The 70-page draft review - circulated last month to aid officials working in Congo and obtained by The New Humanitarian - looks at everything from corruption within the Ebola response to how women and girls are subjected to sexual exploitation.

The operational review was commissioned by an anti-fraud taskforce created by UN agencies and aid groups in Congo after the NGO Mercy Corps discovered a fraud scheme in late 2018 - first made public this week by TNH - that raised the alarm about widespread corruption and problems with the systems designed to root it out.

The review was shared with TNH by a senior aid official working in Congo who expressed dissatisfaction with how the humanitarian sector is managing fraud and corruption risks.

DFID, a major donor to humanitarian aid in Congo, said it had provided funding for the review because it is committed to tackling fraud and corruption, but refused to comment on the findings and recommendations until a final version is published later this month.

Fraud, mistrust, and lost aid

Ongoing corruption has caused a mutual lack of trust between the aid sector and local communities, who "perceive humanitarian aid as corrupt and driven by external agendas", according to the draft review.