Ensuring Integrity in Governments' Response to COVID-19
Governments around the world are designing and implementing rapid responses to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic. In this effort, they are faced with three extraordinary challenges: (1) a public health emergency to contain the virus including ide...
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| Format: | Policy Note |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/801501588782665210/Ensuring-Integrity-in-the-Governance-and-Institutional-Response-to-COVID-19 http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33705 |
| Summary: | Governments around the world are
designing and implementing rapid responses to the COVID-19
(coronavirus) pandemic. In this effort, they are faced with
three extraordinary challenges: (1) a public health
emergency to contain the virus including identifying and
treating infected populations; (2) widespread food and
livelihood insecurity due to mandated stoppage of economic
activity and the resulting disruption of food supplies; and
(3) adoption of emergency powers to address the crises and
maintain public safety. Corruption risks, present in
government responses to all these challenges and heightened
by the scale and speed of the emergency, undermine the
effectiveness of responses. The strains placed on the public
sector in responding to emergencies present enormous
opportunities for corruption to flourish. Corruption can
lead to theft, waste and misuse of scarce resources,
resulting in unnecessary suffering and death. It can also
entrench elite privilege and inequality and undermine
institutions of accountability with lasting consequences.
Governments face the additional challenge of maintaining
continuity in core functions while dealing with these
exceptional circumstances. This note provides guidance on
addressing and mitigating corruption risks in the COVID-19
(coronavirus) response, both in the initial response and in
the medium term. Over time, and as we learn more about the
impact and effectiveness of responses to the crisis, it will
be essential to adjust anticorruption efforts to support new
governance arrangements and give greater attention to
addressing impunity for misbehavior, as well as to shaping
norms and standards that affect public sector performance
and behavior. The note identifies the broad areas of
government response where corruption risks are present and
heightened in the context of a pandemic emergency, describes
the types of risks that are likely to arise, and provides
recommendations for addressing and mitigating them. Guidance
provided in this note should be read in combination with the
other pieces on the Governance and Institutional Response to
the COVID-19 (coronavirus) Pandemic. |
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