As an American, do you
want to make sure that our help reaches those who need it most— instead
of ending up in the hands of corrupt middlemen or officials?

So do the people who live in the world’s poorest countries. And together, we’re doing something about it. Right now, reformers in the world’s poorest nations are standing up to fight for clean government and democracy.

In Malawi, local
parents tour the country’s schools making sure textbooks paid for by
international assistance actually arrive in the hands of students. In Uganda, a group supported by Oxfam recently
named and shamed a corrupt official who pocketed funding meant to
improve their roads, sending him to jail. And today, 23 African
countries have volunteered to have outside experts come in and scrutinize their governments for corruption and poor public services.

What works is fighting corruption by giving
international assistance to honest governments, private charities and
faith-based organizations—and then holding them
accountable. It’s also essential that when we give
assistance or when American companies invest overseas, nothing we do
encourages corruption. Together with debt cancellation, trade reform
and increased aid, anti-corruption measures have the power to help Africa and the world’s poorest nations beat AIDS and extreme poverty.