Having to pay bribes to get medical treatment is common in Africa, especially in Uganda, where nearly half of people polled said they had to bribe someone to get treatment.
Photograph by: Desmond Kwande, Getty Images , The Associated Press
Nearly one-third of Africans surveyed say they have been forced to pay bribes including for medical treatment, according to a 34-nation poll released Wednesday.
The Afrobarometer survey also found it was often the poorest people in each country who were pressured to pay bribes at health clinics and hospitals.
The West African nation of Sierra Leone fared the worst overall, with 63 per cent of respondents saying they'd paid up at least once in the previous year. Morocco and Guinea came next, each with 57 per cent.
"Corruption is a cancer which has spread nationwide," said Onesimus Johnson, an analyst in Sierra Leone where bribes are known as a "put for me." More than 69 per cent of citizens polled there said that most or all police were corrupt.
In Guinea, the culture of corruption dates back to the decades of dictatorship that enriched its ruler and his associates. The West African country held its first democratic presidential election in 2010.
"Corruption is a national sport every day at the direction of customs officials," said Cherif Mohamed Haidara, who heads a group of businessmen.
Medical treatment was the second most common reason cited after paying off officials to obtain a document or permit, said Richard Houessou, who headed the Afrobarometer project in French-speaking Africa.
The problem of medical bribes was the worst in Uganda - reported by 46 per cent of respondents. Swaziland at 41 per cent and Niger with 40 per cent were close behind.
The survey also found that more than half of the people polled were dissatisfied with their governments' efforts to battle corruption.
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