In late July, senior leaders from the U.S. Department of State (State) and U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Offices of Inspector General (OIG) visited Poland and the Ukraine border for meetings on the U.S. response to the humanitarian crisis resulting from Russia’s invasion. The team met with representatives from U.S. Embassy Kyiv and U.S. Embassy Warsaw, and other State, USAID, and Department of Defense personnel. Meetings also were held with officials from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UN World Food Programme, and leadership from aid organizations implementing USAID programming in Ukraine.
The two OIGs serve as the independent oversight arms of their respective agencies and are entrusted by Congress and the American people to conduct independent oversight of U.S. foreign assistance programs and operations. State and USAID received approximately $25 billion in supplemental funding to respond to the situation in Ukraine and in other countries impacted.
The OIGs’ visit, spearheaded by the heads of the two offices—Diana Shaw and Nicole Angarella— reflected their continuing commitment to comprehensive oversight of the Ukraine response effort. The two OIGs have prioritized audit, investigative, and other oversight work related to Ukraine, with plans to make full use of funds received for this purpose.
“Oversight of USAID’s Ukraine response is a top priority for USAID OIG and this visit allowed us to observe first-hand the challenges that the Agency is facing. Our audit and investigative work will identify key areas where programming is at risk or can be improved, while holding those who corrupt or abuse these critical programs accountable,” said Nicole Angarella, the Acting Deputy Inspector General performing the Duties of the Inspector General for USAID. In July, USAID OIG issued an advisory to USAID flagging areas that could compromise aid to Ukraine, and an accompanying fraud schemes alert.
In reflecting on the trip, Diana Shaw, the Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Inspector General at the Department of State, commented, “Observing how the U.S. taxpayer is supporting Ukrainian refugees and wider assistance efforts underscores the importance of robust oversight to ensure that those efforts have the intended effect and deliver the results that taxpayers expect.”
The OIGs are members of a joint working group on Ukraine oversight with counterparts across
the government, including the Department of Defense OIG. The joint working group allows for frequent interagency communication and coordination of Ukraine-related oversight work.
For more information, please contact either USAID OIG’s Congressional and Public Affairs Division at adamkaplan@usaid.gov or State OIG’s at publicaffairs@stateoig.gov.
USAID OIG
U.S. Department of State OIG
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