Nigeria may lose
Global Fund money

A panel of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria is recommending that $80 million in fund grants to Nigeria be suspended because of concerns over grant management and transparency of fund allocation. A letter from the panel obtained by Reuters on Wednesday says that "serious concerns have been raised about grant implementation and the ability of the principal recipient to achieve the goals of the grants." The letter also says that although a precondition for the grants was the establishment of a computer system to trace disbursement of fund money, no such system has been set up. The money was allocated to Nigeria to help prevent mother-to-child HIV transmissions and to provide anti-HIV medications to HIV-positive people in the country. A Global Fund official says the organization is currently reviewing new information provided by Nigerian health officials and will make a final decision about the grants during the Global Fund's board meeting on December 1. (Advocate.com)