Addressing bribery in health services through a social norms approach

This presentation will discuss the findings from a pilot intervention tested in Tanzania to address bribery practices in Tanzanian health facilities. The project was designed based on research that indicated that bribery practices are fuelled by expectations that a bribe or gift is instrumental in building a personal relationship that will subsequently facilitate expedited services and other privileges. The intervention also tested a network approach based on the expectation that anti-bribery messages will be better accepted when they come from a close, trusted contact from one’s own social networks. Based on this idea, the intervention tested a peer-led approach. The findings suggest that understanding and incorporating social norms into corruption prevention programming and considering that the beliefs and behaviours prevalent in our social networks matter can be very effective

Panelists: 

Dr Claudia Baez Camargo, Head of Public Governance, Basel Institute on Governance. Dr. Claudia Baez-Camargo is an anti-corruption expert leading academic research and technical assistance programs that seek to prevent and combat corruption in various countries around the globe. Claudia’s work brings together academic research and technical assistance with the goal of promoting anti-corruption approaches that are context-sensitive and address relevant drivers of corruption. Among other areas, she has conducted extensive research on how behavioural factors, such as those associated with social norms and mental models, can impact anti-corruption outcomes. Claudia also works with a broad range of interested stakeholders on consultancy projects aimed at developing context-sensitive strategies to prevent corruption in the public sector. Claudia holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Notre Dame, USA and a graduate degree in economics from the University of Cambridge, England.

Dr. Richard Sambaiga, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Dar es Salam. Dr. Richard Sambaiga is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Sociology and Anthropology of the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. He holds a Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from the University of Basel in Switzerland. His research interests include anti-corruption, security, systems of knowledge production and dissemination, health, social transformation, youth, and gender. He has participated in designing and executing several research and consultancy projects in East Africa.

Chair:

Dina Balabanova is a Professor of Health Systems and Policy in the Department of Global Health and Development at LSHTM and an Adjunct Professor at Njala University, Sierra Leone, with over 25 years of experience in health systems and policy research in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Her main expertise is in health systems governance and anti-corruption, effective delivery models and health systems strengthening.

Webinar Recording

About the TWG AAA

The Thematic Working Group on Action on Accountability and Anti-corruption for SDGs (TWG AAA) is dedicated to exploring and addressing the root causes of weak accountability and corruption in health systems, with a particular focus on the systemic structures that allow these challenges to persist. The group champions effective governance as a cornerstone for sustainable development and the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

Find out more about their work and how to join the group on the dedicated TWG AAA page.