Devex CheckUp: $1.5B health program halted leaving workers without pay

When a $1.5 billion program to deliver COVID-19 vaccines across Africa came to an abrupt spending halt two months ago, it left some of the organizations implementing the program scrambling. And workers in Nigeria were left wondering when — or if — they will recover months of unpaid wages.

The Mastercard Foundation and Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention launched the three-year Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative in 2021 to fill in gaps in COVID-19 vaccine access across the continent. But now that COVID-19 is no longer considered an emergency, the program needs a strategic shift. The funders also began to dig into how program funds were being spent; they called for a snap audit and spending halt at the end of July.

My colleague Sara Jerving got exclusive access to a draft report examining a portion of this spending that raises concerns about people being paid for work that had not been budgeted or at higher rates than what was in the budget; about employees being paid for work that had not been verified; and around general issues such as missing contracts and receipts. Still, the decision to call a snap audit and pause the program with spending only allowed on a case-by-case basis was unexpected. Some employees were left wondering how they would pay their bills.