South African National Department of Health did not Always Manage Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Funds or Meet Program Goals in Accordance with Award Requirements.

摘要

The 2008 Act gives the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) a leadership role in several key areas of research and evaluation in implementing HIV/AIDS programs, including program monitoring, impact evaluation, and operations research. Through its Global HIV/AIDS Program, CDC implemented PEPFAR, working with ministries of health and other in-country partners to combat HIV/AIDS by strengthening health systems and building sustainable HIV/AIDS programs in more than 75 countries in Africa, Asia, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. HHS receives PEPFAR funds from the Department of State through a memorandum of agreement, pursuant to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (P.L. No. 87-195), as amended, and the 2003 Act, as amended. For fiscal year 2009, CDC obligated PEPFAR funds totaling $1.2 billion. CDC awarded these funds through cooperative agreements, which it uses in lieu of grants when it anticipates the Federal Governments substantial involvement with recipients in accomplishing the objectives of the agreements. The regulations that apply to Federal grants also apply to cooperative agreements. Through a 5-year cooperative agreement (grant number 1U2GPS002062), CDC awarded PEPFAR funds totaling $2,912,714 to the South African National Department of Health, the Ministry of Health (the Ministry), for the budget period September 30, 2009, through September 29, 2010. Our objective was to determine whether the Ministry managed PEPFAR funds and met program goals in accordance with the award requirements.