Press Releases - News Room - Media Center - The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

GLOBAL FUND SUSPENDS GRANT TO THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARIAT OF THE NATIONAL AIDS COMMITTEE IN MAURITANIA

Geneva – The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has suspended its funding to the Executive Secretariat of Mauritania’s National AIDS Committee after it found evidence of fraudulent and unjustified expenditures. The Global Fund has demanded the reimbursement, within three months, of US$ 1.7 million, found to be subject to fraud, and immediate removal of the people identified as responsible.

The decision to suspend the grant was prompted by the results of an investigation conducted by the Global Fund’s Inspector General, who identified that, additionally to the amount above, substantial expenditures out of the US $ 6.1 million disbursed by the Global Fund to the Executive Secretariat of the National AIDS Committee were not supported by appropriate documentation.

Malaria and tuberculosis grants awarded to the other Principal Recipient in Mauritania, the United Nations Development Programme, are not affected.

In addition to these measures, the Global Fund expects the Mauritanian authorities to put in place a Country Coordinating Mechanism (CCM) in accordance with the Global Fund’s eligibility criteria. The CCM should ensure that the Principal Recipient has a structure and leadership that is able to safely manage the funds. A CCM is a partnership at country-level that includes representatives from governments, multilateral or bilateral agencies, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, private businesses and people living with the diseases. This structure develops and submits grant proposals to the Global Fund based on national priority needs and after grant approval, it is also ultimately responsible for overseeing the programs during implementation.

All necessary measures have been taken to ensure that life-saving treatment financed by the Global Fund will not be disrupted. Currently around 1,000 people living with HIV are on anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment in Mauritania. The Global Fund will finance ARVs through alternative procurement and distribution channels during the grant suspension period.

The Global Fund remains committed to combat the three diseases in Mauritania and will provide all possible support to continue the fight against AIDS in the country.

###

The Global Fund is a unique global public/private partnership dedicated to attracting and disbursing additional resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. This partnership between governments, civil society, the private sector and affected communities represents a new approach to international health financing. The Global Fund works in close collaboration with other bilateral and multilateral organizations to supplement existing efforts dealing with the three diseases.

Since its creation in 2002, Global Fund-supported programs are estimated to have averted more than 3.5 million deaths by providing AIDS treatment for 2.3 million people, anti-tuberculosis treatment for 5.4 million people and by distributing 88 million insecticide-treated bed nets for the prevention of malaria worldwide. The Global Fund has so far approved funding in 140 countries worth US$ 16 billion.

For more information, please contact:

Andrew Hurst – Communications
Office: + 41 58 791 86 72
Mobile: + 41 79 561 68 07
Adresse email:

Marcela Rojo – Communications
Office: + 41 58 791 1679
Mobile: + 41 79 540 2667
E-mail: