Minister tasks partners to account for Ebola cash

As the country prepares to be declared Ebola-free today, it has emerged that $42 million (Shs154b) out of the $81.2 million (Shs298b) mobilised by partners for the Ebola Sudan Response remains unspent.

The revelation was made during the Ebola Virus Disease Response Accountability Forum in Kampala yesterday.

Mr Jerry Jonas, a World Health Organisation (WHO) partner coordinator, said: “We have 56 partners of which 29 mobilised $81.2m for the Ebola response.”  

The undersecretary in the Ministry of Health, Mr Kenneth Akili, also revealed that $3.21m (Shs12b) of the $6 million (Shs22b) that the government contributed was not utilised.

The Health minister, Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, tasked partners who have not yet accounted for the funds to do so with immediate effect.

At least 27 organisations and agencies have not accounted for Ebola cash.

Dr Aceng urged partners who have accounted for the funds but have balances to submit to WHO a detailed accountability report with a well-coordinated plan of how the balances will be spent.

“I now want to touch a very critical area. I want to thank all of you who have declared unspent balances and I think the secretariat has captured every detail because I want to know how much the unspent balance is, and I want to guide as follows. Pay your commitment and submit information to WHO on the actual unspent money because when some of you were presenting, I saw a column saying unspent but not available for expenditure, unspent but committed and declare clearly unspent balance,” she said.

She requested WHO to coordinate another meeting where partners will come up with a plan on how to utilise the balances.

“Not the proposals I have seen here, they will contribute to wastage of money instead of building a resilient system. I have seen it here, people continue with activities that have no impact,” the minister said.

She added: “My message to you is that the unspent money should not be spent by you, but through a plan that is approved and agreed to, by everyone. Just like the response plan was approved and agreed to by all of us. I have information on who has money and this money should be spent on government priorities.”

 She said all expenditures must be aligned to priority areas such as research in vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, ecological studies and Ebola Virus Disease risk mapping that will help in the management of future outbreaks.

 Other priority areas include infection prevention and control, and capacity building for all health workers, among others.

 Dr Aceng asked implementing partners to define what needs to be done so that in future, they avoid duplication.

 “Whenever there is an outbreak, there is an opportunity to mobilise resources but also ensure that the donors want to have value for every dollar spent. About 22 partners focused on risk communication, 25 on logistics, and about 19 on surveillance,” she said.

She added: “It is not just a matter of your presence in Mubende with huge overhead costs but it is your presence with tangible and impactful activities.”

 The World Health Organisation Representative in Uganda, Dr Yonas Tegegn, commended partners for contributing towards the Ebola fight but also emphasized the importance of accountability and transparency.

The meeting was attended by implementing partners, representatives from the United Nations Family, donors, and development partners.

Ebola

Uganda confirmed its first Ebola Virus Disease case in September last year after the Ministry of Health confirmed a 28-year-old man who tested positive for the virus and later succumbed to the disease on the same day.

The disease killed 56 people and infected 142 others.

In December last year, President Museveni announced that Uganda was now free of Ebola.

On January 6, the Ministry of Health and the president of the Uganda Medical Association (UMA), Dr Samuel Oledo, confirmed that 26 out of 126 health workers who treated Ebola patients have not received their pay.