G20 business community and UN urge leaders to make sure pandemic response reaches those most in need

The group asked leaders of all G20 member countries to 'commit more explicitly to accountability and anti-corruption efforts'

The B20 and UNDP called on leaders to establish stringent oversight mechanisms to ensure the integrity of relief funding amid the pandemic. Reuters.

B20 Saudi Arabia, the official platform for the global business community across G20 member countries, and the UNDP urged all G20 leaders to "commit more explicitly to accountability and anti-corruption efforts" to make sure that response and recovery efforts to Covid-19 are effective.

In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, the B20 called on leaders to establish stringent oversight mechanisms to ensure the integrity of relief funding and healthcare programmes.

They also urged governments to digitise procurement contracts and step up anti-corruption measures to improve financial transparency.

"The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted once again the importance of ensuring accountability and transparency in public finance management: public trust in government is not a given – it is earned through a multitude of daily decisions and actions," the B20 said.

"By focusing on accountability and integrity, and by holding public and private sector actors to higher standards of ethical conduct, the G20 leaders can improve response and recovery efforts, fight corruption in government and business, and build more inclusive and equitable societies."

The group also outlined a number of other steps that countries could adopt to become more transparent.

Public and private sector organisations working on vaccines and diagnostics that have benefited from government support need to make their related clinical trail data and other matters publicly available.

In addition, all G20 countries should support and develop the implementation of national anti-corruption strategies, the group said.

"The B20 and UNDP recommend that all G20 governments put in place and globally support robust, far-reaching and implementable anti-corruption strategies, based on multi-stakeholder consultations, that include appropriately resourced prevention, education and enforcement capabilities. These strategies should be inclusive, aligned with national development goals, and contribute to achieving the SDGs," the statement said.

The B20 and UNDP also recommended that G20 governments support and strengthen anti-corruption efforts globally by more effectively leveraging inclusive technologies both during and after the pandemic.

The Covid-19 crisis has tipped the global economy into the deepest recession since the 1930s. It has disrupted health and education systems around the world as governments look to balance protecting people from the virus and reviving their economies.