Global Fund Signs Memorandum of Understanding with USAID
03 September 2013
The Office of the Inspector General of the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Office of the Inspector General of the United States Agency for International Development. This memorandum will encourage greater collaboration and simplify the exchange of information and between two leading aid organizations in the fight against fraud and corruption in health programs.
Both parties will cooperate closely by sharing intelligence relevant to audits or investigations in countries which benefit from Global Fund grants or American aid. The Global Fund will be able to plug into the extensive United States Agency for International Development (USAID) network of overseas offices and USAID will be able to gain from Global Fund expertise in supporting health programs.
"This memorandum formalizes a collaborative relationship between the Global Fund and USAID Inspectors General that has existed for several years," said Michael Carroll, Acting USAID Inspector General. "It is a priority for my office to expand its cooperation with international oversight organizations like the Global Fund Office of the Inspector General."
The USAID Office of Inspector General draws its authority to conduct audits and investigations from the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended. The OIG provides oversight for USAID, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Inter-American Foundation, the United States African Development Foundation, and upon request, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Oversight of USAID health programs for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, which are complementary to the Global Fund's programs, is an area of particular emphasis for the USAID Office of Inspector General.
This memorandum is the tenth signed by the Global Fund's Office of the Inspector General since 2010 and the fourth such agreement with a major international player. It follows memoranda signed with counterparts at the UK Department for International Development (DfID), the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme on the Prevention, Detection and Investigation of Fraud and Corruption (UNDP). Through a combination of partnerships with international organizations with global reach and national agencies on the ground, the OIG is able to intensify its action against malpractice worldwide.
"The agreement between the two offices of the Inspector General makes perfect sense." said Norbert Hauser, interim Inspector General of the Global Fund. "We share many of the same values and we will complement each other very effectively in rooting out fraud and corruption on the ground."
The Office of the Inspector General was established by the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in July 2005. The Office of the Inspector General operates as an independent unit of the Global Fund, reporting directly to the Board through its Audit and Ethics Committee.
The mission of the Office of the Inspector General is to provide the Global Fund with independent and objective assurance over the design, quality and effectiveness of controls or processes to manage the key risks impacting the Global Fund's programs and operations.