Around the globe, countries are under extreme pressure to secure COVID-19 vaccines and deliver them to citizens.

Corruption poses serious risks to equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. A lack of transparency over the development, procurement, allocation, and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines threatens the global COVID-19 recovery.

COVID-19 vaccine delivery is ripe for corruption

Given the great demand for COVID-19 vaccines, they are a high-value target for criminal and corrupt networks.

Robust distribution plans are needed to ensure vaccines are not stolen or diverted and to protect against fake or faulty vaccines from entering the market, including from sources like organised crime.

In a lucrative market for COVID-19 treatments and vaccines, bribery is a huge challenge, particularly at the places where people access health care.

What citizens can do

Corruption will only stop when people work together to change the system. Reporting corruption and petitioning governments for transparency about vaccinations is an effective way to help ensure a fair and equitable response and recovery and assert citizens’ rights.

Citizens have the right to know how government decisions are made and resources are spent, especially when it comes to our health.

To help people understand their rights and request critical information about COVID-19 vaccines, Transparency International created a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request template.