WHO spends more on travel than on fighting AIDS
23 May 2017
The World Health Organization spent hundreds of millions of dollars more on travel expenses of its staff, than it did on fighting AIDS globally, The Associated Press, which accessed internal documents reported.
Last year, WHO spent around $71 million on AIDS and hepatitis and spent $61 million for malaria. To slow the spread of tuberculosis, WHO invested $59 million. But some health programmes did get exceptional funding, with the agency spending about $450 million trying to wipe out polio every year.
At a time when the cash-strapped health agency was pleading for more funds to fight health crises worldwide, it has struggled to get its travel costs under control.
Senior officials had complained internally that UN staffers broke new rules that were introduced to try to curb its expansive travel spending, booking perks like business class airplane tickets and rooms in five-star hotels with few consequences.
"We don't trust people to do the right thing when it comes to travel," Nick Jeffreys, WHO's director of finance, said during a September 2015 in-house seminar on accountability - a video of which was obtained by the AP.
The agency could not be sure people on its payroll always booked the cheapest fares or that their travel was even warranted, he said.
"People don't always know what the right thing to do is," Jeffreys said.
