Effective coverage is a measure of health system performance that combines three aspects of health care service delivery into a single measure: need, use, and quality. In this technical note, the concept of effective coverage is explained, methodological issues are discussed and the implications...

The discussion paper presents a summary of health specialist concerns, followed by a summary of concerns for those working on indigenous peoples' issues. The final section attempts to highlight areas of agreement and define questions for debate. In each section, the reader is encouraged to...

Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programs are spreading rapidly throughout the developing world. These are the subjects of this paper and include Colombia's Familias en Acción, Honduras' PRAF, Jamaica's PATH, Mexico's Progresa/Oportunidades, and Nicaragua's Red de Protección Social. While...

Private providers have become an important source of health care in Latin America, yet there is still little documentation on them, especially regarding their role as providers of preventive and public health interventions. This paper uses Demographic and Health Surveys from various Latin...

A crescente exposição a fatores de risco em combinação com os baixos níveis de acesso aos cuidados preventivos está aumentando as necessidades de saúde não satisfeitas. A região da ALC vem experimentando uma "transição nutricional" com relação às dietas menos saudáveis. De 30% a...

This paper focuses on a rather unexplored dimension to date of the HIV/AIDS epidemic: the resulting stigma and discrimination and its impact on the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS programs. It presents a conceptual framework that explains the interplay between stigma, discrimination and human rights....

Growing exposure to risk factors in combination with low levels of access to preventive care are increasing unmet health needs. LAC has been experiencing a "nutrition transition" towards less healthy diets. Thirty to sixty percent of the region's population does not achieve the minimum...

Brazil is characterized by large inequalities in income, access to health care, and health status. This paper uses data from the 1998 Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios to analyze the complex relationships among health, income, health insurance and health care utilization to gain a...

Throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, countries are in the midst of debates about their health systems. Frequently, the characteristics of reforms in one country are used to promote or criticize particular proposals in another. Despite the great importance and potential from learning from...

This paper presents some of the background research that contributed to the discussions within the Inter-American Development Bank's policy and strategy regarding indigenous health issues. The paper's conceptual approach and good practice research helped focus the discussion on the importance of...