MBABANE – An audit has revealed that 90 per cent of protective clothing donated to Eswatini by UNICEF expired in storage before being distributed.
The 600 000 coveralls were donated as part of a global cholera preparedness initiative. It has been established that the audit was conducted by the Office of Internal Audit and Investigations (OIAI). According to the audit report, the Eswatini Country Office (ECO) facilitated the donation of the protective clothing valued at E52 million at the time the aid was extended to the kingdom. The value of the coveralls amounted to US$2.7 million, with the exchange rate averaging at E19.30/US$1 at the time of the donation.
Based on the report, 90 per cent the protective clothing expired in storage before being distributed and this translates to a loss of E47.7 million. It also means only protective clothing valued at E5.3 million was utilised. The donation was made to the Eswatini Government by the UNICEF Supply Division. It was meant to strengthen the country’s readiness against possible cholera outbreaks.
However, the audit, which covered the period from January 2024 to July 2025, found serious lapses in planning, storage and distribution of the supplies. It was conducted between July and August 2025 in line with the Institute of Internal Auditors’ Global Internal Audit Standards.
It is stated in the report that while the partner’s main warehouse had generally acceptable storage conditions, UNICEF supplies were scattered across multiple locations, including areas not designated for active inventory and even in a warehouse meant for waste materials.
This, according to the report, compromised the usability and traceability of the supplies. The audit report further mentions that samples checked by the audit team in different locations were found to have expired. Warehouse staff reportedly told auditors that all supplies were from the same shipment and shared the same expiry date.
Due to what the report describes as a lack of cooperation from the government partner’s warehouse staff, auditors were unable to access documentation needed to reconcile the partner’s records with those of the ECO. The report states that no formal assessment of Eswatini’s needs was undertaken before the donation was made. It is mentioned that the government partner appreciated the donation but indicated that other needs, such as vaccines, drugs and medical equipment, were of higher priority.
Furthermore, the report notes that the ECO did not evaluate the government partner’s capacity to receive, store and distribute such a large volume of supplies. There was also no distribution plan or end-user monitoring to ensure that the supplies reached the intended beneficiaries in the expected condition and timeframe.
It is also stated in the report that the donation was not reviewed by any of the ECO’s governance bodies and the related risks were not captured in any risk assessment.
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Some expired, others still viable – ministry
MBABANE – Nsindiso Tsabedze, the Communications Officer in the Ministry of Health, stated that the ministry could confirm that there was stock of specialised PPE Suits/Coveralls at the Central Medical Stores (CMS), which were received at the peak of COVID-19.
Tsabedze said it was received under the COVID-19 programme as per records in the warehouse management system. The communications officer said they could not confirm if this was the stock under question because they did not have the specifics of the audit, such as the donation reference number.
He, however, pointed out that the ministry had received donations from UNICEF and other government partners in the past. He said some of the PPE suits, referred to above, had reached their expiry date while others were still viable.
Tsabedze said these protective clothing could only be used for purposes of response to public health emergencies such as COVID-19 or cholera outbreaks, which is normally led by the ministry’s Emergency Preparedness and Response (EPR) department.
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