The article has many inaccuracies, starting by the fact that the corruption is not at the Global Fund itself, and the sources of the articles are almost two years old. Please contact the Global Fund to receive accurate information and to get approval for logo usage. press@theglobalfund.org

In reference to your article, The Global Fund would like to make the following statement: How the Global Fund protects its grant money Two articles published by the Associated Press in recent days and picked up by a large number of media outlets have seriously misrepresented the extent of fraud discovered in grants financed by the Global Fund. Media reports alleging that “billions of dollars have been misappropriated from the Global Fund” or that the extent of fraud uncovered is “massive” are irresponsible, false and misleading. To date, the Global Fund’s Office of the Inspector General has undertaken audits or investigations in 33 of the 145 countries where the Global Fund has grants. As a result of this, the total amount of misappropriated or unsubstantiated funds that the Global Fund is demanding to be returned at present is $34 million. While all fraud is unacceptable and the Global Fund is taking strong and firm action to recover such losses, one should keep in mind that this amount represents 0.3 per cent of the total amount of $13 billion disbursed to countries by the Global Fund so far. In short, the vast majority of Global Fund resources are delivering tremendous progress in the fight against AIDS, TB and malaria and saving millions of lives through the hard work of thousands of hard-working, honest health workers around the world. Some media reports have also stated that the controls in place to monitor flows of Global Fund financing to countries are non-existent or inadequate. These reports are false and misleading. Global Fund grants are subject to a rigorous system of financial controls. All grant spending is verified by an independent agency which is required to report at least annually (and in many cases quarterly) on grant progress. All grant progress reports are posted online. In addition to these controls, the Global Fund’s Office of the Inspector General provides an additional independent layer of oversight and scrutiny to uncover wrong-doing. The Global Fund is committed to the highest standards of transparency and accountability and has acted upon each instance of misuse of its resources by taking strong and swift action, by suspending grants, freezing cash disbursements and by demanding a return of misused funds. In addition, its Board of Directors has put in place a long-term plan to ensure that the Global Fund remains fully capable of detecting and preventing fraud and corruption. Communications Team - The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

I work at (RED), the initiative founded by Bono & Bobby Shriver to drive funds to the Global Fund. I wanted to stress some key points in response to the findings discussed by the Associated Press. As mentioned in this article, it was the Global Fund themselves who reported the findings in this article last year –they are not new revelations. It’s because of the Global Fund’s transparency and their zero tolerance for corruption that these findings were made in the first place. They took immediate action – they suspended/terminated grants, fought to get the money returned (the bulk of it has been) and are working to bring those who committed the fraud to justice. Also, as the Fund’s own inspector general reported, this fraud was found in just four countries – while the Global Fund works in more than 145 countries around the world — and the amount of money at question is a tiny amount of the more than 13 billion that is saving lives each day. And, it’s important to note that NONE of the (RED) money has been included in these reports of fraud. This type of corruption is sickening especially when it’s a matter of life and death, but we can’t let it derail the incredible work the Global Fund does on a daily basis. The Global Fund is the leading financer of global health programs in the world with approved funding of US$ 21.7 billion. To date, programs supported by The Global Fund have saved 6.5 million lives through providing AIDS treatment for 3 million people, anti-tuberculosis treatment for 7.7 million people and the distribution of 160 million insecticide-treated nets for the prevention of malaria – they are truly making a difference. You can read the Global Fund’s response to these recent articles on their website at http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/pressreleases/?pr=pr_110124 they are also accepting comments and questions on their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/globalfund

Here's a bigger scam: http://texsquixtarblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/who-is-worse-bernie-madoff-or-rich.html