Corruption Hinders COVID 19 Containment Measures

By Khalifa Hemed
Published June 18, 2020

Patricia Scotland, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, says “The impact of unsustainable debt on governments’ ability to fund essential services such as health and education and to direct funds to social and economic development is dire and damaging."Corruption is a major hindrance to the fight against COVID 19 and long-term development around the world.

Referring to corruption as a ‘corrosive cancer’ during the annual conference of the Commonwealth Caribbean Association of Integrity Commissions and Anti-Corruption Bodies (CCAICACB), Patricia Scotland, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, noted that an estimated US$1 trillion is paid in bribes globally, while an estimated US$2.6 trillion is stolen annually through corruption, a sum she said was equivalent to more than five per cent of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

RELATED: Is the Indian in Africa a Villain or a Political Scapegoat?

Saying “illicit financial flows cost developing countries US$1.26 trillion per year, enough money to lift 1.4 billion people out of poverty and keep them there for at least six years,” Scotland said that “United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) estimates that funds lost to corruption in developing countries are 10 times the amount dispersed in official development assistance. Transparency International states corruption in the health sector alone costs US$500 billion every year, more than the amount needed for worldwide universal health coverage’.”

The Secretary-General, who called for ‘swift and decisive action’ to improve transparency and accountability, said corruption would not only undermine efforts to defeat the Covid-19 pandemic but also deprive vulnerable communities of vital funding for social and economic development.

RELATED: Africa Should Adopt Intelligent Transport Infrastructure

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *