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Ministry of Health says it plans to demand full refund for the monies paid for the substandard condoms it imported recently. This will be in compliance with one of the recommendations made in a report presented to the Ministry of Health by a committee that was tasked to investigate the matter. According to the Minister of Health, Sherry Ayittey, the Ministry is expecting nothing but a full refund of the monies used to import the condoms called �Be Safe Condoms� worth US$6 million from the Global Fund money. �We at the Ministry of Health will study the contents of the report; at least I can say that we are not going to accept replacement and the supplier will have to refund every money to this country because our integrity as a nation has been dainted in the international community.� She said, �If we have to go to the international court to get our money we can go back on international tender and then get another supply.� Receiving the report in Accra, Madam Sherry Ayittey sought the advice of the Attorney General's Department to prosecute all those who will be held liable for the shoddy transaction. �For the criminality of the report we will rely on the Attorney General to advice us on those who need to be criminally prosecuted and I think that we will stand by the recommendations of the committee.� The substandard condoms were procured by the Ministry of Health to fight HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. The Committee�s Chairman, Professor Alex Doudu reminded the Health Ministry of the need to always follow due diligence in awarding contracts to its clients. �The reason why we took it seriously and realized that this is a responsibility we have to take is that the funds used for the contract came from the Global Fund and if we have received money from global agencies the least we could do is to use it responsibly and to ensure value for money.� According to him, the committee uncovered some deficiencies which characterized the tendering processes that led to the award of the contract. �In carrying out our work we did identify several deficiencies and weaknesses across several layers of our society.� Among the committee�s recommendations, the Ministry of Health is expected to make policy recommendations and binding guidelines on the quality of condoms procured by the Ministry using Global Fund resources. That such a policy should include a requirement that all condoms procured using external resources should be from companies pre-qualified by the WHO for the supply of condoms or companies meeting the applicable required standards as per WHO/UNFPA guidelines. The committee also recommended that circulation of the sub-standard condoms had negatively impacted on the perception of the public about the brand, �Be safe� and hence recommended strongly that the Ministry of Health should evaluate whether its continued interest in the brand will enable it achieve its original stated intentions in creating the brand in the first place. And that if the Ministry intends to continue with the �Be safe� brand, pre-qualified suppliers should able to meet the WHO/UNFPA guidelines to make future procurement less problematic. Also, the committee recommended that the Ministry of Health should specify the roles and activities of the central medical stores, especially in relation to the overall quality assurance condoms, medical devices and other health commodities.