Evaluating Health Projects


Book Description

This book explores the wave of decentralization that has swept through Latin America and the projected institutional changes within the governments in the region. Although it notes the ways in which decentralization implies a critique of past governing patterns, the emphasis is on such potential consequences of governmental change as the strengthening of democratic participation in government and the improvement of local public service. The book draws upon institutional experiments carried out at the state level to examine which decentralization strategies work best in Latin America. It is organized around three major requirements for the success of decentralization: * Establishing the national fiscal framework * Moving government closer to the people * Improving municipal service delivery. Tables illustrate the shift of revenues and expenditures from central authorities to intermediate levels of government.




Improving Effectiveness and Outcomes for the Poor in Health, Nutrition, and Population


Book Description

This study evaluates the effectiveness of the World Bank Group's support for health, nutrition, and population (HNP) in developing countries from 1997 to 2008 - totaling more than $17 billion - and distills lessons for greater impact in the future. It finds that the Bank Group now funds a smaller share of global support for HNP than a decade ago, but its support remains substantial and adds considerable value. About two-thirds of the Bank's HNP support has had satisfactory outcomes, often in difficult environments. But in a number of country settings, particularly in Africa, it has not performed well, in part due to high complexity and weak capacity. Only half of HNP support had a pro-poor focus, while support to reduce high fertility and promote family planning has dwindled. The evaluation highlights the contribution of investments in water supply, sanitation, and hygiene to improving the health of the poor and the lessons from support for sector-wide approaches, communicable disease control, and health reform. Moving forward, the World Bank needs to improve the performance of its HNP support and the Bank and IFC need to take actions to ensure their support reaches the poor and contributes greater social benefits, respectively.




Improving Quality of Care in Family Planning


Book Description

In this book the authors review initiatives in improving the quality of care for family planning in India and bring them to the broader forum of policy-level discussions. ​The global Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) framework argues for voluntary rights-based family planning programmes. The rights-based approach builds on the bedrock of quality of care, which means listening to what women want, treating individuals with dignity and respect and ensuring that everyone has access to full information and high quality care. Improving the quality of care in family planning services in a country like India is crucial from individual, national and global considerations. This book critically discusses and evaluates the various interventions undertaken so far and the reasons for success and failure. It also synthesizes current research studies in India, identifies gaps and presents a research agenda to bridge this gap and accelerate progress towards improving quality of care in family planning. It presents a comprehensive framework that underscores the importance of health systems and community environments in creating enabling, motivating and empowering roles for providers and clients. The examples and perspectives presented in this book make a strong case for adoption into policy frameworks and scaling up of quality of care efforts, and identifying research priorities for strengthening the response to family planning. This book greatly contributes towards enhancing the quality of family planning care at the grass-roots level in low resource settings and is of interest to researchers and practitioners of public health, particularly community health, maternal and child health, and social work.