Ukraine: A billion to be spent to fight the flu. The government promises oversight – but by state officials, not independent community representatives

On the 3rd of November, the Creative Union “TORO”, the contact group of Transparency International in Ukraine, sent an open letter to the Prime-Minister of Ukraine Yuliya Timoshenko, addressing the lack of transparency in allocation of funds to flu prevention initiatives.

In the summer of this year, the government of Ukraine announced an expenditure of 50 million hryvnas (approx. US$6.5 million or approx. €4.8 million) for the prevention of A/H1N1 flu. On the 3rd of November, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine allocated an additional 1 billion hryvnas (around 125 million US dollars) for fighting any potential flu epidemic in Ukraine.

On the 5th of November, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine created a commission that will monitor the distribution of the funds. The newly created commission will control the purchase of medicines, medical supplies, and services to help prevent the spread of the A/H1N1 flu, better known as ‘swine flu’.

With the aim of preventing possible abuses, the Ministry of Health invited representatives of the Chamber of Accounts of Ukraine, the State Service of Fighting Economic Crimes of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, and the Security Service of Ukraine to become members of the commission.

Creative Union “TORO” welcomes the quick response of Ukrainian officials to our open letter. We support the initiative of the Ministry of Health to create this special oversight commission.

However, the decision of the Ministry of Health to restrict membership in the commission to state officials deprives the Ukrainian population of the possibility of gaining a full and accurate account of how these resources will be used. The legitimacy of this commission in the eyes of the public will depend on the involvement of independent community and civil society representatives.

Transparency International is the global leader in the fight against corruption, with national chapters in more than 90 countries around the globe. Creative Union “TORO”, as the contact group of Transparency International in Ukraine, is ready to delegate its representatives to work in the newly created commission.

Read More: www.toro.org.ua/en/news