Abstract
Corruption in health systems is a problem around the world. Prior research consistently shows that corruption is detrimental to population health. Yet public health professionals are slow to address this complicated issue on a global scale. In the editorial entitled "We Need to Talk About Corruption in Health Systems" concern with the general lack of discourse on this topic amongst health professionals is highlighted. In this invited commentary three contributing factors that hamper public dialogue on corruption are discussed. These include (i) corrupt acts are often not illegal, (ii) government and medical professionals continued acceptance of corruption in the health systems, and (iii) lack of awareness within the general public on the extent of the problem. It is advocated that a global movement that is fully inclusive needs to occur to eradicate corruption.
Highlights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights outlines that all people have the right to security and a right to health.[1]
The World Bank describes two types of corruption, namely (i) covert corruption which pertains to misdeeds carried out by those in service positions and (ii) overt corruption, which is associated to the high-profile misdeeds that usually goes viral on social media or makes the nightly news.[2,3,4,5]
Transparency International conceptualizes corruption in a global survey as ‘the abuse of public office for private gain.’[6]. In this commentary both the World Bank and Transparency International definitions of corruption are thought of when discussing the problem of corruption in health systems
Summary
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights outlines that all people have the right to security and a right to health.[1]. This corrupt act is not illegal, yet it might influence the stock market and thereby provide financial rewards to the policy-maker or their family members and acquaintances that have stocks in the health market.[13] Canada on the other end of the spectrum is a country that recently took a step to curb the influence big corporations have on policy-makers.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
