Addis Ababa, July 01, 2021(Walta) – AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has announced that WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus must leave after scathing audit.
A recent independent financial audit of the World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed “an increasing trend of cases of misconduct, especially relating to fraud, harassment, non-compliance to professional standards and sexual misconduct.”
In light of the audit, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the world’s largest provider of HIV/AIDS care globally, reiterates its earlier call for United Nations (UN) Member States not to re-appoint WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to a second term once his appointment concludes at the end of 2021.
The Office of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India conducted the WHO audit for the 2020 financial year.
It revealed that WHO signed consultancy contracts totaling $332.79 million. Among the numerous financial irregularities documented in the audit, the auditor cited an instance where the WHO bypassed its financial procedures and altered tender evaluation criteria, allowing it to award a $2.5 million contract to a less qualified consultancy firm.
According to the audit, the consulting firm which received the tender was engaged to assist the WHO with purchasing personal protective equipment (PPE).
The auditor concluded that this constituted a conflict of interest, because the firm also provided assistance to the PPE supplier.
The audit findings underscore ongoing governance challenges within the WHO and a lack of transparency in its operations, according to business wire.
“We are astounded by the findings of the WHO audit. Financial malfeasance involving millions of taxpayer dollars is egregious enough, but when it’s happening in the middle of a pandemic, when millions of people are dying because they can’t get a vaccine, it’s nothing short of an outrage,” said AHF President Michael Weinstein.
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