Exclusive: WHO Foundation pushes back against criticism over Nestlé donation

The WHO Foundation has recently come under fire on social media after some global health advocates learned it received a $2.1 million donation from multinational food and beverage company Nestlé, which has been accused of violating international marketing codes when it comes to infant milk formulas.

But WHO Foundation CEO Anil Soni defended the 2 million Swiss Francs ($2.1 million) donation, telling Devex that receipt of the funds does not imply WHO endorsement of the company’s activities.

On April 8, the outcry began online after the foundation thanked Nestlé for its contribution to the Solidarity Response Fund, set up in 2020 to help raise funding for the World Health Organization and other U.N. agencies’ work on COVID-19.

Originally managed by the U.N. Foundation and the Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, the fund is now being led by the WHO Foundation. The foundation was set up to help fundraise for WHO, including from the general public, high net worth individuals or philanthropists, and private sector corporations.

Advocates expressed concerns that the contribution would become a vehicle for multinational companies such as Nestlé to influence WHO’s work, and doesn’t represent a good start for the foundation. Experts had voiced concerns of potential corporate influence creeping into WHO’s work through donations to the foundation, even before the organization became operational.

Speaking to Devex, WHO Foundation CEO Anil Soni said there is no quid pro quo in contributions to the foundation. He explained that the almost $250 million of contributions received by the Solidarity Response Fund “do not have strings attached” and are provided as flexible resources to WHO to support its work on COVID-19, including in supporting countries in the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

“No contribution should be interpreted as undermining the WHO’s ability to do its work, including asserting its norms and standards and what promotes good health,” Soni said.

“Whether that’s a [contributing] member state … whose laws don’t protect LGBT communities, or whether that’s a company contributing to the WHO Foundation, there’s no endorsement of the totality of these entities’ activities by receiving a contribution,” he said, adding that WHO is aware of Nestlé’s contribution to the foundation.

Donation due diligence

The foundation has a gift donation policy, which is yet to be finalized, with its own due diligence and operational procedures, but it also works with the principles set out with the WHO’s Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors, or FENSA. These principles include “protecting WHO from any undue influence,” not compromising “WHO’s integrity, independence, credibility and reputation” and effectively managing engagement with donors “including by, where possible avoiding conflict of interest and other forms of risks to WHO.”

Under the policy, “No gift may violate the Foundation’s integrity and commitment to global health,” and the foundation reserves the right to “decline or return a contribution, without any further explanation.”

“In case of a relevant conflict of interest any offer of a gift, can be (i) directed from ‘non-earmarked’ to ‘earmarked’ funds for a particular program that is not conflicted, as long as all other due diligence requirements are met or (ii) the Foundation can reject the gift without any further explanation” according to the document.

The policy additionally states that the foundation will “normally publicly acknowledge all philanthropic contributions and engagements unless the Donor specifically requests anonymity” for transparency purposes.

Soni previously told Devex the foundation won’t be accepting gifts from the arms and tobacco industry, categorized as “red” companies by the foundation. Internal due diligence is conducted for a gift valued between $10,000 and $100,000, while an external due diligence report is requested for a gift valued at more than $100,000.

Under the foundation’s guidelines there is also an “orange category” covering “industries with reputational considerations that may need to be assessed on a case-by-case basis” — including those whose contributions negatively impact the Sustainable Development Goals agenda. This includes industries contributing to violence; climate change or environmental degradation; poor health and diet; violence or discrimination toward any particular group; and those alleged to have poor corporate practices, such as on labor rights, child labor, and sexual exploitation and abuse.

“The foundation’s gift acceptance policy operates in line with the principles of FENSA, and makes sure, for example, that there’s no illegal activity or undue earmarking that could prevent WHO from doing its work. This policy excludes the arms and tobacco industry, and the foundation is evaluating whether or not other industries should be entirely excluded,” Anil said.

The latest contribution from Nestlé does not meet any of those criteria, he added.

“The WHO should be critical of a lot of companies and a lot of countries relative to their actions in terms of promoting good health. And we want the WHO to continue to do that,” he said.

“I welcome social media activity that says, ‘We want the actions of the following company or country to be consistent with the WHO’s norms and standards and the WHO’s recommendations to promote good health.’ That work by WHO — to make those normative assertions and seek alignment by both states and non-state actors — is unaffected by receiving this contribution,” he added.

Update, April 15, 2021: This article has been updated to clarify that the WHO Foundation’s gift donation policy is not yet finalized.