg Initiative grants #348,100 to FOE Nigeria and the Nigeria Tobacco Control Alliance.

Country: Nigeria
Website: tobaccoandyou, nigeria national tobacco control bill blog,  

Amount: $348,100   Start Date: Jan 2010    End Date: Dec 2011

Niger: Evaluation of the implementation of the tobacco control law of Niger: successes and failures.

Inoussa Saouna of SOS Tabagisme Niger circulated this press release about a recent evaluation workshop about the situation in Niger. Could we suggest to Inoussa to use his blog? We also could not find a french version of this press release.

Malawi: lawsuit against a tobacco control advocate.

Kondwani Bell Munthali, Coordinator of the Smoke Free Malawi Project sent us this update. It includes news about a libel and defamation complaint against activist John Kapito by Nyasa manufacturing.

ATCA (African Tobacco Control Alliance) opens its website and co-organizes (with IDRC) a consultation meeting in Dakar (April 20/22)

The ATCA site is of traditional design but a communication effort one year after the creation of the group. The list of useful links is still quite limited and one hopes it will include blogs (including TCA?). As for the meeting co-organized with IDRC you can find out here about the agenda and how to get invited.

Uruguay now has graphic health warnings covering 80% of the cigarette pack: what about Africa?

Uruguay has a population of about 3,3 million people but they have been able to implement this drastic evolution: earlier the size of the warning (on the right) was already at 50%, now on the left it's 80%. The pictures are on both sides of the pack. Congratulations Uruguay! What country in Africa will emulate Uruguay?

Source: Eduardo Bianco via Rob Cunningham. Below a pack of the Fiesta brand with the new 80% warnings on the back and on the front.

What projects does the Bloomberg Initiative fund in Africa?

CTFK used to publish a list that eventually provided the amount awarded and a brief description of each project. I could not find it any longer because it is not clearly marked (at least for me). In fact the information is now linked to a google map with pins indicating the location of projects in various countries. When you click on the pin the details of the projects funded appear below (you have to scroll down). If you want to see all the projects for Africa, select the Afro region then click on search: the list is alphabetical, by country. See the copy below.
The 7th round to apply for a grant is open until January 22d. I could not find information about the projects chosen for the 6th round.

Niger: ATSA-IDRC grant of $21.648 for SOS Tabagisme Niger

Where did you hear about this ATSA/IDRC grant to SOS Tabagisme Niger, managed by Inoussa Saouna?

On TCA. Because we scanned for you ATSA/IDRC website. We have not seen any official press release or specific information anywhere else. As you can see below, this is a 4 months project for 22.400 CAD. Awarded on November 20, 2009. It is about 9,8 millions CFA.

2010. Who is going to monitor what's happening in tobacco control in Africa?

2010 just started.  Who is going to monitor what's happening in tobacco control in Africa? Who is going to keep asking for more information and transparency from the organizations and people who distribute and receive millions to promote this cause? Until now they have chosen to operate silently and secretly without providing any regular and substantial account of their activities (see our upcoming review of their very limited reporting on line). 
TCA is convinced that the requirements for transparency and accountability will sometimes become the norm but it will take many more people protesting and asking for those very basic and fundamental principles to be adopted and implemented.
As for now, the more it changes, the more the it remains the same.
Good luck and best wishes for a happy new year to all who share those ideals. 

List of groups that received funding from FCA in 2009 (seed grants)

LIST OF ORGANIZATIONS THAT RECEIVED SEED GRANTS IN 2009

The Norwegian Cancer Society has provided financial support for FCA activities in including seed grants. The budget below amounts to $80.500 

In 2009 a total of 10 organizations have received seed grants for various projects as listed below.

1 People's Health Movement (PHM), Gabon 2009 $5,000

2 Vision for Alternative Development Ghana 2009 $ 5,000

3 Campaign For Tobacco-free Youths Nigeria 2009 $ 5,000

4 Association Life Cameroon 2009 $ 5,000

5 Africa Tobacco Control Alliance Togo 2009 $10,000

6 Alliance Nationale des Consommateurs et de l’Environnement (ANCE) Togo 2009 $ 5,000

7 ONG Initiative pour l’Education et le Contrôle du Tabagisme Benin 2009 $ 5,000 (Not confirmed)

8 Association Vie et Santé (AVIS) Sénégal 2009 $10,000

9 Association de Lutte Contre le Tabagisme en Afrique (LUCTAF) DRC Congo 2009 $10,000

10 Club Universitaire Unesco pour la Lutte Contre la Drogue Cote d’ivoire 2009 $8, 000

11 Visa Mauritius Mauritius 2009 $7500

Note : The fund for Association Vie et Sante (Avis) and Visa Mauritius are still under consideration (they were finalized later and we updated the content). The grant for the group in Bénin is not part of the list later distributed.