Taking the Philippines Health Financing Strategy (HFS) 2010-2020 objective of 'sustaining membership in PhilHealth for all Filipinos' as its point of departure, this report assesses the expansion of health insurance coverage in the Philippines and the extent to which it provides protection from...

The recent advances in battery technology and reductions in battery costs have brought battery energy storage systems (BESS) to the point of becoming increasingly cost-effective projects to serve a range of power sector interventions, especially when combined with PV and where diesel is the...

The Palestinian Territories face significant energy security challenges, already severe in Gaza, but also emerging in the West Bank. In Gaza, the available power supply only meets half the demand leading to rolling blackouts, alternating between 8 hours on and 8 hours off. Although the West Bank...

This companion piece to the Fall 2022 ECA Economic Update provides an overview of the policy options available to countries to respond to the energy price shock and examines how this crisis could harness the clean energy transition to enhance collective energy security. The options to support...

Air pollution is a major cause of death and disease. 'Ambient air pollution' refers to contamination of outdoor air; 'household air pollution' refers to contamination of indoor air. Ambient (or outdoor) air pollution is the world's leading environmental risk to health and the cause of morbidity...

According to the Global Burden of Disease 2019 study, air pollution from fine particulate matter caused 6.4 million premature deaths and 93 billion days lived with illness in 2019. Over the past decade, the toll of ambient air pollution has continued to rise. Air pollution's significant health,...

Outdoor air pollution accounts for an estimated 4.2 million deaths worldwide, the majority of which are caused by exposure to fine particulate matter (or PM2.5) air pollution. Most of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Reducing PM2.5 air pollution is thus crucial for...

Carbon taxes can be win-win for Bangladesh. They can help show the world that Bangladesh is serious about climate mitigation, boosting the country's influence in international negotiations and helping it to access financing and technology promised during the COP-21. They can play a role in...

Cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) experience high ambient concentrations of health-damaging fine particulate air pollution in Europe. This report is one in a series of three reports on air quality management in BiH, Kosovo, and North Macedonia. This report examines the nature and magnitude...