post #1 of 1
6/21/11 at 9:44am
Thread Starter 

From an OIG mailing-list email I received a few minutes ago.

As usual, please forward to anyone who may be able to pursue or make use of this information.

"Review of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Oversight of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief Funds for Fiscal Years 2007 Through 2009 (A-04-10-04006)"

http://oig.hhs.gov/oas/reports/region4/41004006.pdf (1.6 MB)

Excerpt:
 

 

Quote:
There was evidence that CDC performed some monitoring of recipients’ use of PEPFAR funds. However, most of the award files did not include all required documents or evidence to demonstrate that CDC performed required monitoring on all cooperative agreements. Of the 30 cooperative agreements in our sample, the award file for only 1 agreement contained all required documents. The remaining 29 award files were incomplete. In addition, 14 of 21 files were missing audit reports. (A report was not yet due for 9 of the 30 cooperative agreements.) The lack of required documentation demonstrates that CDC has not exercised proper stewardship over Federal PEPFAR funds because it did not consistently follow departmental and other Federal requirements in monitoring PEPFAR recipients.

 



Some other information I came across through subscriptions to HHS and Office of Inspector General (OIG) mailing-lists that may not have been released elsewhere. It would appear that whether in their accounting standards or health statistics, a lax culture with regard to numbers and record-keeping is beginning to encroach on NIAID, and they are seeking to make this laxity the new standard. Please forward to anyone who may be interested in further pursuing or making use of this information.

"Appropriations Funding for National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Contract N01-AI-15416 With the University of California at San Francisco Audit (A-03-10-03120)". Link to OIG report:

http://oig.hhs.gov/oas/reports/region3/31003120.pdf (PDF file, 4.9M)

Excerpt:
 

 

Quote:
NIAID initially funded only $35.3 million of the $134.8 million Contract obligation with fiscal year 2001 appropriations. NIAID obligated a total of $99.5 million in violation of the bona fide needs rule: $19.5 million of fiscal year 2002 appropriated funds, $22.4 million of fiscal year 2003 appropriated funds, $23.4 million of fiscal year 2004 appropriated funds, $22.7 million of fiscal year 2005 appropriated funds, and $11.5 million of fiscal year 2006 appropriated funds. In addition, when it awarded a fiscal year 2007 Contract modification for nonseverable services, NIAID initially funded only $40.3 million of the $220.5 million contract obligation with fiscal year 2007 appropriations. Because the Contract was a nonseverable service contract, which represents a single undertaking and provides for a single outcome, NIAID was required to record the full amount of the Contract using fiscal year 2001 or fiscal year 2007 appropriated funds. By not doing so, NIAID potentially violated the Antideficiency Act. NIAID complied with the purpose requirements of appropriations statutes.

 


NIAID announce dangerous changes to clinical trial protocols in search for HIV vaccine (and will continue advocating for more circumcision regardless):

http://www.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/2011/Pages/HVAD2011.aspx?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+aidsgovnews+%28AIDS.gov+News+and+Events%29

Excerpt:

 

Quote:

To speed the pace at which promising HIV vaccine candidates become viable for evaluation in large clinical trials, NIAID is exploring the use of innovative or adaptive clinical trial designs that let scientists quickly modify ongoing trials in response to data acquired during the study. Such flexibility in trial design will allow the research community to maximize efficiencies in studying vaccine candidates.
...
public health workers will continue to advocate and implement scientifically proven HIV prevention strategies such as condom use, medically supervised adult male circumcision, harm-reduction strategies for injection drug users and the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

 

 


Edited by Minuteman - 9/5/11 at 4:35am