In recent years, the focus in many developing regions is increasingly moving away from communicable disease, where as Africa continues to face a high burden of communicable disease, malnutrition, and fertility. At the same time, the ways in which the World Bank operates are changing -...

The Government of Ethiopia has recently confirmed its commitment to accelerate progress on maternal and child health outcomes. A reduction in child and maternal mortality rates is among the key objectives of the Ethiopia Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRSP) published in 2002. This strategy outlines...

This study shows that Uganda has similar or somewhat better health indicators than other African countries with a similar income level. However further effort is needed to address inequality in health outcomes and in the health system. Overall recommendations arising from this report, which are...

Although Lao PDR has made notable progress in improving maternal and child health (MCH), attainment of the Millennium Development Goal 5 (MDG5) still remains a challenge. This is largely due to the barriers imposed by financial restrictions. In order to address these financial barriers, the...

The Service Delivery Indicators (SDI) program aims to document what results are obtained through public spending in the health and education sector. The focus is on the individual dimensions, whether effort (presence and workload) or knowledge (diagnostic accuracy, adherence to clinical...

The health care system in Brazil has established the important principle of universal coverage, yet, it faces several key challenges: its expenditure patterns favor the regions that are already better off, and healthier, and, needs to take into account diverse practices, and cultures, in...