Jillian Kohler recognized for leadership in anti-corruption work

Jillian Kohler, professor at the U of T’s Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, received a prestigious award recognizing her commitment to promoting transparency, accountability and integrity in Canada and around the world. The Canadian Integrity Award is presented annually by Transparency International Canada.

“It is truly an honour to get an award from Transparency International Canada, knowing who they are, what they do and what their mission is,” says Kohler. “It was so moving for me to be acknowledged for work that I've been doing for many years, and a very special moment in my life.”

Transparency International Canada is the Canadian chapter of Transparency International, a leading non-governmental organization committed to combatting corruption and promoting transparency, accountability and integrity at all levels of government and business.

The Canadian Integrity Award was established to recognize individuals or organizations that have been leaders in advancing integrity in the public interest. The 2024 award, presented last week at Transparency International Canada’s Day of Dialogue in Toronto, is the fourth time the award has been presented.

“The Canadian Integrity Award was established to recognize Canadians and organizations working within Canada doing the quiet work every day to tackle corruption and promote integrity,” says Trevor Loke, executive director of Transparency International Canada. “Given the breadth of impact that Jillian Kohler has had both in Canada and around the world to safeguard public health by tackling corruption, it was clear to our selection committee that her leadership was worthy of our unique recognition as this year’s recipient.”

“Given the breadth of impact that Jillian Kohler has had both in Canada and around the world to safeguard public health by tackling corruption, it was clear to our selection committee that her leadership was worthy of our unique recognition as this year’s recipient.”

Kohler’s research has helped increase awareness of corruption risks and impacts

Corruption in the pharmaceutical and health systems undermines health outcomes globally, undercuts quality, increases the costs of services and products, perpetuates inequities, and ultimately undermines public trust in governments. Kohler’s research focuses on identifying corruption risks in health systems, and has been used to develop anti-corruption, transparency and accountability strategies that have had impact both within Canada and internationally.

Her work has helped numerous countries globally tackle corruption risks in their health and pharmaceutical systems. She has written policy reports and provided technical advice on how to address corruption risks in health systems to international organizations including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Development Programme. Early in her career, she developed a pharmaceutical transparency assessment tool from the point of manufacturing to service delivery, which was later taken up and applied by the WHO in over 38 countries. Recently, she developed policy papers that examined the importance of transparency and accountability in developing and procuring COVID-19 vaccines.

At the University of Toronto, Kohler established and was the founding director of the first WHO Collaborating Centre for Governance, Transparency and Accountability in the Pharmaceutical Sector, based at the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy. She also worked to develop courses that include modules on corruption risks in the health and pharmaceutical systems for the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) and developed the first graduate course at the University of Toronto that focuses on how to identify and address corruption risks in the health system.

Kohler says that when she started her career 25 years ago, corruption was considered a fringe issue and very little attention was paid to it as it was considered too politically sensitive.

Now, thanks in large parts to her efforts along with many of her collaborators, international organizations and governments have a better understanding of the impact of corruption to global health, have recognized it as a priority global health issue, and are developing strategies to combat it.

“Organizations and the public have a much better understanding that corruption within the health system exacerbates inequitable barriers to medicines and health services,” says Kohler.

“This is an issue that affects all of us, even if we don't see its direct impact. We need to take the time to understand the complexities of corruption. While we may not eliminate corruption completely in the health system, we certainly have a responsibility to ensure we take action so we can reduce its risks.”