Japan's Board of Audit investigated 426 cases of "voluntary contributions" made by the government to international organizations between fiscal 2018 and 2021, and found that 145 cases or more than 30%, had been poorly managed. In one case, funds for the domestic purchase of COVID-19 vaccines were actually allocated to developing countries without any disclosure.
In October 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare provided 17.2 billion yen to COVAX, an international framework to jointly purchase and distribute vaccines, to procure vaccines for domestic use. However, vaccines became available directly from vaccine manufacturers so there were no need to purchase through COVAX and the majority of the contribution was not used. In March 2022 the remaining 16.6 billion yen was reallocated to developing countries without it being mentioned in any government report.
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare argued that contributing vaccines to developing countries will also contribute to control infection in Japan so it does not deviate significantly from the original purpose. Senior official at the Board of Audit, however, countered that the fact reallocation was not disclosed is the real problem. In principle, a new budget should then have been allocated for developing countries.
by MagazineKey4532