Health sector corruption and access to healthcare in Africa

A fundamental problem faced by developing countries is corruption, which creates barriers to development. Corruption has made healthcare particularly costly or unaffordable for much of the population. We investigate the effects of corruption on access to healthcare in 34 African countries. Using Afrobarometer data collected between 2019 and 2022 and an ordered probit model, the results show that respondents living in subnational regions within countries where health sector corruption is more prevalent are more likely to report having gone without medical care for themselves or their family when needed, or lacking access altogether. The results also show that the severity of healthcare deprivation increases with the frequency of exposure to health sector corruption. In addition, medical corruption not only restricts access to healthcare but also reduces the quality of services for those who can access the system. The results further show that the effects of medical corruption are approximately three times larger than those of non-medical corruption, including corruption in education, the police, and the acquisition of identity documents. These findings suggest that achieving Sustainable Development Goal 3 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063 in the health sector requires prioritizing the fight against medical corruption.