China NGOs say they excluded from global AIDS fund

BEIJING, May 18 (Reuters) A group of non-governmental organisations in China say the government has excluded them from participating in a global initiative against HIV/AIDS and are electing their own representative despite Beijing's opposition.

The more than 60 groups say the government imposed their own delegate on the Chinese coordinating board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria because of official distrust of independent groups.

At stake is more than 300 million dollars in grants, they say, which the board distributes and oversees.

The main UN AIDS body in China says it is worried the arguments are going to distract people from the fight against the disease, which last year caused 25,000 deaths in the country.

''It should be a partnership between government and civil society,'' Wan Yanhai, director of Beijing Aizhixing Institute of Health Education, told Reuters.

A government-sponsored election last month resulted in a group from the northeastern city of Shenyang being given a seat, Wan and other delegates said.

''They want to control the voice of civil society,'' he said.

''They don't like independent voices.'' Joel Rehnstrom, China country coordinator for UNAIDS which is involved in the fund, said he was aware of the dispute and it concerned him.

''The biggest potential impact is that attention is focused on the mechanics of the governance mechanism and representational issues, instead of focusing on making the projects more effective,'' he told Reuters by telephone.

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