Media reports of corruption arising from coronavirus-related aid and emergency procurement are starting to circulate. Crises such as the current one, in common with natural disaster situations, inevitably increase the risks of corruption. And that increases the importance of strong corruption prevention.
Last week’s blog about corruption risks in natural disaster situations triggered some interesting feedback. Many observers are seeing the same as I am in the international response to the covid-19 pandemic – namely, that there are striking similarities with the response to earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural disasters in the past.
“Unprecedented” comes up again and again in commentaries on covid-19. But as I listen to more of my colleagues’ and other experts’ reflections on corruption in relation to the pandemic, it strikes me that we’ve seen many of the same features and corruption risks before.
The agility that we pride ourselves on at the Basel Institute is often tested, not least by political turbulence in our partner countries. Beyond its implications for society and its catastrophic impact on victims and health systems, the coronavirus pandemic is the biggest test for us so far.
The enormity of the situation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic invites – or rather forces – us to reflect on the nature and effectiveness of our systems of governance. And not just of health systems, but more broadly the governance of our very complex societies and their transnational flows.
I start with some definitions, as the term governance is itself broad and contested.
News
Mind the gap: building a bridge between research and practice to better fight illegal wildlife trade
When you have a difficult problem to solve, it often helps to look at it from a different angle. And it always helps to collaborate with experts who have different perspectives and skillsets.
This short report provides a framework for leveraging synergies between researchers in the field of social network analysis (SNA) and practitioners in the field of intelligence and law enforcement against illegal wildlife trade (IWT). The synergies between theory and practice are potentially great yet largely unexplored.
In its new report on Breaking the Silence around Sextortion, Transparency International references our work on the recent evolvement of the anti-corruption field towards “documenting and recognising non-monetary forms of corruption”.
Publication
Local health governance in Tajikistan: accountability and power relations at the district level
Relationships of power, responsibility and accountability between health systems actors are considered central to health governance. Despite increasing attention to the role of accountability in health governance a gap remains in understanding how local accountability relations function within the health system in Central Asia. This study addresses this gap by exploring local health governance in two districts of Tajikistan using principal-agent theory.
The results of the study:
Every day, an unknown number of elephant tusks, rhino horn, pangolin scales and other wildlife products – alive and dead – cross the oceans in container ships and cargo flights for use in traditional medicine, crafts and the illegal pet trade. Rare trees are felled in ancient forests and shipped out under false certificates.
They leave behind the butchered carcasses of the last remaining animals of many species, scarred and emptied landscapes, legal livelihoods undermined by corruption and criminal activity, and communities ravaged by organised crime networks.