Details have emerged of how a Ghanaian and Global Fund assisted NGO sexually exploited beneficiaries receiving HIV and AIDS support in the country.
The organization, Ghana Network Association of People Living with HIV (NAP+) led by its executives allegedly requested sexual favours and cash before granting participants of the programme what was due them.
This was contained in an 18-page investigative report by the Global Fund titled ‘Misconduct affecting Global Fund grants.’
According to Global Fund, executives of the NAP+ Ghana abused their powers that fostered a culture of sexual and financial exploitation.
The report said multiple NAP+ Ghana executives demanded that programme members engage in sexual conduct or provide financial kickbacks in order to access events and benefits supported by grant funds, which constituted corrupt and coercive practices.
The executives quietly and openly enabled each other to perpetuate an exploitative and abusive culture.
The Office of Inspector General of the Global Fund said it may make referrals to national authorities for criminal prosecutions or other violations of national laws and support such authorities as necessary throughout the process, as appropriate.
Executive Director of the Global Fund, Peter Sands in a letter said he is deeply disturbed by the findings saying that the behaviour is abhorrent.
He added that the fund has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse, adding that further action to prevent, detect and respond to such incidents was planned.
NAP+ Ghana, which received Global Fund grants indirectly via other partners, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The report said the group has not responded to its findings, but shared a comment on the investigation from the organization’s advisory board.
The board said in a statement that all but one of the accused executives denied the allegations and that it believes that executives should have the right to cross-examine their accusers.
The fund’s investigators said the abuses, first reported internally in July 2019, took place between 2010 and 2019 and related to activities linked to Global Fund grants.
Nine programme participants reported they had been sexually exploited and or abused by NAP+ Ghana executives, according to the Fund’s investigation alongside Ghana police, which interviewed 43 witnesses.
Following the development, the Global Fund in January 2020 re-allocated grant resources to provide ongoing supervision, legal counsel, and capacity building for all program participants at risk of exploitation and abuse.
This led NAP+ to remove its subject executives and later holding elections to replace them in February 2020.
The Global Fund is a group of governments, civil society and private sector partners which invests around 4 billion dollars a year to fight infectious diseases.
