Press Releases Archive - Media Center - The Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

07 May 2008

Statement on Cameroon by the Executive Director

The Global Fund is concerned by the arrests, at the end of March 2008, of the former Minister for Public Health of the Republic of Cameroon, Mr Urbain Olanguena Awono, and of Drs Maurice Fezeu, Raphael Okalla and Hubert Wang, Permanent Secretaries of the National AIDS Control Committee, National Rollback Malaria program and National Tuberculosis Control Program.

The Global Fund has been closely following up developments in Cameroon with the Global Fund’s Local Fund Agent and the Cameroon authorities. To our knowledge, the focus of the Cameroon’s authorities’ investigation is not on the use of Global Fund funds. Financial and programmatic reports on Global Fund grants in Cameroon indicate that they are being managed appropriately and, to date, the Global Fund has seen no evidence suggesting that its funds have been misused.

The Global Fund continues to closely monitor the evolution of the situation in Cameroon and will take all necessary action in due course if it considers that its funding is at risk.

Dr Michel Kazatchkine
Executive Director