Demystify False Dilemmas to Speak About Corruption in Health Systems: Different Actors, Different Perspectives, Different Strategies; Comment on “We Need to Talk About Corruption in Health Systems”

The call of the editorial of the International Journal of Health Policy and Management regarding the “Need to talk about corruption in health systems” is spot on. However, the perceived difficulties of why this is so should be explored from an actor’s perspective, as they differ for government actors, donors and the research community. In particular, false dilemmas around definition problems should be demystified, including by building systematic bridges between the anti-corruption/integrity and health policy communities of practice. In addition, the focus on corruption in frontline health service delivery generating mainly problems of access to health, needs to be complemented with addressing sophisticated kickback schemes, nepotism, and state capture of legislative and regulatory agencies and processes draining the health systems of large amounts of resources leading to another false dilemma of assumed sector underfunding. In terms of what can be done, comprehensive corruption experience and risk assessments conducted by independent actors, eg, universities, aimed at generating some basic consensus among the different actors of priority areas to be addressed on the basis of a co-responsibility approach could provide the basis for reform. Finally, governments and private sector actors in countries characterized by systemic corruption and clientelistic political systems will not reform themselves without strong and sustained demand from civil society and the media

Ice Lines, Planetesimal Composition and Solid Surface Density in the Solar Nebula

To date, there is no core accretion simulation that can successfully account for the formation of Uranus or Neptune within the observed 2-3 Myr lifetimes of protoplanetary disks. Since solid accretion rate is directly proportional to the available planetesimal surface density, one way to speed up planet formation is to take a full accounting of all the planetesimal-forming solids present in the solar nebula. By combining a viscously evolving protostellar disk with a kinetic model of ice formation, we calculate the solid surface density in the solar nebula as a function of heliocentric distance and time. We find three effects that strongly favor giant planet formation: (1) a decretion flow that brings mass from the inner solar nebula to the giant planet-forming region, (2) recent lab results (Collings et al. 2004) showing that the ammonia and water ice lines should coincide, and (3) the presence of a substantial amount of methane ice in the trans-Saturnian region. Our results show higher solid surface densities than assumed in the core accretion models of Pollack et al. (1996) by a factor of 3 to 4 throughout the trans-Saturnian region. We also discuss the location of ice lines and their movement through the solar nebula, and provide new constraints on the possible initial disk configurations from gravitational stability arguments.Comment: Version 2: reflects lead author's name and affiliation change, contains minor changes to text from version 1. 12 figures, 7 tables, accepted for publication in Icaru

Corrupción en el sector salud. Recomendaciones prácticas para donantes

La corrupción en el sector salud puede marcar la diferencia entre la vida y la muerte. Tiene graves consecuencias en el acceso, la calidad, la equidad, la eficiencia y la eficacia de los servicios de salud y es un obstáculo para el objetivo a largo plazo de lograr la cobertura sanitaria universal. Se estima que cada año se pierden a nivel mundial 500,000 millones de dólares en gastos de salud pública debido a la corrupción. Esto es mucho más de lo que se necesitaría para lograr la cobertura universal de salud. En este sentido, los donantes deberían apoyar enfoques estratégicos a largo plazo para la integridad del sector salud, basados en una sólida comprensión de la dinámica del sector y los roles de los diferentes actores

Risks of corruption to state legitimacy and stability in fragile situations

Examining the cases of Liberia, Nepal and Colombia, this study asks how corruption poses risks to political legitimacy and stability in fragile situations. The report focuses on the key role of elites and their views of the state's legitimacy in determining the extent to which there will be instability or stability. Qualitative interviews of elites show that two particular patronage scenarios are seen as threatening stability. One is when the state or illegal actors sustain a corrupt network by violently eliminating opponents. The other is when corruption benefits few people, the benefits are not distributed “fairly,” and the population’s basic needs are not met. Public opinion data suggest that despite corruption, the legitimacy of governments and public institutions in the three countries studied is reasonably high. The impact of corruption on legitimacy and stability is mitigated by other factors. Anti-corruption initiatives potentially strengthen state legitimacy, but undermine it if they fail to deliver or become too far-reaching. In conclusion, the report makes recommendations to the international community for prioritising action on corruption.This report was commisioned by U

Corrupting the state or state-crafted corruption? Exploring the nexus between corruption and subnational governance

Manija Gardizi; Karen Hussmann; Yama Torab

Cryovolcanic candidate areas and morphotectonic features on Saturn's satellite Titan

International audienc

Cryovolcanic candidate areas and morphotectonic features on Saturn's satellite Titan

International audienc

Cryovolcanic candidate areas and morphotectonic features on Saturn's satellite Titan

International audienc

Informe global de la corrupción 2006: Corrupción y salud

Este informe presenta una selección de estudios sobre transparencia y corrupción que abarcan desde la relación de la corrupción con los fenómenos socioeconómicos hasta los vínculos entre implementación de políticas y cambios. El punto de partida es el análisis empírico de la corrupción que, en la actualidad, ha logrado una posición firme en un gran número de disciplinas de investigación. El acceso a esta información resulta imprescindible para comprender mejor el campo de la corrupción y permite a los responsables de formular políticas interpretar e incorporar resultados en sus iniciativas anticorrupción