New Global Fund investigator protects social spending

GENEVA – The Inspector General of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, Martin O’Malley, announced the appointment of Katie Hodson, effective January 2014, as the new Director of Investigations.
Social spending invites fraud and through experience, the Global Fund has learned to protect its own interests and to safeguard the money it spends to alleviate the impact of Aids, TB and malaria.
For this purpose, the Global Fund has to sponsor a whole division whose only task is to prevent and investigate fraud, in effect reducing the funds available for the Fund’s primary function.
Ms. Hodson has more than 20 years of experience in conducting and supervising investigations. Most recently, she served at Novartis International AG as the Global Head of Investigations, where she managed a team of 30 investigators working on international matters. She has extensive experience leading investigations in many of the countries where partners of the Global Fund implement grants.
Overall, Ms. Hodson has broad international experience handling cases of diversion and counterfeiting as well as numerous investigations involving corporate security and misconduct .

“Katie is an outstanding investigator, with terrific experience” said Mr. O’Malley. “She brings an excellent combination of technical, intellectual and personal skills to this role. She will be a key factor in the Global Fund’s ability to deliver maximum impact with its resources.”
The Fund said the Office of the Inspector General is critical to the success of the Global Fund. The Board of the Global Fund is fully committed to the highest standards of transparency and accountability in all matters, including the audits and investigations produced by the Office of the Inspector General.
The Office of the Inspector General works to ensure that the Global Fund invests the world’s money in the most effective way possible in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Through audits, investigations, oversight and consultancy work, it makes objective and transparent recommendations to promote good practice, reduce risk and condemn abuse.