Report fraud or abuse

Featured documents

Unitaid has no tolerance for acts of wrongdoing in projects which it funds.

Wrongdoing includes fraud, bribery, corruption and misappropriation, among other things. A permanent hotline has been established to make it easier for you to come forward and report your concerns. Full confidentiality is guaranteed for anyone using the line. Please alert us immediately if you believe that wrongdoing has occurred or is occurring within a Unitaid -funded project. Your help in identifying and reporting any wrongdoing that has come to your attention is really important to us. Wrongful acts take resources away from Unitaid’s objectives of improving access to treatments and diagnostics for HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in low-income countries.

Further information on using the Hotline and the types of wrongdoing which should be reported is set out below.

Who administers the integrity hotline?

The hotline service is provided by NAVEX Global, a professional, independent organization with impartial staff trained to handle these types of reports.

NAVEX Global will handle reporting of issues involving the World Health Organization (WHO) and WHO’s hosted partnerships such as Unitaid.

Who can use the hotline?

All Unitaid stakeholders, including employees, grant recipients and Project country beneficiaries of Unitaid grants should report wrongdoing occurring in Unitaid-funded projects. Anyone else who is aware of such wrongdoing is also strongly encouraged to report it using the Hotline.

What should you report?

You should use the Hotline if you suspect that wrongdoing may have occurred or is occurring in a Unitaid-funded project.

The following list gives an indication of types of wrongdoing that should be reported but is not exhaustive:

  • Stealing money, medicine or equipment
  • Fake invoicing
  • Using grant money for personal use
  • Wastage of resources
  • Staging of fake training events or conferences
  • Unnecessary or excessive travel
  • Irregularities in tender processes (such as fraudulent bids, bid collusion, bid manipulation, coercive practices, etc.)
  • Misappropriation of assets
  • Counterfeiting drugs
  • Bribery and payment of kickbacks
  • Unreported and/ or unmanaged conflicts of interest
  • Human rights violations within Unitaid-funded projects
  • Abuses of power, authority or position for personal gain
  • Sabotage
  • Unethical behaviour in clinical research (such as failure to obtain informed consent or enforce relevant clinical practice standards)
  • Failure to maintain medical confidentiality
  • Any incident creating a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety
  • Sexual exploitation or abuse
  • Any other acts of unethical behaviour or misconduct

How to report fraud and abuse to NAVEX Global

You can contact NAVEX Global confidentially:

What information should you include?

Substantiating your report with responses to the following questions will facilitate the management of the case:

  • What is the type of wrongdoing you are reporting?
  • Where and when did it take place?
  • What happened exactly?
  • How did you become aware of the incident?
  • Who was involved?
  • Who else knows?
  • Do you have any other relevant information?

What happens next?

The information you give will be passed on to WHO through its Compliance, Risk Management and Ethics (CRE) office who will act on it without compromising you in any way. After submitting your report, you will be given a unique code to call back with more information or follow-up. CRE will always respect confidentiality, and inform you of any next steps.

If you require guidance or fear retaliation, CRE offers confidential and impartial advice and support on how to handle the situation. CRE can be contacted using the following confidential email address ethicsoffice@who.int

How can you report?

Grantees with  a grant agreement in place with Unitaid can either use the standard fraud and abuse reporting templates indicated in their grant agreements or the Hotline if they wish to remain anonymous. Other stakeholders or interested persons may use the Hotline. The matter will be referred for investigation, if warranted.

Anonymity and confidentiality

NAVEX Global is contractually forbidden to pass on any information to WHO without your permission.

Confidentiality is very important to us. Whichever method you decide to use to contact NAVEX Global, rest assured that you can remain totally anonymous if you wish. We will not attempt to trace your details at any time, and should you volunteer your details they will not be passed to WHO unless you give us your  consent  to do so  in your report.

Remember that the more information you provide, the more likely it is that WHO can satisfactorily resolve the incident. This is particularly so if you have chosen to remain anonymous, as your report will only be reviewable if independent and substantiated data can corroborate the information you have shared.

When you have completed the report, the information will be forwarded to NAVEX Global in an encrypted format. No cookies or any other information is stored on your computer.

Sign Up for Unitaid Updates

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.