A politically well connected organization that promotes abstinence education received a major federal grant last fall under the president’s AIDS program despite its proposal having been rated “not suitable for funding” by an independent review panel. A Feb. 15 letter from Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) to Randall L. Tobias, head of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), made public Waxman’s repeated requests for basic information on the administration of PEPFAR and demanded information on the unusual grant. On Nov. 1, 2004 the administration’s global AIDS office approved a grant for an unspecified amount to the Children’s AIDS Fund, an 18-year-old AIDS service organization that has become a leading proponent of abstinence-based AIDS prevention. The Children’s AIDS Fund originally submitted its grant request as part of an international competition for the funding of abstinence activities. Each grant request was reviewed by a technical panel. On Oct. 5, 2004, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced that through a “competitive process” the agency was awarding 11 organizations with HIV prevention grants. The fund was not one of the 11 organizations. The review panel found that the organization had “serious technical issues” that had not been resolved, and that the proposal was “not suitable for funding.” However, on Nov. 1, the administration’s global AIDS office secretly approved a grant for an unspecified amount of money to the Children’s AIDS Fund. The decision by the panel was overruled by the head of the USAID, a key agency implementing the five-year, $15 billion Bush AIDS plan. USAID Director Andrew Natsios defended the grant, stating that Uganda, where the fund does much of its program work, has been a leader in the Abstinence, Be Faithful, Condoms (ABC) approach to HIV prevention. He also argued that the money would be funneled to a group with ties to Janet Museveni, the wife of Uganda’s president, Yoweri K. Museveni. The scope of work and the amount of money the Children’s AIDS Fund will get are still under negotiation. Although the work was originally to be done in Zambia and South Africa, the USAID officials said that might change. The amount of money the 11 other groups will get has also not been decided, but USAID has indicated that the 11 organizations will each receive about $9 million. The Children’s AIDS Fund award is likely to be comparable to the others. The USAID grants are for efforts to support HIV/AIDS work in other countries. The purpose of the review is to ensure that taxpayer money is directed to programs that are successful. Funding grant requests that have been found “not suitable for funding” is a reckless disregard for taxpayer money. It can undermine the integrity of the entire program and is rarely done. Some critics complain the grant reeks of political cronyism. Formerly known as Americans for a Sound HIV/AIDS policy, the Children’s AIDS Fund is politically well connected. The organization’s cofounder, Anita Smith, has close ties to the Bush administration. Two months after the grant was approved, Bush appointed Smith to co-chair the President’s Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. Additionally, her husband, Shepard Smith, is an appointee on the Advisory Committee to the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The lack of information about membership of the panel is an additional concern. According to the Washington Post, USAID would not reveal the membership of the advisory panel, saying it was a “procurement matter,” making it secret. Many federal agencies, such as the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health turn to committees of outside experts for advice. In most cases, membership is public information. For this program to be truly accountable and transparent, the membership must be made public.