This paper presents new evidence on the impact of school characteristics on secondary student achievement using a rich data set from rural Bangladesh. The authors deal with a potentially important selectivity issue in the South Asian context: the non-random sorting of children into religious...

The potential accessibility of Antiretroviral (ARV) drugs at reduced cost and the emergence of largescale Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) programs in other developing countries, have spurred India to launch its own free antivretroviral treatment (ART) program in April 2004. While many countries...

An assessment of monitoring and evaluation (M&E) was undertaken to learn lessons, both positive and negative, from the experience of the South Asia Health, Nutrition, Population Sector (SASHNP) in ongoing or recently closed projects. The objectives of the study were to: (a) improve the design...

This paper provides an institutional record of the implementation experiences of all the four World Bank-assisted National Emergency Employment Program (NEEP)/National Rural Access Program (NRAP) projects and evaluates the impact on community members of the improved rural access that the...

Throughout the world, governments are moving from being exclusively service delivery organizations and toward improving their public health sector management and stewardship capacity. To diversify service provision, the Bangladesh Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) is striving to...

This report focuses on the attainment of four major human development-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by Pakistan and its main sub-national units - infant mortality, child malnutrition, schooling enrollment and completion, and gender disparities in schooling. The selection of these...

This report analyzes some key aspects of food security, namely production, trade, markets and food aid at the national level, and consumption at the household level. In doing so it aspires to make a contribution to the on-going work in Afghanistan regarding the attainment of the poverty and...

This assessment considered three major areas of public health surveillance: (1) communicable diseases, (2) vital registration with a focus on maternal and infant mortality, and (3) non-communicable diseases and risk factors. The key recommendations for each of these areas are summarized below. A...

The World Bank (New Delhi) commissioned this qualitative study in June 2002 with the objective of exploring various factors that facilitate or impede successful primary school completion, with special reference to children living in diverse poverty situations. The study looks at children from...

The District Primary Education Program (DPEP) is a centrally sponsored scheme launched by the Government of India in partnership with the state governments and external donor agencies seeking to expand the opportunities for poor and disadvantage children to receive quality primary education....