Norway wants beer giant out of the global health fund

Heineken Heineken

The Global Fund for Combating AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria have entered into a partnership agreement with the beer giant,Heineken. Norway will not support the partnership agreement.

 

Norway is among the fund’s largest contributors, with NOK 700 million this year, reported Vårt Land. In a meeting with the Ministry of Health and Care Services on Monday, it was decided that Norway can not support the partnership with Heineken.

‘The Norwegian authorities can not support this type of partnership with an alcohol company. This is not compatible with our development policy, but it is too early to say what happens to Norway’s contribution if the fund maintains its cooperation,’ said Jon Lomøy, a board member of the fund.

More than 2,000 organizations around the world have requested that the cooperation be terminated.

Heineken said to the newspaper that the purpose of the partnership is that they, together with the fund, ‘collectively help more people in Africa’.

‘Refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach’

‘It allows us to utilise our supply chain, and marketing expertise, to help the global fund to reach specific populations that would otherwise not be helped,’ said Dayna Adelman of Heineken.

The secretary of the umbrella organisation, Global Alcohol Policy Alliance, Øystein Bakke, described it as a ‘great paradox’ that Heineken will contribute to health work based on the skills they have gained through selling alcohol.

 

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today