How to eradicate ‘vaxtortion’ before the next pandemic

BACKGROUND
Corruption and lack of equitable access
during the COVID-19 pandemic
Pandemics and emergencies expose weaknesses
and gaps in health systems. If not addressed, these
weaknesses and gaps create risks and opportunities
for corruption which can undermine the response and
deprive people of health care or even worse their life.1
The COVID-19 pandemic, unfortunately has not been
different. Corruption and opacity have hampered the
pandemic response, resulting in a lack of equitable
access to personal protective equipment (PPE),
diagnostics, vaccines and most recently treatments2
both within countries, and between countries.