The United Nations is adopting new steps in its global tsunami-relief campaign to guard against improprieties like those alleged in the oil-for-food program for Iraq, U.N. officials said on Monday. Among the measures in the works are a way to let the public to track every aid dollar via a Web site and the drafting of new rules to protect U.N. staff whistle-blowers. The world body is applying lessons learned from the now-defunct humanitarian aid program for Iraq by adopting measures to ensure "greater accountability and transparency" in the effort it is coordinating to provide relief for victims of last month's Indian Ocean tsunami, spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The United Nations has accepted a no-fee offer from the PricewaterhouseCoopers accounting and consulting firm to help track aid to victims of the giant wave that smashed into Southeast Asian and East African coastlines on Dec. 26, said Kevin Kennedy, a senior official in the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. The firm may also be asked to help promptly investigate any allegations of fraud, waste or abuse that might surface in connection with the tsunami relief drive. --More 2348 Local Time 2048 GMT
