Category Archives: Corruption

Many international organizations and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) support health work in developing countries. Often, their work is to train staff to get necessary skills, and thus improve health services. Each NGO have their specific goals, and wish these tasks to be carried out at institution. Good examples that have helped many patients include HIV work, reproductive health, and support to specialists to carry out operations at rural institutions.

Although the NGOs do this with the best of intentions, their support is often misused, and unfortunately weakens institutional sustainability and equity.

Some negative examples from south Ethiopia include:

1. A NGO supports that patients with diseases such cleft lips are operated at district hospitals. The organizations provide the local staff with good training to carry out such treatment. Many patients receive good treatment. Unfortunately, we often note after the early campaigns, operations are not done between campaigns as planned. The NGO pays extra for each operation to the staff during campaigns, but not for operations done between campaigns. This often leads to staff only operating when they receive extra payment. This is an example of “misuse of entrusted power for private gain” (Transparency international definition of corruption).
2. UN organizations and NGOs often organize training seminars and workshops. The participants might receive daily allowances up to half of their monthly salaries. Unfortunately, some participants are not even qualified to carry out the intended work. We know of examples when managers, without medical training, took part in course on how to treat drug resistant tuberculosis. And some staff take part in courses to resuscitate neonates, but never work in a delivery ward. Again, examples of “misuse of entrusted power for private gain”.

I believe it is time for NGOs and International organizations to look into the side effects of their massive support to health institutions. A proper question is: Are there alternative ways to support institutions with much needed training, and at the same time not tempting the institutions and individuals to take part in corruption?

Most international organizations and NGOs have increased sustainability and equity as part of their visions. If sustainability and equity is a goal for such organization, new ways to support the institutions should be sought.

Corruption depletes resources from the health institutions such as hospitals and health centres. For example, countries with a high corruption index have higher child mortality rates. How can health institutions reduce corruption, and increase available resources for patient treatment?

In a good review article, Taryn Vian (2007) defines what corruption at health institutions is, explains why it reduces necessary and scarce resources, and how corruption can be reduced. Vian outlines the mechanisms on how managers rationalize social norms, moral or ethical beliefs, attitudes and personalities to their own benefit. Weak accountability, lack of citizen voice and transparency turn out to be opportunities for abuse. And, poor wages and pressures from clients become pressures for misuse.

Unfortunately, many health institutions have weak management, inadequate accounting, and there are few lawyers to follow up financial misuse at health institutions. However, much can be done to reduce corruption. In our work in Ethiopia we try to focus on the following points as part of a ways to ensure sustainable health institutions.

1. Each institution needs good and sound accounting carried out by trained staff. The institution should produce regular and acceptable financial reports
2. Each institution must simplify the cash collection procedures, and internal auditors must daily check the cash collection.
3. The institutional board should routinely review that purchases are done as wanted by the government
4. Institutions should regularly be supervised and checked by public licensing authorities
5. Each institutions should keep an absentee registry, and thus assure that workers do not collect salaries and work at other places
6. Each institution needs yearly financial audits. As health institutions collect patient fees, institutions are accountable to the public. Therefore both public and certified auditing institutions should audit the finances of health institutions.

During the past years we have seen hospitals worsen because of changes of staff and a lack of control mechanisms. External support to health institutions in many developing countries should be accompanied with a need for sound management, accounting and auditing practices.

Vian, T. (2007). Review of corruption in the health sector: theory, methods and interventions Health Policy and Planning, 23 (2), 83-94 DOI: 10.1093/heapol/czm048