Economist Sanjeev Sanyal has raised concerns over USAID’s involvement in India’s health policies, warning that the agency’s influence extended beyond elections. “We were letting them influence our national health responses,” he said, pointing to USAID’s past role in India’s National Family Health Survey (NFHS).
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Sanyal wrote, “Those concerned about USAID’s interference in Indian elections should be equally concerned about USAID’s tentacles in India’s medical system and social policies.” He highlighted that USAID had effectively run the NFHS from the 1990s until the Indian government took control two years ago.
“This is the most important medical dataset in India and drives a lot of health policy. Not only were we allowing a foreign agency to harvest our medical data but, by allowing them to design surveys and direct analysis, we were letting them influence our national health responses,” Sanyal added.
He also claimed that the NFHS questionnaire was skewed to push certain narratives, stating, “The questionnaire for men, for instance, is only 29 pages but that for women is 94 pages. A lot of the additional questions are deliberately worded to elicit a narrative of intra-family violence against Indian women. Must say, very slyly done.”
Sanyal recalled that he and the late Bibek Debroy had publicly opposed USAID’s involvement in the NFHS. “Fortunately, GoI took up the matter and the latest NFHS is being done by Health Ministry on its own. Note that readers can verify what I am saying easily as it was all done in plain sight,” he added.
On February 16, Sanyal described USAID as “the biggest scam in human history” after revelations about its funding in South Asia. He referenced findings from the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, which revealed that USAID had spent $21 million on improving voter turnout in India, $29 million on strengthening Bangladesh’s political landscape, and $29 million on enhancing Nepal’s fiscal federalism. “Where did this $21 million go?” Sanyal questioned.