The Ghana Anti-Corruption Coalition (GACC) will, from November 06 to 08, 2023, join its counterparts from Sierra Leone and Benin to brainstorm on combating corruption's crippling effects on healthcare and education in West Africa at the Regional Advocacy Meeting. Ms Pamela Laourou, the GACC's Communications Assistant, told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Tema that the meeting, which would be held in Benin, was an initiative funded by Open Society Africa. She said it formed part of the project 'Uniting Constituencies to Fight Corruption in Health and Education in West Africa,' focusing on Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Benin. Ms Laourou said the Regional Advocacy Meeting was a pivotal component of the anti-corruption initiative and was designed to engage key stakeholders, share project outcomes, and secure commitments from regional and national-level institutions. She said its focus was on advocating transparency and integrity in public procurement within the healthcare and education sectors across West Africa. She said globally, public procurement processes for healthcare and education involved substantial funds, adding that corruption often plagued those processes, leading to higher costs and diminished services, especially in low- and middle-income countries. 'Corruption in healthcare procurement results in medicine shortages and inflated drug prices, while in education, it leads to inadequate infrastructure and reduced educational quality,' she said. Relevant stakeholders were expected to, at the end of the meeting, be well-informed about the project's outcomes and results, as their commitment was expected to be secured in addressing public procurement challenges in healthcare and education across West Africa. Ms Laourou said this collective effort aspired to foster transparent procurement processes throughout the region, safeguarding essential healthcare and education services for all citizens. Key institutions from the three countries expected to be represented at the meeting include the National Public Procurement Authorities, the Anti-Corruption Commission, the African Parliamentarians Network against Corruption (APNAC), the World Bank-West Africa office, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), civil society organisations, and media outlets.

Source: Ghana News Agency