Universal Health Coverage is a powerful framework for a nation aiming to protect their population against health risks. However, countries face multiple challenges in implementing, achieving and sustaining UHC strategies. Sharing and learning from diverse country experiences may enable to foster...

The paper assesses the available evidence on the potential effects of social transfers on child protection outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: the negative outcomes or damaging exposure of children to violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect, and improved outcomes or a reduction in...

One of the main sections in the current draft of the 2011-2012 Interprofessional Agreement concerns the welfare adjustment of social benefits. This draft results from a long process and fits in with the law concerning the Solidarity Pact between the Generations, which established a structural...

Solidarity and equivalence are a long-term issue of all social systems in advanced countries. At first glance it may appear that these two principles act against one another, but in reality there are a number of very close relationships between these principles – whereas in the degree to which...

Medicare is America’s second largest entitlement program and this year will account for 14 percent of the Federal budget, 3.2 percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is growing rapidly so that by the end of the Medicare Trustees 75-year projection period, 2080, the Medicare...

The aim of the report is to review existing approaches and available policy options to improve access to health care services and financial protection against health shocks for informal-sector workers (ISWs). Along with their families, ISWs represent the majority of the population in many...

This paper reviews Uzbekistan’s Interim Welfare Improvement Strategy Paper (I-WISP). I-WISP defines the main directions and measures aimed at improving living standards and reducing poverty among the population of Uzbekistan for 2005–10. The strategy is designed to further expand...

Data for the United States and countries in Western Europe indicate a negative correlation between the dependency ratio and both labor tax rates and the generosity of social transfers, after controlling for other factors that influence the size of the welfare state. This is despite the increased...