12.06.09
Bill Gates, Philip Morris, and the Business of Illness
Summary: The investments of the Gates Foundation in tobacco return to show a certain similarity to what Philip Morris does in Boulder
A FEW days ago we showed an AIDS organisation manager saying that “Gates has created a huge blood-buying operation that only cares about money, not about people.” It came just a day after we had summarised other parts of Gates' hidden agenda when it comes to health. It’s monopoly. The Gates Foundation and its investments in the pharmaceutical cartel (patents) is a subject that we previously covered in [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]. We also remarked on the Gates Foundation’s investments in the tobacco industry. It is not unusual for such foundations to back giant tobacco companies, but this is scarcely reported on in the mainstream press.
We have already summarised some examples of the Gates Foundation’s activities. As usual, the business press is glorifying the rich (including the Gates Foundation), with truly artistic use of sob stories and fantasy. It remains for people on the ground to actually do the reporting and this new blog from Africa tells the story of the Gates Foundation and tobacco control in Africa.
We had previously informed our readers of this grant awarded in August. The press release does not provide details about the way the funds will be managed, the type of governance that will be -eventually chosen-, what African NGOs will eventually participate, how transparency and accountability will be implemented, issues that are very important and were specifically addressed by the Gates Foundation in the $7 million project awarded to the American Cancer Society.
It is important to remember that Gates has tobacco investments and NGOs are his friends. Also from the news under the same site we find this example of “philanthropy”:
This contract was apparently signed in June 2009. Its size is substantial: $451K represent about 8,5% of the global budget of $5.2 millions provided to IDRC by the Gates Foundation.
The post on the IDRC’s site does not say what the participation of the African advocates is and if they’ll receive any part of the financial support that is given to Jeffrey Drope (who had previously been awarded smaller consulting contracts).
Jeffrey Drope is the brother of Jacqui Drope who is the senior program officer of the ATSA program. Her name usually appears when ATSA grants are advertised but in this case it is replaced by Greg Hallen (new RITC program leader).
Here are some valuable videos for those who do not know what the Gates Foundation is doing to the African population. This is not an unusual opinion/analysis because the Los Angeles Times conducted and ran long investigations that led to similar conclusions.
Now, consider this example of “philanthropy” from Philip Morris. It was published a couple of days ago by CMD.
University of Colorado at Boulder Falls Prey to Philip Morris’ Strategic Philanthropy
[...]
Notwithstanding that a federal court in 2006 found Philip Morris guilty of engaging in 50 years of public fraud and racketeering, a peer-reviewed study of tobacco industry documents conducted by the University of California San Francisco’s Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education looked at why tobacco companies so robustly promote Life Skills Training.
Yes, they want a place on the table. It’s the business of death.
Speaking of which, Barbara Dunn has kindly sent us information about the “Not on My Watch Campaign”, which she introduces as follows:
When someone enters the hospital, he expects the get better of course, not worse. Unfortunately, all too often patients become terribly ill from an infection they didn’t have before entering the hospital. These infections are known as HAIs – healthcare associated infections or hospital acquired infections. With the increase in resistant bacteria, HAIs are on the rise. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at any point in time, 1.4 million people worldwide are suffering from infections acquired in hospitals.
The Not on My Watch Campaign aims to educate healthcare professionals and patients about the best ways to prevent infections. One of the most important methods is the old standby, handwashing or hand sanitizer. Below is a short video about the campaign.
If you’d like more information about HAIs or the Not on My Watch campaign, please take a look at http://www.haiwatch.com
The healthcare sector can be brutally corrupt sometimes, as recent attempts to reform the system in the United States have shown. The lobby and AstroTurf (fake, paid-for protesters) of the insurance companies paid off, as they will continue to monetise the deaths of people who pass away due to preventable disease/conditions. █
