165 vehicles missing from malaria inspection reports

A total of 165 vehicles funded for malaria activities have raised serious accountability questions after failing to appear in inspection reports.

The Global Fund’s Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found that only 345 of 510 vehicles linked to activities implemented by World Vision Malawi were captured in the reports, leaving 165 vehicles unaccounted for in the inspections.

The finding is contained in an OIG report dated 5 June 2025, which examined activities implemented by World Vision Malawi between 2020 and 2021, particularly procurement linked to Indoor Residual Spraying campaigns.

According to the report, the absence of inspection records meant the OIG could not fully verify whether some malaria activities “actually took place as reported.”

The OIG also identified other weaknesses in vehicle-related expenditure, including 13 invoices from local supplier Planet Car Hire that were found to be fraudulent, resulting in US$46,922 in non-compliant transactions.

Some vehicles listed in the documents as 13-seater Land Cruisers, SUVs or buses were instead found to be registered as motorcycles or small cars, which the OIG said were unsuitable for transporting personnel and equipment.

The investigation further found that three summary invoices worth US$27,284 covering 40 vehicles lacked supporting individual invoices, while 35 of the 40 vehicle reference numbers were duplicates of previously paid periods.

A further US$56,857 in vehicle hire expenditure could not be verified because 15 billing documents lacked sufficient supporting evidence.

The OIG classified a total of US$125,901 as non-compliant expenditure.

World Vision Malawi, however, says the irregularities were identified through its own internal oversight systems and that corrective measures were taken before the OIG completed its investigation.

World Vision Malawi Country Director Francis Dube said the issues related to incidents identified in 2020 and that the organisation conducted investigations before reporting the matter to the OIG.

“The OIG subsequently undertook an independent validation investigation to confirm the findings and assess the adequacy of corrective actions taken,” Dube said.

He said World Vision Malawi terminated relationships with implicated entities, ended the employment of staff found to have breached organisational standards, reimbursed the Global Fund where required and pursued recoveries from companies involved.

The organisation also blacklisted offending suppliers and strengthened its internal systems and controls, including digitalised document management and enhanced oversight mechanisms, according to Dube.

The OIG findings come as Malawi prepares for its next major Global Fund grant, with wider questions being raised over procurement controls, documentation and oversight of donor-funded health programmes.

World Vision Malawi served as Principal Recipient for one of Malawi’s malaria grants from 2016 to 2023 and continues as a Principal Recipient for a TB/HIV grant under Grant Cycle 8.

Between 2021 and 2023, the organisation implemented approximately US$33 million in Global Fund-supported activities, with travel-related costs, including vehicle hire, accounting for US$11.5 million.

The vehicle findings have therefore become part of a wider debate over whether Malawi has adequate safeguards to ensure that funds intended for HIV, tuberculosis and malaria programmes are properly accounted for.

Civil society representatives have also raised broader governance concerns surrounding the selection of Principal Recipients for Grant Cycle 8, prompting the Malawi Global Fund Coordinating Committee to restart the Community Principal Recipient selection process.

The renewed process is expected to include additional safeguards, including greater civil society representation, parallel submission of applications to the CCM Secretariat and an independent entity, and a fresh call requiring previous applicants to resubmit.

For patients and communities relying on Global Fund-supported malaria, HIV and tuberculosis interventions, the wider question is whether Malawi’s systems can ensure that money allocated for health programmes reaches its intended purpose.

The upcoming Principal Recipient selection is therefore being viewed not only as an administrative process but also as a test of confidence in the systems responsible for managing critical health investments.