Health sector corruption. Practical recommendations for donors

Corruption in the health sector can make the difference between life and death. It has severe consequences for access, quality, equity, efficiency, and efficacy of health services and is an obstacle to the long-term goal of achieving universal health coverage. An estimated US$500 billion in public health spending is lost globally to corruption every year. This is a lot more than would be required to achieve universal health coverage. Donors should support long-term, strategic approaches to health sector integrity based on a sound understanding of dynamics in the sector and different actors' roles.