The Ignored Pandemic of Public Health Corruption: A Call for Action Amid and Beyond Sars-Cov-2/Covid-19

Abstract

Corruption in healthcare is on the rise. When corruption infiltrates global health, causes embezzlement of public health funds, malfunctioning medical equipment, fraudulent or ineffective health services such as expired medicines and fake vaccines that could have life-or-death consequences. A corrupt healthcare system, amid global health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, when resources are in constraint and trust is in high demand, can lead to devastating, though avoidable, health and economic consequences. It is imperative for policymakers, health experts, patients, caregivers, and global health funders to promptly acknowledge and address corruption in healthcare. The current pandemic generates an emergency and disorder state on health care systems across the globe, especially in low- and middle-income countries, where a weakening of control measures is evident, creating the perfect storm for corruption. This paper builds on existing research to examine processes that support essential stakeholder engagement in anti-corruption efforts. In this context, an extensive review of literature has been conducted by using various databases such as PubMed, Science direct, SCOPUS, Research Gate, and Google Scholar and a total of 45 articles and documents on corruption and COVID-19 were screened and selected by authors independently. To fill the knowledge gaps about the need for actions to be taken during a pandemic like COVID-19, we propose an anti-corruption grassroots movement that focuses on changing the social norms surrounding corruption in healthcare. By pushing forward a practice that normalizes conversations about corruption in everyday health practices and involving more stakeholders in the protection of public health resources, we argue that not only local health systems can become more resilient and resistant to corruption, but also global health initiatives can become more effective and efficient to improve individual and global health.

Vacunación COVID-19 en Colombia: Una oportunidad de corrupción en salud pública

“…La humanidad se encuentra enfrentando una pandemia sin precedentes, la cual ha expuesto la fragilidad de los sistemas de salud a nivel mundial (1) . Según estimaciones moderadas, la pérdida económica global asociada a la Enfermedad por Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) rondaría los 1.1 trillones de dólares (1) .…”

“…La humanidad se encuentra enfrentando una pandemia sin precedentes, la cual ha expuesto la fragilidad de los sistemas de salud a nivel mundial (1) . Según estimaciones moderadas, la pérdida económica global asociada a la Enfermedad por Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) rondaría los 1.1 trillones de dólares (1) . No obstante, la crisis financiera del sector salud no es nueva, tampoco sus razones, dentro de las cuales queremos enfatizar la existencia de un fenómeno usualmente ignorado, que recibe el nombre de corrupción (1) .…”

“…Un acto de corrupción se fundamenta en la destinación de recursos públicos para lograr beneficios privados, lo cual suele medirse en términos de dinero o poder (1) .…”

Addressing Biodisaster X Threats With Artificial Intelligence and 6G Technologies: Literature Review and Critical Insights

“…In terms of similarities, both Biodisaster X and Disease X are driven by pathogens unknown to humans and have the potential to cause crippling effects on society. Furthermore, based on previous inadequacies in response to emergency events including pandemics [66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74], the world at large may be ill-prepared for both Biodisaster X and Disease X. In terms of unique attributes, compared to Disease X, Biodisaster X is more likely to have the following characteristics: (1) having a pathogen directly affiliated to a laboratory; (2) having distinctive and engineered attributes tailored by the capabilities and intentions of the developer; and…”

Medicina Familiar durante y después de la COVID-19

“…8,21 Es imprescindible la consolidación del médico de familia como actor protagónico en la construcción de guías de práctica clínica fundamentadas en mbe y mcp con enfoque en aps, considerando desde programas de educación a los pacientes, 21 seguimiento virtual y atención domiciliaria, hasta consideraciones de políticas públicas en los campos de la administración en salud y la salud pública para optimizar el manejo de recursos en salud. 22 En conclusión, la pandemia de covid-19 ha precipitado una nueva mirada hacia los principios de la aps de la mano de conquistas teóricas del modelo biopsicosocial, los determinantes sociales de la salud, el enfoque teórico sindémico, la mcp, y la mbe. Lo anterior configura un llamado urgente a la necesidad imperiosa de fortalecer la participación del médico de familia, un especialista con cualidades clínicas, administrativas, investigativas, en docencia y de liderazgo en salud pública.…”