Global fund suspends Aids grants to Uganda

UGANDA: An international agency helping to lead the fight against Aids said yesterday it had halted assistance to Uganda, often…

UGANDA: An international agency helping to lead the fight against Aids said yesterday it had halted assistance to Uganda, often praised for its determined stance on the disease, because of evidence of financial mismanagement.

The Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria said its auditors had serious concerns about the operations of the agency set up by the Ugandan government to handle disbursements by the organisation.

Although there was no clear indication of corruption or fraud, there was evidence of "inappropriate expenditure and improper accounting", the Geneva-based body said.

However, it stressed the suspension of the programmes would not affect the supply of drugs to Aids patients because this could be monitored directly from Geneva.