Investigation reveals misuse by UN Global Fund

While controversy is not new to Bono's Product (RED) campaign, a new level of scrutiny has brought an entirely disappointing and discouraging amount of misuse of funds to the surface....

- - -- - -

Report: Corruption Plagues Charity Backed By Bono

As much as two thirds of some grants lost or misspent

By SARA DOVER

Celebrity do-gooder Bono can't be happy about this: the nonprofit he is raising millions of dollars for is plagued with fraud.

As much as two thirds of grants donated to celebrity-supportedGlobal Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria have been lost in corruption, the Associated Press found.

The findings are a major blow to U2 frontman's goals for (Product) Red, the global charity brand he co-launched that donates a large portion of its proceeds to the organization to fight and raise awareness about AIDS.

Forged documents and improper bookkeeping indicate that a large percentage of the money in the $21.7 billion development fund was lost or embezzled, investigators told the Associated Press. And so far, the inspector general's office has only examined a fraction of the $10 billion spent since the organization began in 2002. ...

Read the entire article here

Is money enough for Africa?

This article is from a couple of years ago, but was recently brought to my attention. It tackles the Africa question from a different angle than we are accustomed to. In the global charity space, usually the discussion is over the observable results of a project - does the water well work? how much has disease been reduced? The 'secular' metrics of a project are highly important.

But what about cultural and spiritual metrics? How are we challenging and changing people's lives, hearts, and families in ways that can promote development. The article below tackles this question in a very unique way. Enjoy - -

As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God
Missionaries, not aid money, are the solution to Africa's biggest problem - the crushing passivity of the people's mindset
by Matthew Parris

Before Christmas I returned, after 45 years, to the country that as a boy I knew as Nyasaland. Today it's Malawi, and The Times Christmas Appeal includes a small British charity working there. Pump Aid helps rural communities to install a simple pump, letting people keep their village wells sealed and clean. I went to see this work.

It inspired me, renewing my flagging faith in development charities. But travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I've been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I've been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.

Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good. ...

Read the entire article here