POST 00903E : GLOBAL INITIATIVES FUNDING
Follow-up on Post 00898E
27 March 2006
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Anil Varshney (mailto:[email protected]) from India, submits comments
on the presentation of global initiatives funding.
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Dear Sir,
The information provided is good and helpful in understanding the various
funding needs and shortfall.
To my understanding these are funds that are required directly for the
vertical program and exclusively for the eradication support usually being
spent via WHO/UNICEF and collaborative partners.
Most donors do come forward to provide for the same when UN system is
managing the show.
Beside the above expenditure there is a very large expenditure incurred by
the Country Government which actually does not figure in these projections.
These are indirect costs in implementing the eradication programs. I did
these calculations few years back while preparing the GOI loan for World
Bank for polio eradication in 1999- 2000.
The indirect expenditure other than vaccines, operational expenses,
training was four times than that of the direct cost calculated for polio
eradication, appx 400 million USD. These included human resources time of
various staff additionally spent from top to the lowermost worker, public
vehicles used ( POL ). Not included, opportunity cost of various
volunteers, vehicle and staff of NGOs (not reimbursed in the program),
support by agencies and individuals at various levels for the sake of a
national programme.
It was expected that these special rounds of POLIO immunization will end
soon as the NIDs will help in curbing the menace. However it did not
happen as expected and the NIDs, from being special drive, became routine
6-weekly activity leading to loss of interest by many supporters who
invested their time and money. As these very people stopped supporting
various needs, eg making arrangement at the polio booth, this thus raised
the direct costs.
Within the country there was no way to augment this need which leads to
programmatic
losses while the UN system is able to collect the funds for a direct
program. Some activity needs to be carried out to collect funds from
within the country to support the indirect cost by way of seeking
donations or grants from in-country large business organizations and
philanthropic persons and agencies (till date I haven’t heard big names or
even large spiritual trust being approached for such purposes). I am sure
if this initiative was taken there would be enough funds for the
eradication program.
I write this because a similar situation will arise in any new drives of
eradication. Countries like India should not depend wholly on external
grants but the eradication program must pro-actively generate funds within
the country and more so towards the end of programme when various donors
find it difficult or have other priorities as mentioned in the article.
With kind regards,
Dr Anil Varshney
New Delhi, India
(now a free lance consultant)
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