Message from the Interim Executive Director - Burkina Faso
01 September 2017
Burkina Faso, a low income country, faces a considerable burden of HIV, malaria and tuberculosis. The country has one of the highest malaria burdens in West Africa and the disease is a leading cause of medical consultations, hospitalization and death. The HIV prevalence rate is high, and TB and multidrug-resistant TB are an ongoing challenge. In response, the Global Fund has invested US$400 million in the country, and is a key health partner of the government of Burkina Faso.
Progress is being made. Sixty percent of people living with HIV are on antiretroviral therapy – all of them through Global Fund-supported programs. With support from the Global Fund, the government and partners, 83 percent of HIV-positive pregnant women receive treatment to prevent transmitting the virus to their unborn children. More than 20 million insecticide-treated nets have been distributed to protect families from malaria through programs supported by the Global Fund. Collaborative efforts have resulted in significantly improving the implementation and effectiveness of Global Fund grants.
In order to protect and build on these gains, we need to do more with the money we have, and safeguard our investments to ensure that donor funds are going to programs for people most in need. The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) is an integral and important part of risk management and controls, conducting independent audits and investigations to complement the active risk management and controls put in place by the Secretariat with oversight by the Board of the Global Fund. An earlier OIG investigation into the procurement of mosquito nets in 2010, for example, helped the Global Fund Secretariat to considerably strengthen our risk mitigation measures in Burkina Faso. Procurement of all major non-health products for different Principal Recipients now go through independent third parties; procurement of all health products are made through the Global Fund’s pooled procurement mechanism, and through the Global Drug Facility for tuberculosis, ensuring the procurement of quality-assured and competitively priced products. A fiscal agent verifies and provides assurance on program implementation.
I want to thank the Office of the Inspector General for this investigation report, which was launched after an alert from the Principal Recipient managing the grant. In this case, a local supplier provided counterfeit and poor-quality motorcycles worth €73,366 to a TB program in 2014. This is unacceptable and a breach of the Global Fund’s Code of Conduct for Suppliers. The Global Fund Secretariat will seek recovery of funds spent on the counterfeit vehicles, and take appropriate action against the supplier based on the Global Fund’s policy on supplier misconduct and the Global Fund Sanctions Panel procedures. The supplier has not been used for any other Global Fund grants in Burkina Faso.
The Global Fund is committed to constantly strengthening measures to increase value for money, and improving the effectiveness of health investments so they can reach the people most in need, in countries and communities all over the world.
Respectfully,
Marijke Wijnroks
Interim Executive Director