PHA-Exch> Piot: a good organization man ? (5)

["Claudio Schuftan" <cschuftan@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

From: Vandana Prasad chaukhat@xxxxxxxxx  PHM India


we are facing exactly this kind of thing from unicef, usaid, gain, world bank, ifpri, micronutrients initiative et al  in the area of policies related to child nutrition in india - an attempt to completely negate the structural inequities that lead to malnutrition, in favour of segmented and fractured strategies that definitely benefit the corporate world and place maximal responsibility upon the poor.

the way they conduct and present 'evidence' and research in this area is yet another attempt to create a hegemony of (mis)knowledge and maintain a kind of technical monopoly.

during the continuous argument and struggle in favour of good and sufficient food for children as the most corect objective and strategy (vis a vis processed foods, micronutient supplemnts, fortification etc in the absence of food security) some of us have challenged these bodies to sign a 'no conflict of interest' statement which has been refused, first and foremost, by unicef....

thus - 'ridicule and villification' touches a real chord - the marginalisation and denigration of anyone who upholds a different view seems to be a universal phenomenon. i hope for the sake of indian children that we are not proven correct 30 years later - we may yet win the battle.