More than $700 million in funding for the response to an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo remains unaccounted for by national authorities, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Africa CDC is working with the Congolese government to reconcile the funding and establish how much was received by individual organizations, how it was spent and what remains available, the health agency said in a statement late Friday.
The agency issued the statement to clarify remarks made by Director-General Jean Kaseya at a press conference in Kinshasa earlier in the week.
Director-General Jean Kaseya said $962 million was disbursed directly to organizations implementing the Ebola response rather than to the Congolese government. More than $700 million of the funding has yet to be accounted for by national authorities, Africa CDC said.
The agency is seeking to document expenditure and available balances, as well as the activities financed and results achieved for communities affected by the outbreak.
The clarification draws a distinction between funds that can’t yet be reconciled by the government and money that was paid to the government itself. Africa CDC didn’t say in the statement that the unaccounted-for funds were missing or misappropriated.
Source: www.spokesman.com
