FREETOWN, (Reuters) – A vaccination provider set up with money from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has put on hold some $6 million earmarked for Sierra Leone after an audit showed misuse of previous funds, a document seen by Reuters showed.
The leaked letter from the GAVI Alliance dated Nov. 15 2012 and addressed to Sierra Leone’s health minister says an in-depth audit revealed “serious concerns of misuse of GAVI funds” totalling $1,099,640.
The GAVI Alliance, which aims to improve access to immunisation in the world’s poorest countries, was launched in 2000 with a $750 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It has disbursed more than $27 million to Sierra Leone’s government since 2001. Sierra Leone’s acting Health Minister Tamba Borbor-Sawyer denied the GAVI letter was proof of foul play.
“The content of that document doesn’t say the GAVI money has been defrauded … It points out certain areas where there could have been some malfeasance,” said Borbor-Sawyer, who took over management of the ministry earlier this year.
