'Corruption is Responsible for the Death of Millions of Africans Every Year'

[LequteMan]

Millions of poor people die because of corruption as an estimated $1tn (£600bn) a year is being taken out of their countries accounts, a report by the anti-poverty organisation One says.

Much of the progress made over the past two decades in tackling extreme poverty has been put at risk by corruption and crime, the group according to BBC says.

Corrupt activities include the use of phantom firms and money laundering.

The report blames corruption for 3.6 million deaths every year and describes its findings as a "trillion dollar scandal".

"Corruption inhibits private investment, reduces economic growth, increases the cost of doing business and can lead to political instability," the report says.

"But in developing countries, corruption is a killer. When governments are deprived of their own resources to invest in health care, food security or essential infrastructure, it costs lives and the biggest toll is on children."

The report says that if corruption was eradicated in sub-Saharan Africa:

• Education would be provided to an additional 10 million children per year
• Money would be available to pay for an additional 500,000 primary school teachers
• Antiretroviral drugs for more than 11 million people with HIV/Aids would be provided

One is urging G-20 leaders meeting in Australia in November to take various measures to tackle the problem including making information public about who owns companies and trusts to prevent them being used to launder money and conceal the identity of criminals