IFAC MOU Partners – GAVI, Global Fund, USAID & PAFA, Advance Accountability in the Public Sector
In a groundbreaking move, the African Professionalisation Initiative (API) has forged a strategic alliance with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to propel accountability within the public health sector by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on 13 March 2024. This MOU marks a significant milestone in the ongoing efforts of various stakeholders including the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA), GAVI, Global Fund, African Association of Accountants General (AAAG), CREFIAF, and AFROSAI-E, to fortify public financial management systems.
IFAC MOU With Partners
Key areas of focus within this collaboration include bolstering the development of professional accountancy organisations (PAOs) to augment public financial management, reporting, accountability, and transparency. Additionally, efforts will be directed towards enhancing public financial management systems to effectively support health outcomes and impact.
The MOU sets forth pivotal objectives aimed at fostering collaboration among the involved entities. These objectives include establishing a robust platform for joint initiatives, encompassing awareness-raising activities, scoping capacity-building projects, and facilitating dialogue with stakeholders. Moreover, the collaboration will extend its reach to national interventions, providing vital training and capacity-building for finance personnel across governmental bodies.
Combating Financial Malpractice
Building upon this foundation, the USAID coordinating group is proposing a focused endeavor to combat corruption within the health sector. Particular emphasis will be placed on addressing issues related to substandard and falsified medical products (anti-virals) and combating theft, fraud, and misuse in public health supply chains.
This initiative paves the way for a comprehensive joint engagement involving IFAC, PAFA, GAVI, Global Fund, USAID, and API, with initial pilot initiatives set to roll out in select countries. The expansion of these initiatives will be driven by country interest and funding availability, promising a concerted effort to drive positive change and ensure accountability within the public health sector.
As stakeholders unite under this collaborative framework, the stage is set to drive meaningful impact and usher in a new era of accountability in public health.
API Partner Organisations
The API is a partnership between the accountancy profession (represented by the Pan African Federation of Accountants (“PAFA”)), accountants general, the African Association of Accountants General – (“AAAG”), and supreme audit institutions or courts of auditors represented by the English (“AFROSAI-E”) and French (“CREFIAF”) language sub-groups of the African Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (“AFROSAI”)).
Enhancing Management of Donors and Government Funding
Through this strategic partnership, the IFAC MOU partners seek to enhance the management of donor and government funding within the health sector, ultimately leading to tangible benefits for citizens across Africa. By empowering auditors (external and internal) and financial professionals with specialized training in performance audits for health sector commodities, the programme aims to enhance aid effectiveness and improve the quality of healthcare services in numerous countries on the continent.
Sustainable Development
The new learning programme aligns closely with API’s overarching vision of cultivating a greater number of ethical, competent, and influential professionals who are dedicated to upholding principles of accountability, transparency, and good financial governance. By investing in the professional development of audit professionals, USAID, API and the IFAC MOU partners are demonstrating their commitment to fostering sustainable growth and development across the region in line with the African Union Agenda 2063 as well as the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Good Financial Governance
Speaking on the partnership, representatives from IFAC and USAID emphasized the agency’s unwavering support for API’s mission, highlighting the critical role that well-trained professionals play in driving positive change within the public sector. The collaboration between these partners underscores a shared commitment to advancing financial governance practices in Africa, ultimately paving the way for improved service delivery and enhanced outcomes for the continent’s citizens.
As the learning programme on performance audits for health sector commodities takes shape, stakeholders across Africa eagerly anticipate the positive impact it will have on aid effectiveness, financial governance, and the quality of healthcare services. With the partners’ commitment to this initiative, the future looks brighter for countries striving to build a more transparent, accountable, and efficient health sector for the benefit of all.
About The API
The African Professionalisation Initiative is an independent non-profit organisation whose primary objective is to strengthen the capacity and knowledge base of accounting and auditing professionals in the African public sector to enhance accounting and auditing service delivery to the citizens of Africa.
Our Vision: An African public sector sustainably capacitated with competent, ethical and influential professionals who support accountability, transparency and good financial governance.
Our Mission: To grow the capacity of accountancy professionals in the African public sector for enhanced service delivery.
API is not a PAO
API is not a PAO but rather an enabler or a catalyst for professionalisation of public sector accountants and auditors to accelerate accountability and transparency in the public sector. This will lead to growth or increase in the number of professional accountants eligible for membership in country PAOs thus making those PAOs and the accountancy profession stronger within the country, continentally (through PAFA) and at the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) level.