An internal audit by the United Nations Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) has revealed significant institutional mismanagement, weak planning, and financial waste within humanitarian assistance programs managed by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Bangladesh. The oversight report, which evaluated operations conducted between January 2023 and December 2024, details systemic gaps that led to duplicated infrastructure, non-operational facilities, and inflated procurement costs.
According to the OIOS findings, insufficient project planning resulted in substantial resources being directed toward facilities that ultimately remained vacant or underutilized. Specifically, a specialized hospital in Ukhiya constructed for $1.5 million and a 20-bed inpatient facility in Bhasan Char valued at $200,000 were left entirely unused despite being fully equipped with medical infrastructure and solar power systems. Furthermore, a digital health information system that cost over $165,000 has remained completely non-operational since 2018.
The audit also identified severe deficiencies in healthcare delivery and supply chain monitoring. OIOS noted that inadequate epidemic preparedness plans and a shortage of disease prevention initiatives contributed to measurable increases in respiratory infections and Hepatitis C cases among refugees during 2024. In terms of procurement, the report highlighted instances where blacklisted vendors were awarded major contracts. In one case, a company previously flagged for altering the expiration dates on medical needles received a subsequent contract worth $1.82 million.
Financial oversight failures extended heavily into infrastructure and logistics. The report documented widespread duplication of water networks and tube wells by overlapping organizations, alongside inflated construction contracts that exceeded market rates by 26 percent, causing an estimated $6.5 million in unnecessary expenditures. Logistical discrepancies included ongoing rental payments for vacant office buildings and underutilized transport vehicles. In response to the report, UNHCR spokesperson Shari Nijman stated that the agency is committed to transparency and has initiated measures to enforce stricter oversight and address the audit’s recommendations.
