Audit of Grants in Papua New Guinea
27 September 2019
The Global Fund is a key partner in Papua New Guinea, providing approximately 42% of the total funding for malaria, 29% for tuberculosis and 10% for HIV for the period 2018 – 2020. Regarding progress against the three diseases, there has been a recent surge in malaria prevalence (from 1% to 7%), the root causes for which need to be established. For HIV, progress has been made in removing barriers in access to services, and in strengthening and coordinating civil society organizations, but a lack of accurate data on the actual TB burden is hampering programmatic impact.
A plan is needed to build the capacity of the National Department of Health, to ensure the sustainability of Global Fund investments. With a significant proportion of grant funds (34%) for 2018-20 allocated to human resources and administrative expenditures, the PR for the malaria grant should review its current model of outsourcing HR services to achieve better value for money.
While the audit found financial irregularities, non-compliance and inefficiencies at both Principal Recipients, improvements were noted in financial controls overall, and the audit did not identify any material irregularities or recoverable amounts.