CORRUPTION AND MENTAL HEALTH
I recently attended a webinar organised by ICUDDR through which Dr. Elizabeth Saenz facilitated on corruption in the substance use treatment field. The presenter who works with the United Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) highlighted a gloomy situation of corruption with 7 % of the global health fund reportedly lost to corruption. Today’s discussion will be a reflection on the webinar.
Corruption is a phenomena that is rampant globally across lots of sectors and its effects are deadly and far reaching. According to Transparency International, “the cumulative damage is staggering and has weakened the overall health performance.” As a result of corruption, there is escalating mental health costs, negative outcomes in patient outcomes as well as dwindling quality of mental health care services.
There may also be an incessant lack of trust in health services by health consumers as well as glitches in ensuring fundamental human rights. Allocation of key resources for education and health maybe affected by corruption and in the long run impacting on communities.
The focus has been effects on the governance systems, does corruption has any psychological effects? Corruption has been found in several studies to be detrimental to mental health. In a 2011 study, scholar Robert Gillanders highlights that corruption had negative effect on mental health of people in Sub Saharan Africa.
A 2010 document by the World health Organisation clearly paints a picture that reduced development; which leads to poverty and inequality harbours risk to mental health problems. Corruption breeds inequality that last week we highlighted as being a risk factor to mental health problems.
When there is rampant corruption, income capacity among citizens is adversely affected. That can lead to emotional distress and subsequently mental health consequences. This is further affirmed by several studies that have found those in the lower income bracket as having high affinity to having depression and anxiety as compared to those in a higher income bracket.
Further evidence points to the fact that women as “traditional” care givers often experience the brunt of such adverse mental health consequences.
They often take those they look after to health facilities and get to encounter mediocre healthcare in instances where healthcare has been compromised by corruption which leaves them frustrated and helpless.
There is need to deal with corruption as it as well affects mental health, and as suggested by Koffi Annan, “if corruption is a disease, transparency is essential part of its treatment.”