This document describes the purpose and context of the Booster Program, its first three years of operation and the proposed design of phase two of the program. Phase two seeks to build on the successes of and lessons learned from phase one and to enable the World Bank to play its expected role...

Despite a fair amount of progress on understanding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemiology globally, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is the only region where knowledge of the epidemic continues to be very limited, and subject to much controversy. It has been more than 25...

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are a challenge the global community has set for itself. They are a challenge to poor countries to demonstrate good governance and a commitment to poverty reduction. And they are a challenge to wealthy countries to make good on their promise to support...

Undernutrition imposes a staggering cost worldwide, both in human and economic terms. It is responsible for the deaths of more than 3.5 million children each year (more than one-third of all deaths among children under five) and the loss of billions of dollars in forgone productivity and...

This document presents the rationale for addressing HIV/AIDS in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region (including Algeria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates, the West...

In the past 30 years, China has reached the target of lifting 500 million people out of poverty. The rate of increase in human development indicators has become the second fastest in the world, allowing China to enter the ranks of middle-income countries. As the most populous country, accounting...