‘High corruption risks’
International support for Kyrgyzstan’s prevention and treatment programmes has been a source of contention over the past decade.
The Global Fund, which was set up in 2002 to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria worldwide, first came to Kyrgyzstan in 2003. In 2009, prosecutors discovered irregularities in the implementation of a $47m grant: it turned out that $120,000 had been misused. A criminal investigation was opened, but no suspects were ever identified.
The Fund later penalised Kyrgyzstan by cutting the grant by double the amount misused - $240,000.
In 2011, the Fund decided to transfer grant management from the country’s Ministry of Health to the local office of the United Nations Development Programme. Kyrgyzstan’s coordinating committee to fight HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria was also set up in 2011, to apply for grants and manage the distribution of funds. To ensure transparency, the committee was overseen by Kyrgyz civil society, government agencies and lawmakers.
Since then, the health ministry has tried to regain the right to manage donor money, but in 2017 the Fund refused to hand over control of the grant, citing “high corruption risks”.
The dissolving of the committee followed two months of heated discussions in parliament over the funding application to fight HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. In early March, MP Zhyldyz Sadyrbayeva was indignant at the fact that part of the grant ($884,000) was earmarked for key groups, including the Kyrgyz LGBTQ+ community.
“The state should be able to control the spending of such enormous sums,” Sadyrbayeva said, arguing that the health ministry should regain control of the grant.
The debate grew more intense in April when MPs found out what the preventative programme involved: tests, distribution of condoms, and provision of information about the disease. That led to heated and homophobic criticism.
The Kyrgyz cabinet of ministers did not respond to openDemocracy’s request for comment.
* Names have been changed
Comments
We encourage anyone to comment, please consult the oD commenting guidelines if you have any questions.