John Parsons

Who is John Parsons?

John Parsons was the Inspector General for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria from 2008 to November 2012. Under his leadership, the Office of the Inspector General revealed that up to two-thirds of certain Global Fund grants may have been lost to corruption through forged documents, improper bookkeeping, the diversion of donated prescription drugs to the black market, and other irregularities. Two OIG reports identified losses of $10M, which was more than 50 percent of the total funds disbursed to the recipient governments and non-governmental organizations.

In a controversial decision, the Global Fund’s Board terminated Parsons in November 2012. A news release issued by the Global Fund on the removal of Parson’s as Inspector General stated that the Board "made its decision based on factors including: a performance review; an independent external peer review of the audit function; and a report to the Board by its Audit and Ethics Committee." However, the Board has not substantiated the performance allegations or released Parsons’ performance reviews. The Aids Healthcare Foundation called Parson’s dismissal a “hatchet job.”