The story behind the Italian Funding of UCI by 1990

by Marco Vianello-Chiodo

The FAI, the Italian Assistance Fund, was created in 1985 for the duration of two years with a capital of 2,000 billion lire. The FAI was headed by the Socialist economist and former Finance Minister Francesco Forte. His was to adopt development initiatives in some thirty countries chosen among those most in need and politically closest to Italy, and Parliament had ordered, on the initiative of the Italian Communist Party, to work in particular for women and children.

I decided to offer Francesco Forte a UNICEF partnership. I explained that with a mandate of two years only he would not have the time to create a structure that knew what to do about women and children, that he could not afford to do nothing, and that UNICEF could do things with him, prepared by mutual agreement and of course giving FAI maximum visibility. I told him about the intention of the U.N. Secretary-General to launch the campaign for universal child immunization by 1990. If he decided to support it while it was still in the bud, he would be crucial to its success, and he would bring the rest of the world behind him. "And how much do you want?". I calculated quickly that there were about thirty million children in the countries of his mandate, and that with five dollars apiece it would total one hundred and fifty million dollars. "Write me a letter". I quickly wrote the letter, and Forte told me that he would give hundred million dollars, provided, however, that we made the plans with him, employed Italian staff and "bought Italian". The conditions were difficult, and quite unusual for UNICEF which always wanted that contributions were not "tied". But how could we refuse one hundred million dollars?

I went back to my hotel with my legs shaking, and called Jim Grant. He called me back at 6 am, and I told him of the one hundred million dollars, and of the conditions. Silence. Was he there? Yes. So? Silence. Was he still there? Yes. So? Silence. I told him that I knew that it was unusual, and difficult, and that even we were not ready for such a huge initiative. "Holy shit", said a little voice on the other side of the line, and I knew that I had received the go-ahead. One hundred million dollars would have a ripple effect and be followed by many more contributions, and would ensure the success of the immunization initiative even before it was officially proclaimed

A difficult period then began: for our representatives who had to convince governments to set up in no time programs and facilities, for FAI officials who had to verify and approve them, but also for me who was seen by my old Italian colleagues as a UNICEF agent to fight against, and by my UNICEF new colleagues as an Italian fifth column that forced them to do things that they had never done before.

There were all sorts of problems. The worst happened in February 1986 when Francesco Forte, who had "cashed in" on a great international and media success when he had announced the initiative, had paid us only five million dollars and began to get shifty and refuse to see me and even Jim Grant. I smelled the danger, and waited for Forte in his hallway until he agreed to talk to me. UNICEF did not spend the money, he said, children were dying for our fault. He would not give us one penny more. And he left me alone and stunned.

It was obvious that Forte, who in the meantime was spending for other projects, had decided that he had had his success, and could better use the remaining 95 million elsewhere. But how could he be convinced to change his mind? The Director of FAI was my old friend Claudio Moreno. We reasoned that a press campaign against Forte would not have achieved anything. But a press campaign in his favour? Moreno called a journalist friend, Carlo Gregoretti, who in four weeks organized a full-scale press campaign in order to inform all of Italy that Francesco Forte was a wonderful man, and what an extraordinary program he had financed. Among the many statements of praise, there was one full hour of television, in which the Radical MP Emma Bonino told Forte in no uncertain terms that the only decent program he had funded was the one with UNICEF. Forte had no alternative but to surrender gracefully, and he continued to finance it. We got from him "only" eighty of the promised one hundred million dollars, but funding was supplemented by the Department for Development Cooperation, and we received a total of 156 million dollars. The goal of universal immunization was achieved; immunization programs have become an integral part of health policies in developing countries, and if all this has happened it is, even though he did everything to get himself out of it, to the credit of Francesco Forte who listened to me.

(adapted from the book “Under-Soldier” by Marco Vianello Chiodo)

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