Corruption should not derail UN Millennium Development Goals

Thursday, 02 September 2010

Last month I attended an international conference to discuss Transparency, Free Flow of Information and the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), agreed in 2000. Many delegates expressed concern about how corruption and weak governance may derail the MDGs.  Transparency International’s own research shows, for example, that corruption would inflate the cost of attaining the MDG on water and sanitation by more than US$48 billion.  Later this month, a summit of world leaders in New York will assess progress in attaining the MDGs by 2015.  Transparency InternationaI is campaigning for the summit to recognise the importance of tackling corruption in efforts to accelerate progress.  We are also asking governments to commit to: 1. Providing timely, credible information on public resources spent on MDGs.  2. Strengthening access to information laws and other transparency measures that help citizens to hold governments to account. 3. Participating in the International Aid Transparency Initiative in order to have an international standard for transparency in all aid flows.