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The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria has "zero tolerance" for fraud and corruption, Executive Director Dr. Michel Kazatchkine said recently while announcing new measures aimed at preventing such crimes. The fund will create a high-level panel of experts to assess its ability to prevent and detect grant-related fraud; double funding for its watchdog Office of the Inspector General (OIG); hire more internal financial managers; give outside firms more responsibility for grant monitoring; and help recipient countries better oversee their grants.
"Programs supported by the fund have saved 7 million lives and are turning back the three disease pandemics around the world," said Kazatchkine. The Global Fund is the largest worldwide funder of TB and malaria control programs and provides one-fifth of all international funding to combat HIV/AIDS. It is "responding aggressively when instances of fraud or misappropriation are detected," he said.
OIG's John Parsons said there are at least 100 active cases involving possible fraud. The Global Fund will closely monitor training events - a place where investigators have uncovered high levels of corruption. In addition, investigators are following up on allegations of organized thefts of anti-malaria drugs in Malawi, Tanzania, Kenya, Nigeria, Uganda, Togo, and Ivory Coast and their sale in Nigeria, Benin, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, and Guinea.
Also on Friday, the UN Development Program announced stricter anti-corruption and anti-fraud measures. UNDP manages roughly $2.7 billion of the Global Fund's grant money, carrying out programs in 27 countries.
UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said the agency will hire an investigator to look into allegations of corruption in UNDP-managed Global Fund programs. UNDP also will strengthen its investigative and audit teams, and it has reached a deal with the Global Fund to better share information in fraud investigations.
The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.
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