We’ve signed a letter in collaboration with the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative (CoST) and Hivos calling for providers of development assistance to maintain support for transparency, accountability and open government initiatives. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis, we believe this needs to remain a priority in the sector, supported by dozens of development organizations from across the globe.

We, the undersigned national and international NGOs, call on providers of development assistance to maintain support for transparency, accountability and open government initiatives in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis.

Multilateral and bilateral agencies, foundations and other funders are reviewing their priorities in response to the pandemic. We support these efforts: it is essential that assistance is provided to those suffering the immediate effects of the crisis and that in the medium to long-term, systems and procedures are made more resilient in preparation for managing future crises.

Disclosing data on all current and new investments will further accountability and enable cost savings of magnitude. Even before the pandemic it was estimated that $455 billion of the $7.35 trillion spent on health care worldwide on an annual basis was lost to corruption. Researchers also suggested that 1.6 percent of annual deaths in children under 5, more than 140,000, could be explained in part by corruption.

Read the full letter and a list of all the participating organizations here.

Sheena Adams