EbolaSierra Leone says millions in Ebola-related funds cannot be accounted for

Sierra Leone’s national auditor has reported that roughly $5.7 million in internal emergency funds allocated to fight the Ebola epidemic had incomplete or no supporting documentation. Poor record keeping and potential misallocation of funds ultimately led to “a reduction in the quality of service delivery in the health sector,” according to the report, which was presented to Parliament last Friday. “It is hoped that adequate action will be taken to address issues raised in this report in order to prevent future reoccurrence of this nature,” the report added.

The audit by Sierra Leone’s Auditor General Lara Taylor-Pearce, covered May to October 2014, and noted that during that period, the government spent more than $19 million on its Ebola response. The New York Times points out that most of the money came from federal revenue sources and donations from institutions and individuals within Sierra Leone, and the figure does not include funds from the United Nations or outside charities.

The audit also claims that the federal health ministry failed to produce documentation for contract agreements for the purchase of fifty vehicles and ambulances, and identified large gaps in the serial numbers listed for frontline health workers as “possible misappropriation” of hazard payments. According to BBC News, a review of hazard payments at the Connaught Hospital revealed that soldiers and police officers were included on the list of eligible health workers, despite both forces already receiving hazard funds.

As many communities bury their last Ebola victims, others are still faced with a shortage of burial equipment and ambulances to transport victims. BMJ — the British Medical Journal — reported earlier this month that figures by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs-Ebola Emergency Response show that only 40 percent of the $2.9 billion pledged by the international community for Ebola eradication efforts has reached the affected countries. By year end 2014, just $1.09 billion of funding had actually been paid, according to the study led by Karen Grepin, assistant professor of global health policy at New York University.

Bloomberg News notes that while the donations pledged exceed the estimated amount needed, the actual amount allocated so far covers only two-third of the countries’ needs. “The delays in disbursements of funding may have contributed to spread of the virus and could have increased the financial needs,” Grepin wrote. “The problem has not been the generosity of donors but that the resources have not been deployed rapidly enough.”