JTI Foundation funding in Bangladesh!- Disguising Tobacco Trade under Development
Hiding behind its psedu-mission of social service and sustainable development, the JTI Foundation will spend 890,880 Swiss Francs by 2020 to expand the tobacco trade of its mother company in Bangladesh. To pave the way for a $ 1.47 billion investment in the Bangladeshi cigarette market in 2018, the foundation has been doing these activities through various international and national development organizations since 2015. To materialise their plan, the organization worked with a number of govt. service organizations and local govt. bodies. The sole purpose of such activities of tobacco companies is to mask its death trade that claims millions of lives worldwide and to construct a positive image in both govt. and private circle through social activities and involving govt. bodies in the process. Globally, tobacco companies have been exploiting SDGs as a tool to serve this purpose.
Tobacco companies have developed a notion of partnership with the government in its development activities and are now using this so-called partnership to hamper tobacco control activities in the country. The only weapon that can tackle such blatant aggression of tobacco companies is adopting and implementing policies in line with FCTC Article 5.3.