New York Times examines indictments of Sierra Leone health officials over misuse of GAVI funding

Apr 17 2013

The New York Times examines the indictment of 29 top health officials "by Sierra Leone's anticorruption agency on charges of misappropriating a half-million dollars in grants from" the GAVI Alliance. "The amount may not seem huge in some places, but in Sierra Leone, one of the least developed nations in the world, it looms particularly large, and the list of suspects is stunning," the newspaper writes, noting, "The vaccine alliance froze about $4.2 million in coming grants in November, as a country that had been a poster child for health care projects -- Britain and others have financed a free health care program for mothers and children that has reduced malaria rates -- suddenly became a cautionary tale." The New York Times details some of the findings from the country's Anti-Corruption Commission, as well as a GAVI audit, and includes comments from officials and the public reacting to the indictments (Nossiter, 4/13).