| Scandal has rocked the Bill and Melissa Gates | | | | working with anyone with direct or indirect links to the |
| Foundation, which offers grants to charitable and | | | | tobacco industry and that they never work with |
| health related organisations, after it came out that the | | | | partners who do so. |
| chairwoman of one of their project partners, the | | | | In a statement, she said "This is a clear conflict of |
| International Development Research Centre in Canada, | | | | interests and we find it deplorable." |
| has links to a tobacco company. | | | | The scandal puts the future of the stop-smoking |
| Barbara Mcdougall, formerly external affairs minister in | | | | program in jeopardy at a time when it is becoming |
| the Canadian government, was working with the | | | | apparent that anti-smoking initiatives are sorely needed |
| foundation on stop-smoking research and tobacco | | | | in the continent. As smoking rates fall in the Western |
| control programs in Africa. However it has emerged | | | | world and governments pour money into treatments |
| that until last month, she sat on the board of Imperial | | | | like nicotine replacement therapies and Champix to |
| Tobacco Canada. | | | | encourage the population to quit smoking, tobacco |
| Since then, the foundation has announced that it is | | | | companies have increasingly been turning to Africa as |
| withdrawing the remaining funds from its initial grant, | | | | the next big source of income. |
| worth $5.2 million. | | | | A report issued jointly by the American Cancer |
| The Gates Foundation was first alerted to the issue | | | | Society and the Global Smokefree Partnership has |
| by the African Tobacco Control Alliance. The Alliance, | | | | warned that if current trends continue, tobacco use in |
| who are based in Togo and have been organising | | | | more than half of all African countries will double in the |
| some of the research program, were set to co-host a | | | | next 12 years. |
| conference with the International Development | | | | While certain countries have introduced stringent |
| Research Centre but announced they were pulling out | | | | anti-smoking laws and are encouraging the public to |
| after discovering about Ms. Mcdougall's links to Imperial. | | | | quit smoking, both through advertising campaigns and |
| Their chairwoman, Rachel Kitonyo, said that the | | | | by making NRT and medications like Champix and |
| constitution of the ATCA forbids the group from | | | | Zyban more available, many are still lagging behind. |