Risk management

ABSTRACT Some Global Fund documents are becoming increasingly difficult to understand because of attempts to make the text sound grandiose and the misuse of word and phrases, with lengthy sentences containing a mixture of ideas. They must also be becoming more difficult – if not impossible – to translate into other languages. This light-hearted article makes a plea for simpler, plain English.

RÉSUMÉ Le directeur du département des risques du Fonds mondial, a souligné les risques auxquels l'organisation est confrontée dans les prochains mois et à long terme en raison de la pandémie COVID-19.

ABSTRACT The Director of the Global Fund’s Risk Department, highlighted the risks the organization faces over the next few months and in the long term due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT Fiscal agents are part of the Global Fund’s financial risk management in countries with fiduciary risks. Fiscal agents have been successful at reducing financial risks originating from weak financial management of Global Fund grant implementers. However, fiscal agents are not effective in building implementers’ capacity, contrary to their mandate.

ABSTRACT The Office of the Inspector General has found that between 2015 and 2017, the Global Fund’s malaria grant in the DRC was subject to “systemic manipulation of procurement and supply-chain related expenses” through collusion and deliberate schemes to overprice, designed by senior managers appointed by Population Services International, the Principal Recipient. The cumulative losses of more $7,386,066 have since been repaid to the Global Fund in full.

ABSTRACT Currency fluctuations are a major concern for Global Fund stakeholders, particularly recipient countries whose domestic currency can experience significant shifts over relatively short periods of time. The strength of both the US dollar and the Euro in recent years has further exacerbated this issue for many countries. However, a significant portion of Global Fund grant monies are managed in ways that limit their vulnerability to such local shifts, thereby protecting grants from major losses due to unfavorable foreign exchange rates.

ABSTRACT The Global Fund has made considerable progress in many areas, the Office of the Inspector General says in its 2017 annual report, and has reached a point where many of the remaining challenges are beyond the ability of the Fund, acting alone, to resolve. Supply chain issues and quality of services top the list of challenges.

ABSTRACT “The work on defining risk appetite is in its early stage and until [it is] sufficiently advanced, there is limited guidance on the required level of assurance.” So says the Office of the Inspector General in a new audit of in-country assurance. In addition, the OIG said, assurance activities are insufficiently aligned to the highest risk areas in the grant portfolio, particularly supply chain management and programmatic risks. The OIG also noted that programmatic and health product risks have supplanted financial risk in the rankings.

ABSTRACT According to the Office of the Inspector General, the Secretariat has improved IT controls since the OIG’s last IT audit in 2015. However, significant improvements are required in two areas – designing a cloud computing strategy; and managing the risks associated with cloud computing.

ABSTRACT Although there have been important achievements in managing risk, significant gaps remain, according to a report by the Office of the Inspector General on an audit it conducted of the Global Fund’s risk management practices. The audit identified weaknesses in oversight and accountability at Board and senior management levels.