Financing Health Services in Developing Countries


Book Description

This report discusses several different approaches that support reforming health care services in developing countries. For some time now, health care services have been supported by government funds. As demands for improving health care services continue to increase additional demands will be placed on governments to respond. This, however, will not be easy. Slow economic growth and record budget deficits in the 1980's have forced reductions in public spending. Alternative approaches to finance health care services are needed. Such possible changes could involve: decentralization of federal government involvement; the promotion of nongovernment involvement; the imposition of user fees; and, establishing health insurance. Finally, the role of the Bank in pursuing new financing strategies is discussed.




Strengthening Country Commitment to Human Development


Book Description

Annotation Technical and economic issues get the lion's share of attention in designing poverty reduction programs. Yet politicians, bureaucrats, or communities are not committed to implementing them well. This book draws attention to this gap in analysis and planning and suggests practical ways, based on country experience, to build commitment.




Healthy Development


Book Description

After an extensive consultative process with governments and global partners, including civil society organizations and bilateral and multilateral organizations, the World Bank's new health, nutrition, and population strategy aims to help developing countries strengthen their health systems and improve the health and well-being of millions of the world's poorest people, boost economic growth, reduce poverty caused by catastrophic illness, and provide the structural "glue" that supports multiple health-related programs within countries."--BOOK JACKET.




Poverty Reduction Support Credits


Book Description

This evaluation examines the relevance and effectiveness of Poverty Reduction Support Credits (PRSCs), introduced by the Bank in early 2001 to support comprehensive growth, improve social conditions, and reduce poverty in IDA countries. PRSCs were intended to allow greater country-ownership, provide more predictable annual support, exhibit more flexible conditionality, and strengthen budget processes in a results-based framework. By September 2009, the Bank had approved 99 PRSCs totaling some $7.5 billion and representing 38% percent of IDA policy based lending. The evaluation finds that in terms of process, PRSCs were effective in easing conditionality, increasing country ownership and aid predictability, stimulating dialogue between central and sectoral ministries, and improving donor harmonization. In terms of content, PRSCs succeeded in emphasizing public sector management and pro-poor service delivery. Yet in terms of results, it is difficult to distinguish growth and poverty outcomes in countries with PRSCs from other better performing IDA countries. There is scope for further simplifying the language of conditionality and underpinning PRSCs with better pro-poor growth diagnostics. PRSCs can also strengthen their results frameworks and limit sector policy content in multi-sector DPLs to high-level or cross-cutting issues. Today, Bank policy has subsumed PRSCs under the broader mantle of Development Policy Lending and the rationale for a separate brand name although differences linger from the past. Since PRSCs and other policy-based lending have gradually converged in design, remaining differences compared to other Development Policy Loans should be clearly spelled out, or the separate PRSC brand name should be phased out.




Going Universal


Book Description

This book is about 24 developing countries that have embarked on the journey towards universal health coverage (UHC) following a bottom-up approach, with a special focus on the poor and vulnerable, through a systematic data collection that provides practical insights to policymakers and practitioners. Each of the UHC programs analyzed in this book is seeking to overcome the legacy of inequality by tackling both a “financing gap†? and a “provision gap†?: the financing gap (or lower per capita spending on the poor) by spending additional resources in a pro-poor way; the provision gap (or underperformance of service delivery for the poor) by expanding supply and changing incentives in a variety of ways. The prevailing view seems to indicate that UHC require not just more money, but also a focus on changing the rules of the game for spending health system resources. The book does not attempt to identify best practices, but rather aims to help policy makers understand the options they face, and help develop a new operational research agenda. The main chapters are focused on providing a granular understanding of policy design, while the appendixes offer a systematic review of the literature attempting to evaluate UHC program impact on access to services, on financial protection, and on health outcomes.




Priorities in Health


Book Description

"This companion guide to Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries, 2nd edition speeds the diffusion of life-saving knowledge by distilling the contents of the larger volume into an easily read format. Policy makers, practitioners, academics, and other interested readers will get an overview of the messages and analysis in Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries, 2nd edition; be alerted to the scope of major diseases; learn strategies to improve policies and choices to implement cost-effective interventions; and locate chapters of immediate interest."




Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook


Book Description

The 'Gender in Agriculture Sourcebook' provides an up-to-date understanding of gender issues and a rich compilation of compelling evidence of good practices and lessons learned to guide practitioners in integrating gender dimensions into agricultural projects and programs. It is serves as a tool for: guidance; showcasing key principles in integrating gender into projects; stimulating the imagination of practitioners to apply lessons learned, experiences, and innovations to the design of future support and investment in the agriculture sector. The Sourcebook draws on a wide range of experience from World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), and other donor agencies, governments, institutions, and groups active in agricultural development. The Sourcebook looks at: access to and control of assets; access to markets, information and organization; and capacity to manage risk and vulnerability through a gender lens. There are 16 modules covering themes of cross-cutting importance for agriculture with strong gender dimensions (Policy, Public Administration and Governance; Agricultural Innovation and Education; Food Security; Markets; Rural Finance; Rural Infrastructure; Water; Land; Labor; Natural Resource Management; and Disaster and Post-Conflict Management) and specific subsectors in agriculture (Crops, Livestock, Forestry, and Fisheries). A separate module on Monitoring and Evaluation is included, responding to the need to track implementation and development impact. Each module contains three different sub-units: (1) A Module Overview gives a broad introduction to the topic and provides a summary of major development issues in the sector and rationale of looking at gender dimension; (2) Thematic Notes provide a brief and technically sound guide in gender integration in selected themes with lessons learned, guidelines, checklists, organizing principles, key questions, and key performance indicators; and (3) Innovative Activity Profiles describe the design and innovative features of recent and exciting projects and activities that have been implemented or are ongoing.




Impact Evaluation in Practice, Second Edition


Book Description

The second edition of the Impact Evaluation in Practice handbook is a comprehensive and accessible introduction to impact evaluation for policy makers and development practitioners. First published in 2011, it has been used widely across the development and academic communities. The book incorporates real-world examples to present practical guidelines for designing and implementing impact evaluations. Readers will gain an understanding of impact evaluations and the best ways to use them to design evidence-based policies and programs. The updated version covers the newest techniques for evaluating programs and includes state-of-the-art implementation advice, as well as an expanded set of examples and case studies that draw on recent development challenges. It also includes new material on research ethics and partnerships to conduct impact evaluation. The handbook is divided into four sections: Part One discusses what to evaluate and why; Part Two presents the main impact evaluation methods; Part Three addresses how to manage impact evaluations; Part Four reviews impact evaluation sampling and data collection. Case studies illustrate different applications of impact evaluations. The book links to complementary instructional material available online, including an applied case as well as questions and answers. The updated second edition will be a valuable resource for the international development community, universities, and policy makers looking to build better evidence around what works in development.




Enriching Lives


Book Description

Vitamin and mineral (micronutrient) deficiencies impose high economic costs on virtually every developing country. But programs for alleviating these deficiencies are among the most cost-effective of all health programs—with high rates of return in terms of human resources. 'World Development Report 1993: Investing in Health' highlighted both needs and opportunities in this area.This report provides detailed arguments for addressing micronutrient malnutrition and practical advice drawn from program experience. The book suggests three main strategies: • Educate consumers so that they fully appreciate and understand the importance of micronutrients in their diet • Encourage the fortification of foodstuffs by combining market incentives and regulatory enforcement • Distribute, as a last resort, micronutrient capsules and other supplements, using all public and private channels available. World Bank-assisted projects in 30 countries now have micronutrient components. This number could grow, but the effort will require stronger partnerships with nongovernmental organizations, private industry, and international organizations.