Global Fund Lifts Suspension of Grants to Uganda; Agreement To Strengthen Oversight of Funds
The Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Thursday said it will resume funding to Uganda after signing an agreement with the Ugandan Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development that will strengthen oversight of programs receiving funds, Reuters reports (Reuters, 11/10). The Global Fund in August announced the suspension of five grants worth $367 million after an audit of one of the grants by PricewaterhouseCoopers found evidence of serious mismanagement by the Ugandan Ministry of Health's Project Management Unit, which was established to implement the grants. The fund had requested that the Ministry of Finance, which serves as the principal recipient for the five grants, implement a new method of effectively managing the grants by the end of October (Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report, 9/2). The agreement states that the Ministry of Finance must establish structures to oversee management of the grants; conduct a self-assessment and restructuring of Uganda's Country Coordinating Mechanism, the Global Fund's country-level partner for grant proposals; and restructure the grant process, including implementation, responsibilities and oversight, according to a Global Fund release. The agreement also stipulates that auditing firm Ernst & Young for the next six to nine months will continue to oversee grant sub-recipients (Global Fund release, 11/10). Global Fund Executive Director Richard Feachem said, "Over the past two months, the Global Fund has been heartened by the intensive efforts of our partners in Uganda," adding, "We are very pleased that the progress made enables us to lift the suspension of Uganda's grants" (AFP/Yahoo! News, 11/10).
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