By George Russell
Published July 20, 2011
| FoxNews.com
EXCLUSIVE: Four of the United Nations’ biggest development and aid agencies quietly piled up at least $12.2 billion in unspent cash by the end of 2009, according to a confidential draft report prepared for the government of Norway.
The four agencies with bulging bank accounts are the U.N. Development Program (UNDP), World Food Program (WFP), UNICEF, and the U.N. Population Program (UNFPA). Taken together, their cash position was the equivalent of 84 percent of the money that the four agencies would pull in for all of 2009, according to the study, which was examined by Fox News.
“UNFPA, UNICEF, UNDP and WFP are building up considerable reserves and/or [are] unable to spend a growing share of resources,” the draft report declares.
It adds that “the buildup of reserves implies that substantial donor funding is not being used for development purposes,” and warns that “it may also result in a situation where donors may not fund the U.N. system as much as before, until these reserves are utilized and brought down to an appropriate level.”
