Suppose an Indian businessman—a billionaire who had invested in the emerging Indian auto industry—were to donate to the Hurricane Katrina rehabilitation efforts in New Orleans. Such a donation would surely be welcomed as a grand philanthropic gesture. But if the donation carried a caveat—that to receive the funds, New Orleans’ factories would have to be redesigned to produce Tata Nano cars instead of Ford pickup trucks—the donation might produce legitimate debate.

The same situation is arising in global health politics, after the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation established partnerships with the Coca-Cola Company.