Corruption in the health care sector: A persistent threat to European health systems

Abstract

Corruption is commonly defined as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It is estimated that over 500 USD billion are lost every year due to corruption and that a 1-point change in the control of corruption indicator measured by the World Bank increases life expectancy by 0.44 years and reduces under-five mortality by 4.6 per 1,000 infants. Despite its global prevalence and critical impact on public and private services, corruption in the healthcare sector remains understudied. The present report aims to expand the knowledge on the paramount need to tackle corruption in healthcare by identifying the actors in the health system at risk to involving in corrupt practices, followed by defining health corruption from the governmental, non-governmental organisations, and societal perspectives, together with describing relevant corruption indicators from countries from the WHO European region. To conclude, this report presents a set of proposals and recommendations to address corruption in the healthcare sector.