Corruption Perceptions Index 2020 - Executive Summary

UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 06:01 CET, 28 JANUARY 2020 MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA With an average score of 39 for the third consecutive year, the Middle East and North Africa region is still perceived as highly corrupt, with little progress made towards controlling corruption. 18 39 /100 COUNTRIES ASSESSED AVERAGE REGIONAL SCORE TOP SCORERS BOTTOM SCORERS YEMEN QATAR LIBYA UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 71 /100 63 /100 17 /100 15 /100 14 /100 SYRIA The United Arab Emirates and Qatar are the top regional performers on the CPI, with scores of 71 and 63 respectively, while Libya (17), Yemen (15) and Syria (14) are among the worst performers. Across the region, years of corruption left countries woefully unprepared to face the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals and health centres lacked the resources and organisation necessary to respond effectively to the first wave of cases. 66 Public hospitals were undersupplied and understaffed, with many health care providers becoming gravely ill. Trust in the public sector also plummeted when it became clear that there were no good crisis management protocols in place, 67 and that public administrations were too depleted 68 to re- organise quickly and efficiently. Despite small gains by civil society in the last decade towards building stronger, more sustainable laws to combat corruption and promote transparency, the COVID-19 crisis and resulting emergency measures essentially cancelled these efforts, 69 setting the region back by years. Political corruption also remains a challenge across the region. In Iraq (21), corruption enshrined in the system 70 deprives people of their basic rights, including access to safe drinking water, health care, uninterrupted electricity, employment opportunities and an adequate infrastructure. Moving forward, some of the biggest challenges in the region, particularly during the COVID-19 recovery, are issues of transparency and equitable access toof COVID-19 treatments and vaccines 71 . TRANSPARENCY INTERNATIONAL 18