New York, United States - The UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Friday announced new measures aimed at strengthening safeguards against fraud and corruption in the global fight against pandemic diseases in the developing world. The Pan African News Agency (PANA) learnt that the moves by the two bodies became imperative after an investigation showed that US$ 34 million had been misappropriated in recent years.

'Over the last decade, the global fight against AIDS and other infectious diseases has been remarkably successful, saving many millions of lives and helping families, communities, and countries to grow stronger,” UNDP Administrator Helen Clark, said in a statement.

She, however, stated that, ``when funds intended for life-saving treatment and prevention are stolen, that theft is tantamount to murder'.

``UNDP also welcomes the joint action with the Global Fund to enhance its financial safeguards and strengthen fraud prevention.

``UNDP will be supporting the Global Fund’s efforts, and taking additional measures of its own,” Clark noted.

She listed the the measures to include the recruitment of a dedicated and specialized full-time investigator to respond to credible allegations of fraud or corruption in UNDP-managed Global Fund grants.

Others are to strengthen further the existing UNDP investigative team and complement UNDP’s three dedicated Global Fund audit specialists, as well as the development of formal ``capacity development” initiatives in all countries where UNDP manages ongoing Global Fund grants to facilitate long-term anti-corruption, governance, and accountability systems.

She further said that the measures will include the submission of a proposal to UNDP’s Executive Board to allow the Global Fund to access UNDP audit reports of Global Fund projects, a privilege currently restricted to UN member states.

She also added that a Memorandum of Understanding between UNDP’s Office of Audit and Investigation and the Global Fund’s Office of the Inspector-General would be put in place to strengthen co-operation and information-sharing on investigations into fraud and corruption.

The UNDP said that its partnership with the Global Fund had already brought treatment to more than 26 million cases of malaria and 700,000 cases of tuberculosis from Southern Sudan to the Democratic Republic of Congo to Liberia, Belarus, Haiti, and Tajikistan.

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is the largest international channel of financial support for work on those three diseases, which disproportionately affect the world’s least developed countries.

UNDP works with the Global Fund as an intermediary in 27 countries to ensure that funding is invested in effective programmes for vulnerable populations.

Pana 06/02/2011