Global shame as Cameroon ordered to repay €1.3 million of Looted Covid-19 Funds ⁰

In a searing indictment of embezzlement and misappropriation and reckless corruption, Cameroon has been thrust into the eye of an international storm; its name dragged through the mud by the very scandal that ought never to have happened: the mismanagement of precious funds meant to save lives. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the world’s leading financier of health programs in low-income countries, has delivered a damning ultimatum: repay €1.3 million, (FCFA 852,744,282) or face severe consequences. This comes after an April 2025 delegation to Yaoundé unearthed a tragic litany of fiscal chaos, ineligible expenditures, and grotesque misuse of Covid-19 relief funds. What was meant to preserve life has now become a theater of disgrace.

In what reads like a tragic poem of state dysfunction, auditors and investigators scoured ledgers and warehouses, only to find a tale of 238 second-hand freezers, alleged medicine thefts, and vanishing equipment – all under the shadow of a health system gasping for breath. At the heart of the storm is Cameroon’s own Ministry of Public Health, led by Minister Malachie Manaouda, whose name is now etched into the global ledger of embarrassment. Even more damning: the delegation met with the Secretary General of the Presidency, Ferdinand Ngoh Ngoh, and the Minister of Finance, Louis-Paul Motaze; clear evidence that this scandal has touched the upper echelons of Cameroonian power. Despite promises and posturing, the rot ran deep.

The Global Fund’s Head of Grant Management, Mark Edington, delivered a stinging rebuke during a high-level meeting at the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva. He did not mince words. Cameroon must comply with its co-financing commitments or face a brutal 20% slash in future grants. A blow that could leave millions without medicine, testing kits, or hope. Is this another shameful legacy of Paul Biya? That funds meant to shield our people from death are turned into a feast for the corrupt?

This is not the first time Cameroon has danced dangerously close to international condemnation. A 2022 report placed the nation among a quartet—alongside Mali, Mauritania, and Zambia—that had allegedly misappropriated a staggering US$25 million in grants. That revelation triggered Sweden to withhold its Global Fund contribution. Even earlier, in 2021, the Global Fund’s Inspector General had warned of weaknesses in Cameroon’s financial governance. And now, the chickens have come home to roost.

Where is the outrage? Where is the accountability?

In an era where every franc counts and every vial of medicine could mean the difference between life and death, the Cameroonian government has, in spectacular fashion, fumbled the moral imperative of stewardship. This is more than a bureaucratic blunder; it is a betrayal of the sick, the poor, and the vulnerable. It is a moral crime.

The silence from Etoudi is deafening. President Paul Biya’s administration, already marred by decades of opacity, now finds itself facing international censure and domestic indignation. With public health on the line and national honor under siege, the government must act swiftly.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

•          Launch an independent, international audit with full transparency.

•          Prosecute those responsible for embezzlement, no matter how high their rank.

•          Publicly commit to a reform of all Global Fund grant management processes.

•          Restore public trust through regular and transparent communication with Cameroonians.

•          Establish an oversight task force comprising civil society, international observers, and anti-corruption experts.

Cameroon stands at a moral crossroads. It can either cleanse its institutions and restore dignity, or wallow in the mire of disgrace while the world watches in horror. The time for spin is over. The era of silence must end. History is watching; and it will not be kind.

By Soter Tarh Agbaw-Ebai