Wanted: Transparency & Accountability in Pandemic-Related Spending

Under the UN-backed COVAX initiative, UNICEF ships COVID-19 vaccine syringes from a warehouse in Dubai Logistics City, United Arab Emirates. And as the world continues to grapple with the health and economic crisis sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN and Islamic Development Bank have teamed up to help the most vulnerable. May 2021. Credit: UNICEF/Ruel PableoBy Chady El Khoury, Jiro Honda, Johan Mathisen, and Etienne Yehoue*WASHINGTON DC, May 21 2021 (IPS) Governments around the world are playing a crucial role in providing lifelines to people and firms to help combat the pandemic and its economic fallout. To support the effectiveness of these efforts, it is important that such spending be subject to adequate transparency and accountability. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) presses for better governance through greater transparency, and has sought specific governance measures for countries receiving IMF financing during the crisis. These include commitments to publish pandemic-related procurement contracts and the beneficial ownership of companies awarded these contracts, as well as COVID-19 spending reports and audit results. The measures are tailored to country circumstances and the severity of corruption risks. In addition, all recipient countries commit to undertake a Safeguards Assessment—a due diligence exercise that is aimed at ensuring that a country’s central bank is able to provide reliable information and transparently manage the funds that it receiv...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Featured Global Headlines Health Human Rights Humanitarian Emergencies Peace TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news