Mapping the Nature, Drivers, Effects and Responses to Corruption in the Procurement of Pharmaceuticals in Anglophone Africa: A Scoping Review of Literature

TY - JOUR

T1 - Mapping the Nature, Drivers, Effects and Responses to Corruption in the Procurement of Pharmaceuticals in Anglophone Africa

T2 - A Scoping Review of Literature

AU - Onwujekwe, Obinna

AU - Agwu, Prince

AU - McKee, Martin

AU - Odii, Aloysius

AU - Orjiakor, Tochukwu Charles

AU - Obodoechi, Divine Ndubuisi

AU - Nwokolo, Chukwudi

AU - Roy, Pallavi

AU - Hutchinson, Eleanor

AU - Balabanova, Dina

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2025 SAGE Publications

PY - 2025/9/9

Y1 - 2025/9/9

N2 - Expenditure on pharmaceuticals comprises a large share of health budgets. It involves many different actors, often working out of the public gaze, making the process ‘corruption-attractive’ and hard to monitor. Given the indispensable contributions of pharmaceuticals to health outcomes, it is essential that they are available at the right time and at the lowest prices. This requires the process to be as transparent and accountable as possible. But first, it is important to understand the system and the obtainable corruption concerns that impact it, as well as what works. This is the essence of a scoping review on the subject, focusing on Anglophone sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We focused on the literature written in English from 2008 onward. After screening, 52 publications were reviewed, and the findings were synthesised and presented thematically. Findings from the reviewed literature demonstrate that corruption is widespread in pharmaceutical procurement, with consequences for revenue generation, utilisation and public confidence in health facilities, as well as the finances and health outcomes of service users. There is a need to devise a multi-dimensional approach to interventions, as most of the reviewed literature reckoned.

AB - Expenditure on pharmaceuticals comprises a large share of health budgets. It involves many different actors, often working out of the public gaze, making the process ‘corruption-attractive’ and hard to monitor. Given the indispensable contributions of pharmaceuticals to health outcomes, it is essential that they are available at the right time and at the lowest prices. This requires the process to be as transparent and accountable as possible. But first, it is important to understand the system and the obtainable corruption concerns that impact it, as well as what works. This is the essence of a scoping review on the subject, focusing on Anglophone sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). We focused on the literature written in English from 2008 onward. After screening, 52 publications were reviewed, and the findings were synthesised and presented thematically. Findings from the reviewed literature demonstrate that corruption is widespread in pharmaceutical procurement, with consequences for revenue generation, utilisation and public confidence in health facilities, as well as the finances and health outcomes of service users. There is a need to devise a multi-dimensional approach to interventions, as most of the reviewed literature reckoned.

KW - Anticorruption

KW - corruption

KW - pharmaceuticals

KW - sub-Saharan Africa

U2 - 10.1177/09720634251370489

DO - 10.1177/09720634251370489

M3 - Article

SN - 0972-0634

JO - Journal of Health Management

JF - Journal of Health Management

M1 - 09720634251370489

ER -