In Nepal, both early marriage and motherhood still place adolescents and their children at a great disadvantage. In 2011, one-third of girls aged 15-19 were already married. About 60 percent of them were pregnant or had at least one child, and one in ten had two living children (Nepal...

The last few years have seen a growing commitment worldwide to universal health coverage (UHC). Yet there is a lack of clarity on how to measure progress towards UHC. This paper proposes a ?mashup? index that captures both aspects of UHC: that everyone?irrespective of their ability-to-pay?gets...

This book identifies the achievements and challenges of social policy in Peru. Its objective is to provide the new presidential administration of Peru with a diagnostic of the main problems that need to be overcome to improve education, health care, and anti-poverty programs, and with...

The past half-century has seen enormous changes in the demographic makeup of Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). In the 1950s, LAC had a small population of about 160 million people, less than today's population of Brazil. Two-thirds of Latin Americans lived in rural areas. Families were...

This paper describes the health financing policies used today by African countries to expand health coverage. It identifies key health financing policies used by African countries and measures the existence of regional patterns in the use of these policies. The paper does not attempt to identify...

The last few years have seen a growing commitment worldwide to universal health coverage (UHC). Yet there is a lack of clarity on how to measure progress towards UHC. This paper proposes a ‘mashup’ index that captures both aspects of UHC: that everyone—irrespective of their...

This paper draws lessons from anti-fraud experiences in social health insurance programs of six selected countries across the income spectrum: Indonesia, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Croatia, Turkey, and the United States. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect information on...

At least part of the effort toward MDG attainment in the social sector could come from improvements in efficiency of delivery mechanisms. Hence, it is important to know which countries - or which regions within countries - are able to attain higher MDG outcomes even after controlling for...

At least part of the effort toward attainment of health and education Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) could come from improvements inefficiency of delivery mechanisms. Hence, it is important to know which countries - or which regions within countries - are able to attain higher MDG outcomes...

This paper reports estimates of the economic impact of HIV/AIDS in the Asian and Pacific region using a standard growth model. Following previous research on this issue, an economywide aggregate production function is estimated with health capital as an input. HIV/AIDS is assumed to influence...