TI has a strong interest in making concrete contributions towards improving transparency, integrity and accountability in public service delivery. This is especially true for Africa, where corruption is highly prevalent in basic public service delivery, primarily in the education, water and health sectors.

Access to education should be a right available to all persons, regardless of where they live. However, the ability to receive such education is often dependent upon local realities. Specifically in the education sector, corruption in public expenditures hinders the provision of accessible, quality education for the youth in many countries in Africa. Helping to eliminate corruption in the education sector contributes to the achievement of the second UN Millennium Development Goal: Universal Education.

Through the three year Education Watch project, TI is committed to improving service delivery in primary education in the Ghana, Madagascar, Morocco, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Uganda. By working towards the goal of reducing opportunities for corruption and resource leakage through increased public awareness and involvement, real improvement can be achieved.

Information about the fight against corruption in education as a thematic issue (as part of the TI global strategy) can be found in individual country reports (available here), in a 2007 In Focus, and as part of the TI working paper 4/2007 on Corruption in the Education Sector.

Transparency International is also active in improving transparency and accountability in the health and water sectors in Sub-Saharan Africa as part of a three year program. The Transparency and Integrity in Service Delivery in Africa (TISDA) project aims to improve civil society’s capacity in eight Sub-Saharan African countries to demand better governance in the delivery of basic services, particularly in education, health and water supply.

Increasing transparency in the water and health sectors also belong to the global priorities of TI. Further information on health and water can be found on issue specific pages. Furthermore, the 2008 Global Corruption Report focused on corruption in the water sector.