On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. This necessitated the manufacture, allocation and distribution worldwide of various vaccines that have been approved for use. In recognition of the corruption risks involved, to assist in mitigating such risks, and to help advance access to safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, especially for the most vulnerable and marginalized groups, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has developed a policy paper on the subject. According to the paper, which can be found at https://www.unodc.org/documents/corruption/COVID19/Policy_paper_on_COVID-19_vaccines_and_corruption_risks.pdf, the corruption risks involved include: entry of substandard and falsified vaccines into markets; theft of vaccines within the distribution systems; leakages in emergency funding designated for the development and distribution of vaccines; nepotism; favouritism; and corrupted procurement systems.
