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Centre cuts ties with Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for its immunization mission

Concerns about possible conflict of interest with pharma companies were flagged by various agencies.

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The government has severed ties between the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI), The Economic Times said in a report. 

According to the report, the Centre cut all the ties between the two as there could have been room for conflict of interest arising from the foundation's "ties" with pharmaceutical companies. The issues were brought to the fore by senior medical professionals and the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, among others. The tie up will end on February 28. 

NTAGI, which was previously funded by the Gates Foundation-backed Immunization Technical Support Unit (ITSU) at the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), will now be fully funded by the government. 

The issue was earlier flagged by the Global Policy Forum, in a study called 'Philanthropic Power and Development - Who shapes the agenda?' saying "the growing influence of the large global philanthropic foundations, especially the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, on political discourse and agenda-setting in targeted fields, and fully analyze the risks and side effects — intended and unintended — of these activities on sustainable development."

While the spokesperson for the Gates Foundation welcomed the move, the Swadeshi Jagran Manch's national co-convener Ashwani Mahajan, according to the report, welcomed the move. The next steps for the programme, however, aren't been chalked out yet. 

NTAGI is responsible for the country's Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) which aims to protect pregnant women and infants through vaccination. According to ET, it's one of the world's largest immunization programmes, immunizing nearly 27 million infants and 30 million pregnant women annually free of cost. 

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