Case study
Fraud
Product Issues
Image
December 2023
Substandard Health Products
Wrongdoing
Product Issues
What Are Product Issues?
Product issues can be related to the quality of the health products, including manufacturing or design defects that may impact the quality of the products, labeling, packaging, declared content ingredients or formulas.
Why Should You Care About Product Issues?
- Product issues weaken the ability of countries to fight the three diseases. Product issues can result in patients not receiving life-saving medicines or other health products such as insecticide treated mosquito nets that they are entitled to.
- It can result in patients having to buy medicines or other health products they should receive for free. It can also lead patients to unknowingly buy sub-standard or counterfeit products that can endanger their health.
- Product issues reduce the potential impact of Global Fund grants, discredit the ability of the Global Fund to carry out its mission and cause grant funds and medicines to be lost.
How Do You Spot Product Issues in Programs Supported by the Global Fund?
- Stock-outs of free medicines at public health facilities.
- Medicines labelled “Not for Retail Sale” in private pharmacies and markets for purchase.
- Medicines that have limited or no effect.
Report product issues
Anyone can report fraud and abuse to the Office of the Inspector General. Our anonymous reporting channels are designed to be:
Safe
Confidential
Easy
Some of the most common types of fraud and abuse are listed below. But this doesn’t cover everything. Learn more in "what to report."
-
Stealing money or medicine
-
Fake invoicing
-
Staging of fake training events
-
Counterfeiting drugs
-
Irregularities in tender processes
-
Bribery and kickbacks
-
Abuse of power or authority for personal gain
-
Conflict of interest
-
Personal use of assets
Please, make your report as specific and complete as possible using the following questions as a guide:
-
What is the type of wrongdoing you are reporting?
-
What happened exactly? Please provide details.
-
Where and when did it take place?
-
Who was involved? Please share full name, title, and office.
-
How did you become aware of this wrongdoing? Did you witness it?
-
Do you have evidence of this wrongdoing? (Please provide any evidence that you have) Do you know if evidence exists? How do you know, and where can we find it?
-
Who else knows? Can we contact them? (Please provide their contact details)
-
Why do you think it should be investigated?
-
Do you have any other relevant information?
The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) guarantees protection of your identity. If you make a report in good faith, no retaliation will be tolerated. You can remain anonymous regardless of how you choose to report fraud or abuse. Please note, however, that if the OIG cannot contact you for further information or for clarification, it can sometimes make it difficult to investigate your report further.
If you want to remain anonymous, you may use the online form to report your claim. When you complete the online form, you will receive a personal identification number that will allow you to check for updates while at the same enabling the Global Fund to ask follow-up questions. All online submissions are managed by an independent company, which does not turn over your personal information to the OIG.
If you do provide your personal details when making a report, the OIG will not disclose them unless you give your explicit consent.
As soon as possible. Grant recipients are obligated to inform the Office of the Inspector General of all allegations of fraud and abuse as soon as it is known.
Staff at the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) will screen your report to determine the most appropriate action. This could lead to an investigation by OIG staff or a referral to national authorities. Alternatively, where appropriate, the matter may be referred to other areas of the Global Fund for action.
