GID 2021
Poverty

Global Integrity Day 2021
Corruption and Poverty

Multi-Dimensional Probity to end Multi-Dimensional Poverty

Reflections and Resources

--"End poverty in all its forms everywhere."
Sustainable Development Goal 1
--"Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages."
Sustainable Development Goal 3
--"Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels."  
Sustainable Development Goal 16
--"Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms ."
Sustainable Development Goal 16.5
--"Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels ."
Sustainable Development Goal 16.6

Probity for poverty? Absolutely! That is, probity to confront corruption and its impact on poverty.
Probity: “The quality of having strong moral principles; honesty and decency” (Oxford Lexico)

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Reflections
One of the main hindrances blocking the fuller realisation of the Millennium Development Goals was the devastating human and environmental impact of corruption in all its forms. The same is true for the Sustainable Development Goals now, 2015-2030. So what do you think:

To resolutely  "end poverty in all its forms everywhere" (SDG 1) how can we "substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms" (SDG 16.5)? How can multi-dimensional probity (integrity at all levels: individual, institutional, international) help to end corruption's devastating role in multi-dimensional poverty?

Think of this in terms of the 2.6T for the 1.3B. That is, the estimated $2.6 trillion dollars stolen annually via corruption (2018, WEF) and its impact on the estimated 1.3 billion humans living in multi-dimensional poverty (2018, UNDP).  Note: add an additional $1 trillion/year for the estimated bribes.

Is it appropriate (and empirically supported) to incentivize integrity? Or do we "integritize" incentives? (that is, integrity, like love/altruism, is its own reward?)

For example:
"El dinero alcanza, cuando nadie roba--There's enough money when no one steals." President of El Salvador Nayib Bukele's election platform. To which we add:
--"Y nadie roba cuando...And no one steals when...?
--la integridad alcanza...there is enough integrity--living consistently in moral wholeness."
(including widespread social and personal norms that reinforce integrity)
--"Y cuando...And when...etc."

Resources
The Costs of Corruption (UN Secretary-General Guterres' message for Anti-Corruption Day 2018). "Every year, trillions of dollars - equivalent to more than five percent of global GDP - are paid in bribes or stolen through corruption.”

Corruption Perceptions Index 2020 (2021). Transparency International.  (Arabic, English, French, Russian, Spanish). Highlights HERE. "The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople, uses a scale of zero to 100, where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. Like previous years, more than two-thirds of countries score below 50 on this year’s CPI, with an average score of just 43. The data shows that despite some progress, most countries still fail to tackle corruption effectively. The top countries on the CPI are Denmark and New Zealand, with scores of 88, followed by Finland, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland, with scores of 85 each.The bottom countries are South Sudan and Somalia, with scores of 12 each, followed by Syria (14), Yemen (15) and Venezuela (15).”

Seeking Justice throughout Honduras--Interactive Map.  Click the previous link to watch: Turning on the Lights for Justice (3 minutes). "...an investigation into Honduras' national electric company...the poor are the ones fronting most of that cost."  Beyond the Badge--Police Purge in Honduras (mini-documentary, 16 minutes).  See also Transforming Education in Honduras (3 minutes). Association for a More Just Society (ASJ): Honduras and USA.

Our Anti-Corruption Pretense "How poor countries indulge in rituals of fighting corruption even when it is the glue that holds things together." Andrew Wenda. The Magazine (Uganda) 13 December 2021.

Social determinants of mental disorders and sustainable development goals: A systematic review of reviews. Lund et al., (2018).  The Lancet: Psychiatry (5)4, 357-369. "The aim of this study was to develop a conceptual framework for the social determinants of mental disorders that is aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, to use this framework to systematically review evidence regarding these social determinants...comprising demographic, economic, neighbourhood, environmental events, and social and culture domains." Note: This key review is relevant for confronting corruption because poverty influences mental health and corruption influences poverty.

 The True Cost of Global Corruption. "Graft results in lost tax revenue, but it also takes a social toll." (September 2019). Finance and Development, International Monetary Fund.  "Curbing corruption can be a daunting task, but it is necessary to restore public trust in government. The fight against corruption can also bring significant economic and social gains over time. It starts with domestic political will, continuous strengthening of institutions to promote integrity and accountability, and global cooperation." (concluding paragraph)

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity (2012) Katherine Boo
"The effect of corruption I find most underacknowledged is a contraction not of economic possibility but of our moral universe....It is easy, from a safe distance, to overlook the fact that in undercities governed by corruption, where exhausted people vie on scant terrain for very little, it is blistering hard to be good. The astonishment is that some people are good, and that many people try to be - all those invisible people who every day find themselves faced with dilemmas [of survival and of injustice]" (pages 253-254).

ONE “is a global movement campaigning to end extreme poverty and preventable disease by 2030, so that everyone, everywhere can lead a life of dignity and opportunity. We believe the fight against poverty isn’t about charity, but about justice and equality.”….“Every year developing countries lose $1,000,000,000,000 — a TRILLION dollars — through a web of shady and corrupt activities that involve phantom firms, money laundering, and illegal tax evasion. That’s money that, if recovered and taxed, could be invested in healthcare or education in the poorest counties. Instead, it fuels inequality and instability, keeping millions of people in developing countries trapped in the cycle of poverty.” (website)

United Nations Convention Against Corruption, Civil Society Coalition.  “The UNCAC Coalition is a global network of over 350 civil society organisations (CSOs) in over 100 countries, committed to promoting the ratification, implementation and monitoring of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). Established in August 2006, it mobilises civil society action for UNCAC at international, regional and national levels. The Coalition’s office is registered and based in Vienna, Austria.” (quote from website)

Why Can't Grace Go to School?  EXPOSED Campaign (advocacy video, 2014)
Corruption is closer to home than you might think - or admit.