‘Global Fund not conducting financial probe against NZT’

ISLAMABAD: Nai Zindagi Trust (NZT), an organisation working for the prevention and control of HIV in Pakistan, claimed on Wednesday that the Global Fund has a plan to carry out a detailed assessment and a technical review to determine the current level of coverage and efficacy of its project services in Karachi which has ‘incorrectly been termed as a clinical audit’ as if it is a financial investigation.

“The independent assessment is actually being conducted to determine the potential areas of improvement in order to strengthen the service delivery mechanisms in future. NZT is an organisation that believes in transparency and has been the Principal Recipient of the Global Fund since 2011”, a spokesperson for the Nai Zindagi Trust said in a statement.

The spokesperson maintained that the services in the province of Sindh were being provided by the NZT in 20 districts inclusive of Karachi in collaboration with the Department of Health through the Communicable Disease Control (HIV) wing and the Director General Health Services under an MoU signed with Nai Zindagi Trust. Bridge Consultants Foundation is a partner in the project for Karachi and Sanghar, it added. “The Global Fund has highly stringent controls to ensure transparency of funds utilization and the grant funds are regularly audited with an excellent financial rating awarded recently. The external audit reports are submitted to the Global Fund every year in line with the grant agreement and the performance is also regularly monitored both internally and externally”, the spokesperson said adding that currently, around 1,400 PWIDs are contacted every day. Over the last 11 years, 23,587 PWID and 1,752 spouses of HIV-positive PWID have been tested for HIV and those found reactive are regularly being linked to the Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART) Centres. Around 2,000 HIV-positive PWIDs and 100 spouses of HIV-positive PWID are regularly accessing ART service through the public sector ART centres who are being rigorously followed up for treatment adherence through mobile outreach teams of Nai Zindagi, he said.