According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, up to 25% of global procurement funding is lost to corruption. With billions of dollars flowing into developing countries to support their COVID-19 responses, there is an urgent need to ensure that the money goes where it is intended.
WASHINGTON, DC – COVID-19 is a ticking time bomb in Africa. Some of the risks are widely documented. Health-care systems are weak and overburdened, with ten African countries reportedly having no ventilators at all. Food supplies are unstable, and have already suffered major disruptions. And over 18 million people are refugees or internally displaced, leaving them especially vulnerable. But another major obstacle to effective COVID-19 responses is being largely overlooked: widespread corruption.
WASHINGTON, DC – COVID-19 is a ticking time bomb in Africa. Some of the risks are widely documented. Health-care systems are weak and overburdened, with ten African countries reportedly having no ventilators at all. Food supplies are unstable, and have already suffered major disruptions. And over 18 million people are refugees or internally displaced, leaving them especially vulnerable. But another major obstacle to effective COVID-19 responses is being largely overlooked: widespread corruption.