Faced with a large and increasing obesity epidemic, the Mexican Government in the last years has increased efforts to prevent and control it. In October 2013, Mexico’s Congress passed legislation imposing taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and calorie-dense foods of low nutritional...

The objectives of this case study are to assess how the poor fared as a result of recent efforts toward universal health coverage in Azerbaijan, and to provide an overview of the government’s planned additional reforms, in the context of a difficult economic and fiscal situation.The case study...

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) represent an important and growing burden to the health and economies of the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. However, some of this burden can be prevented or controlled through targeted clinical services and multi-sectoral activities aimed at...

Bangladesh allocates a much smaller share of the government budget to health than countries of similar income level. Reallocation is politically challenging but could offer the biggest potential source of fiscal space for health, larger than the space that economic growth can bring. How those...

To raise awareness among policymakers and health practitioners about unhealthy diets, this document examines dietary patterns in selected Latin American countries using household surveys. The analysis shows that a large percentage of households in the countries examined have inadequate diets....

Despite a substantial improvement in controlling new infections of HIV over the last ten years, Mexico is experiencing a low-level epidemic with approximately 180,000 people living with HIV (Spectrum, 2013), making it the fourth ranking country in Latin America with regards to the number of...

Excise taxes on tobacco and alcohol products can be an effective instrument for promoting public health through curbing smoking and excessive drinking, while raising significant revenues for development priorities. In 2012, the Philippines successfully passed a landmark tobacco and alcohol tax...