Dear colleagues,

Further to the donor briefing on the DRC Ebola audit convened on 23 January 2020, we are pleased to share with you an update on the status and actions taken on each of the DRC Ebola audit recommendations. This has taken a little longer to send to you than we would have wished and we thank you for your patience.

You will find that the majority of the recommendations are either closed or proposed for closure. The implementation of a few of the recommendations is still in progress, this is primarily due to constraints related to access, and action will be taken as soon as movement restrictions allow.

Key highlights include:

• The establishment of a biometric database, under the leadership of the World Bank, to centralize the validation and tracking of all payments to Ebola workers is progressing. WHO has been working with Deloitte to reconcile the database against the beneficiary payment list provided by the commission and identify any irregularities. Only payees matched to the database are included in the final reconciled list sent to field offices for payment. The cases of unregistered beneficiary payments is reviewed using a systematic approach prior to payment and to ensure their registration.
• WHO has drastically reduced the use of cash. Between December and now, cash payments to commission staff was brought down from 16% to 1%. A complete ban on cash payments came into effect on 10 February 2020.
• The risk register has been further strengthened and is updated on a monthly basis, and several rounds of trainings have been held with staff.
• Fleet reduction: WHO has reduced its fleet by more than 300 vehicles since 1 December 2019. Furthermore, 98% of the vehicles are now equipped with tracking systems, and fuel consumption for every vehicle is monitored on a regular basis.

WHO is committed to implementing the recommendations of the DRC Ebola audit in full, and will be pushing forward on the implementation of the recommendations still in progress. WHO leadership across the 3-levels is closing monitoring this progress. WHO is also taking on board lessons learned for other responses including the COVID-19 response – among other things, the establishment of a risk register is being put in place for COVID19 in line with that established for the DRC Ebola response.

We look forward to continuing the dialogue with you and are available should you have any questions.

With best regards,

Laila Christine Milad

Head of Unit, CRM/Health Emergencies

External Relations
World Health Organization (WHO)

Tel. +4122 791 4793 ¦ Email. miladl@who.int

Website: WHO in emergencies | WHO Facebook | WHO Twitter