The development of Brazil's modern social safety net is quite recent, and social assistance programs claim a relatively small share of resources of the broader social sector. A key feature of the Brazilian social protection system is the duality between formal sector workers, who gained social...

Bangladesh's economy is growing at a healthy pace and macro conditions are strong. Progress in social outcomes in Bangladesh is inspiring other countries, but deep challenges persist as the pace of poverty reduction slows down. Bangladesh labor market is dominated by low-productivity and...

Nepal's recent transition to a federal state structure provides a historic juncture to realize the role that social protection can play in achieving the constitutional goals of equity, inclusion, and prosperity. The transition to a federal structure of governance and the promulgation of a new...

Panama has experienced impressive and significant economic growth, emerging as one of the better performers in Central America in recent years and one of the fastest growing economies worldwide. From 2003 to 2013, Panama has averaged an annual GDP growth rate of approximately 7 percent,...

The Government of the Republic of Zambia (GRZ) has an ambitious long-term vision for the nation and its people, operationalized through the national development plans. A rapid increase in public spending financed through borrowing, due to lack of a concomitant increase in public revenue, meant a...

The health sector of Papua New Guinea (PNG) has seen significant positive developments in recent years. Key indicators of health access and quality have, however, barely improved or have even declined (for example, maternal and child health) from 2006 to 2015. In 2016, PNG entered the...

This report seeks to formulate a long-term vision for Haiti's health sector to accelerate progress toward universal health coverage (UHC), a key objective of the government's National Health Policy (Politique Nationale de Sante, PNS)-MSPP (2012). Progress toward this goal has been hindered by...

This report identifies critical opportunities and constraints faced by Solomon Islands health system as it makes progress towards Universal Health Coverage. Protecting the achievements that have been made over recent years, while continuing to improve a broader range of health outcomes, requires...

This report identifies critical opportunities and constraints faced by the Kiribati health system as it makes progress towards Universal Health Coverage. Protecting the achievements that have been made over recent years, while continuing to improve a broader range of health outcomes, requires...

This report identifies critical opportunities and constraints faced by the Vanuatu health system as it makes progress toward universal health coverage (UHC). Protecting the achievements that have been made over recent years, while continuing to improve a broader range of health outcomes,...