Wednesday, January 26, 2011
The Associated Press report, "Probe: AIDS fund overcome by corruption," (Page A8, Jan. 24) contains a few well-known incidents that were uncovered and reported by the Global Fund itself, and contains no new revelations.
The missing funds total $34 million, or 0.3 percent from a total disbursement of $13 billion, from only four of the 145 countries where the Global Fund operates.
The Global Fund has rigorous procedures to detect fraud, and zero tolerance for corruption, along with an insistence on transparency. When problems are uncovered, they seek recovery of funds and suspend the programs that allowed fraud to happen.
Global Fund money is spent on lifesaving programs to fight AIDS, TB and malaria, contributing to unprecedented advances in preventing and treating some of the worst diseases in the world.
Bob Alders
Mountain View
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