The ignored pandemic of public health corruption: a call for action amid and beyond SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19

ABSTRACT

Corruption in healthcare is on the rise. When corruption infiltrates global health, causes embezzlement of public health funds, malfunctioning medical equipment, fraudulent or ineffective health services such as expired medicines and fake vaccines that could have life-or-death consequences. A corrupt healthcare system, amid global health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, when resources are in constraint and trust is in high demand, can lead to devastating, though avoidable, health and economic consequences. It is imperative for policymakers, health experts, patients, caregivers, and global health funders to promptly acknowledge and address corruption in healthcare. The current pandemic generates an emergency and disorder state on health care systems across the globe, especially in low- and middleincome countries, where a weakening of control measures is evident, creating the perfect storm for corruption. This paper builds on existing research to examine processes that support essential stakeholder engagement in anti-corruption efforts. In this context, an extensive review of literature has been conducted by using various databases such as PubMed, Science direct, SCOPUS, Research Gate, and Google Scholar and a total of 45 articles and documents on corruption and COVID-19 were screened and selected by authors independently. To fill the knowledge gaps about the need for actions to be taken during a pandemic like COVID-19, we propose an anti-corruption grassroots movement that focuses on changing the social norms surrounding corruption in healthcare. By pushing forward a practice that normalizes conversations about corruption in everyday health practices and involving more stakeholders in the protection of public health resources, we argue that not only local health systems can become more resilient and resistant to corruption, but also global health initiatives can become more effective and efficient to improve individual and global health.