Global Fund Board Announces Decisions Concerning Internal Investigation of Organization’s Practices, Boston Globe Reports
The Boston Globe on Saturday reported that the board of the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has "sharply limited access" to a bank account following an internal investigation into the business expense practices of the organization's executive director, Richard Feachem. According to the Globe, the board announced that the account will be used only to pay for an external audit, office rent and Feachem's rental allowance through the end of March. The board also canceled credit cards linked to the Global Fund. In addition, it announced that the account will be funded through donations from private groups or individuals who cannot directly contribute to the Global Fund's trust at the World Bank. According to the Globe, the account "amounts to a fraction" of Global Fund spending. In related news, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) on Friday filed an amendment to a House spending resolution (HJ Res 20) for fiscal year 2007 that would make the U.S. contribution to the Global Fund contingent on the board making public all internal and United Nations audits and investigations into the organization (Donnelly, Boston Globe, 2/10).
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