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3 Corruption in publichealthMaureen LewisInstitutions and governance have emerged as the back bone ofdevelopment, and are increasingly being shown as critical to incomelevels (Rigobon and Rodrik, 2004; Rodrik, Subramanian and Trebbi,2004; Kaufman and Kraay, 2002), fostering overall development(Kaufmann, Kraay and Mastruzzi, 2005), ensuring sound macroeconomicpolicies (IMF, 1997; Berg, 2005) and per capita income growth(World Bank, 2003b). The World Bank’s 2006 World DevelopmentReport looks again at the determinants of poverty and argues for anemphasis on equal opportunity and the institutional infrastructure(World Bank, 2006). The recent UK government’s Report on the Commissionfor Africa places a premium on governance and institutionsas complementary to other actions in bolstering developmentprospects in the region, and the US government’s Millennium ChallengeCorporation expects to spend billions of dollars on countriesthat demonstrate good governance. Thus both theory and empiricalevidence is accumulating to place governance at the center of developmentthinking, spending and action.At the same time the international community has pledged theirsupport in helping countries reach a set of ambitious MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs) that would sharply reduce poverty, raiseeducational levels and reduce mortality, among other achievements.The combination of the two threads suggests the need to ensurethat institutional development is fostered in conjunction withefforts to accelerate progress on economic and social fronts.Improving human capital in reaching the MDGs and raising