In his article, FPIN member Roberto Laver calls the global Church to be a standard bearer for integrity and honesty. He exposes the damaging legacy of corruption in many societies around the world and notes that COVID-19 is amplifying the potential for corruption as large amounts of money change hands in the fight against the virus and its impact. In a response article, WEA Mission Commission look at some of the missions implications of Roberto’s commentary and call the missions community to help churches combat corruption. This two-part article is part of WEA’s “Missions in a COVID Crisis” article series.
The coronavirus pandemic has taken a drastic human toll, infecting millions and killing hundreds of thousands of people worldwide. This is not only a health crisis but also an economic and social one. Throughout the world, the virus has compelled governments to severe lock downs, causing the most brutal recession in living memory. The impact of the virus, however, is not the same for everyone.
The pandemic is exposing the devastating effects and actual risks of the “other pandemic”: systemic corruption. Often being dismissed as “normal” or simply too “political” or too big to address, systemic corruption has been largely neglected by the Church. However, we cannot afford to ignore this injustice anymore. Systemic corruption (as the institutionalized practice of abuse of power and public trust) has severely crippled the ability of most countries to deal with the health and economic costs of the pandemic. The amount of health care funds lost to graft and embezzlement alone is staggering. Various sources estimate that more than 10 percent of global healthcare spending is reaped by bribery and embezzlement, amounting to losses of more than $500 billion annually [1]. This estimate does not account for other corrupt practices that undermine the access and quality of health services such as pervasive clientelism, cronyism, nepotism and favouritism. …
The Faith & Public Integrity Network 