4.3 Risks of corruption and abuse in an emergency were evident before they materialized The pandemic triggered a widespread fear among the population, especially during the first months, but also made it more sensitive • Striking a balance between technical, legal, and ethical to the response it was expecting from the state in a context of criteria for open data, in order to respond effectively to the need. In certain cases, corruption has been informally labeled the emergency and be aware of the risks to privacy. second pandemic and government procurement decisions were more exposed to the scrutiny of a sensitive public. But it does not • Promoting the implementation of a media communication merely involve perceptions of the population. strategy that is informative, data-based, and evidence- The risk of corruption in a pandemic is real, and international based. organizations and civil society organizations commended for • Ensuring that assistance resources for COVID-19 from combating corruption, such as the OAS, the OECD, Transparency international organizations to governments go hand in International, and the World Bank, alerted the world about it. In hand with measures of openness, transparency, and early 2020, Transparency International drew the attention of oversight as an indispensable condition for the granting governments to the risk of corruption in a pandemic and stated of funds or urging the use of the COVID-19 budget that, in a pandemic, corruption finds fertile ground to thrive, transparency guide and participation in the preparedness especially when oversight institutions and mechanisms are process, including data on stimulus plans, sources of weak and public trust is scant. On the basis of their experience revenue, and subsidy beneficiaries, among others. with previous world health emergencies, such as the Ebola virus and swine flu, they encourage states to keep in mind the • Establishing mechanisms to monitor and oversee lessons learned and to identify the risks of corruption in order to budgeting, spending, and recruiting with social consolidate a global response to the pandemic. stakeholders and civil society. In follow-up on this declaration, Transparency International • Promoting conditions for the correct functioning of the and the OAS, through its Department for Effective Public democratic system and the state’s three branches of Management (DEPM) launched, on April 27, 2020, a dialogue government. with civil society entitled “Challenges of democratic governance with respect to COVID-19 and the promotion of the principles of • Draw up democratic control mechanisms to restrict open government,”8 from which certain recommendations were drawn, among which the following: emergency measures that breach the democratic principles of freedom of expression and access to information. • Bolster official two-way communication with evidence- • Upholding a proactive approach to open data in all sectors. based and data-based explanations. • Promoting data-based and evidence-based public policies • Implement co-creative government forums with social and actions in response to the pandemic. stakeholders supporting processes to design, implement, and monitor COVID-19 measures. Cultivating a culture of integrity in the civil service in times of crisis 32