BERLIN (AP) – Countries with the least corruption are best positioned to face the health and economic challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a closely monitored annual survey released Thursday by an anti-graft organization.
Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2020, which measures perceptions of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople, concluded that countries that performed well invested more in healthcare, were “ better able to provide universal health coverage and less likely to be democratic. violate standards. “
“COVID-19 is not just a health and economic crisis,” said Transparency Head Delia Ferreira Rubio. “It’s a corruption crisis – and one we can’t currently manage.”
This year’s index showed that the United States hit a new low amid a steady decline under Donald Trump’s presidency, scoring 67 on a scale where 0 is “very corrupt” and 100 is “very clean.”
That still put the US’s 25th on the list, in par with Chile, but behind many other Western democracies. It fell from scores of 69 in 2019, 71 in 2018, and 75 in 2017, falling to the lowest level since numbers are available for comparison.
“In addition to perceived top-level conflicts of interest and abuse of office, the weak oversight of the $ 1 trillion COVID-19 aid package in 2020 raised serious concern and marked a withdrawal from long-standing democratic standards promoting responsible government”, according to the report of Transparency, based in Berlin.
According to the report’s analysis, the link between corruption and the response to the coronavirus could be seen around the world.
For example, Uruguay scored 71 – putting it in 21st place on the list. It invests heavily in healthcare and has a strong epidemiological surveillance system, which has helped not only with COVID-19, but other illnesses such as yellow fever and Zika, Transparency said.
In contrast, Bangladesh, which scored 26th and ranked 146th, “invests little in health care as corruption thrives during COVID-19, ranging from bribery in health clinics to misappropriated aid,” Transparency wrote. “Corruption is also widespread in the procurement of medical supplies.”
Even in New Zealand, which placed No. 1 as the least corrupt nation with a score of 88 and praised for its pandemic response, there was room for improvement, Transparency said.
“While the government is communicating openly about the measures and policies it is taking, more transparency is needed around public procurement for COVID-19 recovery,” the organization wrote.
In total, two-thirds of the 180 countries surveyed scored under 50 out of 100 and the mean score was 43.
Denmark and New Zealand came in first as the least corrupt countries with scores of 88, followed by Finland, Singapore, Switzerland and Sweden with scores of 85, Norway with 84, Netherlands with 82 and Germany and Luxembourg with 80 at the end of the year. top 10.
Australia, Canada, Hong Kong and Great Britain all scored 77 in 11th place.
Somalia and South Sudan performed worst with scores of 12 to put them in 179th place, behind Syria with a score of 14, Yemen and Venezuela at 15, Sudan and Equatorial Guinea at 16, Libya at 17, and North Korea, Haiti and the United States. Democratic Republic of the Congo with 18.
Since 2012, the earliest point of comparison available with the current methodology, 26 countries have improved significantly, including Greece, which increased 14 points to 50, Myanmar, which increased 13 points to 28, and Ecuador, which increased 7 points to 39.
At the same time, 22 countries have fallen significantly, including Lebanon, which dropped 5 points to 25, Malawi and Bosnia & Herzegovina, both of which dropped 7 points to 30 and 35, respectively.
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