For the first time in the Global Fundās history, itās biannual Board meeting will be held virtually, instead of gathering together the hundreds of people who combine to make up the Boardās 20 voting constituencies and 8 additional seats. This will mark a major change from the usual two-day meeting held in person, not least that the usual āpre-meetingā day,…
GLOBAL FUND CALLS FOR ‘SELFIE’ CONTRIBUTIONS FOR ITS āCONTINUE THE FIGHTā VIDEO SERIES
The Communications Team at the Global Fund Secretariat has launched an invitation to everyone involved in Global Fund-related work to participate in aĀ story-gathering effort for social media. Given global travel restrictions, the team is reaching out to their partners and networks to ask individuals to send themĀ selfie-videos about their experiences and work during the COVID-19 pandemic, all around the theme…
THE GLOBAL FUND MAKES LAUDABLE EFFORTS TO TACKLE COVID-19, BUT QUESTIONS REMAIN
Early March, the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and malaria recognized the threat that the novel coronavirus that causes the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) poses to the health systems of its beneficiary countries. The Global FundĀ issued a first guidance noteĀ allowing countries to redeploy underutilized assets, repurpose grant savings and, in exceptional cases, reprogram up to 5% funding from existing…
OIG INVESTIGATIONS INTO GLOBAL FUND GRANTS IN NIGERIA AND INDONESIA CONFIRM NON-COMPLIANT EXPENDITURES TOTALLING MORE THAN $200,000
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has published a joint report on the findings from two salary-related investigations, conducted in Nigeria in March 2019 and in Indonesia in May 2019, in which the OIG found non-compliant expenditures of $202,240. In Nigeria, the OIG investigated a salary kickback scheme that resulted in the misappropriation of $166,930, and in Indonesia, the…
GFO ACTING EDITOR SAYS āAU REVOIRā
Dear GFO readers, Almost two years ago, I stepped into the role of Acting Editor of the Global Fund Observer when former Editor David Garmaise first took time off to manage his illness (sadly, he recently passed away). Now the time has come for me to move into other areas of journalistic interest, although I will keep close ties to…
GLOBAL FUND BOARD APPROVES ADDITIONAL FUNDING WORTH $57.9 MILLION THROUGH PORTFOLIO OPTIMIZATION, FOR GRANTS IN FIVE COUNTRIES
The Global Fund Board has approved $57.9 million to finance interventions listed on the Register of Unfunded Quality Demand (UQD) for existing grants in five countries: Algeria (HIV), Ethiopia (TB), Ghana (malaria), Nigeria (TB), and Uzbekistan (TB) grants. The additional funding comes from the reallocation of unutilized funds from other existing Global Fund grants to other countries, termed āportfolio optimizationā….
GLOBAL FUNDāS PROCESS OF RECOVERING NON-COMPLIANT EXPENDITURES IS ‘PARTIALLY EFFECTIVE’, OIG SAYS
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) conducted an audit of the Global Fundās Recovery Management processes, aiming to provide reasonable assurance on the effectiveness of processes and controls to identify, resolve, monitor, and report on amounts from Global Fund grants as a result of non-compliant expenditures. The OIG identified gaps in the identification and notification of potentially recoverable amounts…
GLOBAL FUND-SUPPORTED HIV PROGRAM AND SUPPLY-CHAIN MANAGEMENT IN ZIMBABWE REQUIRE IMPROVEMENTS, OIG SAYS
In this fourthĀ audit of Global Fund grants to Zimbabwe, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found anomalies in HIV data, low coverage of viral load testing, low performance in testing for HIV among children, and low warehouse capacity. As a result, the OIG rates the countryās HIV program as ‘partially effective’ in each of these four identified areas. The…
THE GLOBAL FUND PUBLISHES REQUIREMENTS FOR COUNTRIES TO APPLY FOR FUNDS FROM ITS COVID-19 RESPONSE MECHANISM
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria recently established a COVID-19 Response Mechanism (C19RM) to boost the resources implementing countries need to fight this new disease. The Global Fundās Board took this decision on April 9. On April 22, the Secretariat published updated guidance to explain the application process for C19RM funding, its related coverage, and requirements. On…
Pourquoi lāintĆ©gration des discussions concernant lāĆ©galitĆ© femmes hommes est-elle aussi lente dans le processus du dialogue pays ?
Christelle Boulanger