Pakistani hospital denies Global Fund’s allegations of fraud in tuberculosis program

This undated file photo shows a general view of the The Indus Hospital in Karachi, Pakistan. (Photo courtesy: indushospital/Facebook)

• Reports on Friday said the TB grant to hospital had been cut off following investigation that uncovered $4.2 million in fraud
• TIH says investigation report still in draft form and hospital remains principal recipient of The Global Fund’s grants

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s The Indus Hospital (TIH) denied allegations on Saturday that evidence of large-scale fraud had been uncovered in its tuberculosis (TB) program by Switzerland-based ‘The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria,’ after news reports a day earlier said the Fund had cut its grant to the hospital following an investigation that uncovered $4.2 million in non-compliant expenses.
The Global Fund mobilizes and invests more than $4 billion a year to support programs run by local experts in more than 100 countries, including Pakistan, to fight tuberculosis, AIDS and malaria. It has disbursed over $697 million to Pakistan since 2003, and is the country’s biggest donor for HIV/AIDS and TB.
A report that is available with Arab News was published following an investigation by the Global Fund’s Office of the Inspector General into procurement fraud activities committed by The Indus Hospital TB Program in Pakistan between January 2016 and December 2018. The source of the investigation is a whistle-blower as per the report.
In an email exchange between Arab News and the Global Fund, the organization said the Indus Hospital TB program had been cut off as a recipient of their grant as of Dec. 31, 2020.
In response to these allegations, TIH said on Saturday the investigation’s report was still in draft form, and that the hospital would continue to be the principal recipient of The Global Fund’s grants in Pakistan.
“The report published in media is still in draft form and yet to reflect the feedback of various stakeholders including Government of Pakistan,” the statement from Indus Hospital’s CEO, Abdul Bari Khan, said.
“Media reports also mention that The Global Fund has discontinued all its grants to TIH. This information is also not true as TIG continues to be the principal recipient of The Global Fund grants in Pakistan with an increase of scope (from 18 to 36 districts) and budget,” the statement continued.
Arab News reported in August last year that The Global Fund had expressed dissatisfaction over the utilization of its grants in Pakistan and decided to invoke the Additional Safeguard Policy (ASP) to ensure “accountable use” of the funds.