Report reveals malpractices on Ebola fund

The General Auditing Commission (GAC) report covering the period from August to October 2014 analysed more than $13 million spent by the National Ebola Trust Fund (NETF). The funds donated mostly by foreign donations.“The conduct of the affairs of the NETF was marred by financial irregularities and material control deficiencies,” read the report, published on […]

The General Auditing Commission (GAC) report covering the period from August to October 2014 analysed more than $13 million spent by the National Ebola Trust Fund (NETF). The funds donated mostly by foreign donations.
“The conduct of the affairs of the NETF was marred by financial irregularities and material control deficiencies,” read the report, published on the GAC web site.
Funds allocated for the disease control cannot be accounted for as the Liberian government attributes this to the situation on ground.
The government said in a statement that it welcomed the report and pledged to take appropriate corrective measures, including possible prosecutions and tighter spending controls.
It said auditors could still bring appropriate documentation to a public hearing by the National Legislature.
The audit did not include donations from international organizations including the World Bank, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and other foreign donors whose contribution did not flow through the NETF.
Na’im Merchant of a charity organization known as Last Mile Health says, “It was easy to get money for Ebola. Emergencies are like that. It’s much harder to raise cash for long-term training programs or plumbing improvements. Much of the money donated for Ebola comes with constraints on how quickly it must be spent.
“What Liberia needs now is money that can be invested over long term and directed to projects that address general deficiencies in the health system. Too often even long-term funding is narrowly focused on one disease and isn’t able to be used to address wider problems,” says Merchant.
Liberia’s last known Ebola patient died on March 27, starting a 42-day countdown for the country to be declared free of the virus.