TOKYO – A survey by the anti-graft group Transparency International shows that bribery and other forms of corruption are hindering poverty alleviation and hurting public health in Asia by channeling resources away from those who need them.
The survey, released Tuesday, estimated that more than 900 million people in the region paid bribes in the past year to obtain basic public services such as schooling and health care.
Nearly seven in 10 Indians surveyed paid such bribes. While the rate of corruption was much lower in many countries, such practices were found even in relatively law-abiding nations such as Japan.
Only one in five of the 21,861 people surveyed in 16 countries or territories said they believed corruption had declined, while about 40 percent believed it was increasing.
