By Sola Ogundipe & Chioma Obinna

The National Agency for the Control of AIDS, NACA, yesterday gave details of its own side of the alleged fraud in the Global Fund grants for HIV, TB and Malaria to Nigeria, insisting that the Global Fund has not suspended its support to the country.

In a telephone chat with Vanguard, the Director General of the Agency, Professor John Idoko, said that NACA has not been indicted by the Office of the Inspector General’s report.

However, the DG confirmed the weaknesses in the system earlier pointed out by the report.

According to him; “NACA does not implement, it is the Sub-Recipients that implement and there are weaknesses in the system which we are trying to strengthen.

”Part of the weaknesses is that the Primary Health Centres are not working.

“Global Fund has not suspended the grants to Nigeria. What has been suspended is the quarterly disbursement of funds. The grants are still ongoing. We are still on.”

Explaining further, the NACA boss, who reacted to the allegations point-by-point, said that the EFCC is already probing the matter.

Reacting to the alleged embezzlement and misappropriation of funds by DPRS-FMOH, Idoko said: “NACA provides oversight over all Sub-Recipients through periodic programmatic and fiduciary review.

”Management letters conveying findings and recommendations are sent to the CEOs of all Sub-Recipients each quarter.

”Quarterly PR/SR review meetings are also used to review performance and provide feedback to all  Sub-Recipients.”

On the allegation of weak monitoring of health commodities from Global Fund, Pooled Procurement Mechanism, PPM, at Federal Medical Store, FMS, he said: “The FMS serves as clearing house for all HIV commodities and Human Resources capacity at the store is inadequate.”