L'Afrique a connu une forte croissance economique au cours des 2 dernieres decennies. Cependant, les indices de pauvrete chronique restent tres eleves, alors que la frequence des chocs auxquels sont confrontes les menages pauvres s'accentue et que l'ecart entre les differents groupes de revenus s'elargit, particulierement en termes de capital humain et d'acces aux services essentiels. A travers le soutien regulier et fiable aux menages pauvres et vulnerables et l'appui a l'investissement productif, les interventions ciblees telles que les filets sociaux ont fait la preuve de leur capacite a...

This World Bank report is a rich compilation of information on teaching learning materials (TLM) in Africa based on the extensive and multi-faceted experience of the author's work in the education sector in Africa. The study examines a wide range of issues around TLM provision including curriculum, literacy and numeracy, language of instruction policy, procurement and distribution challenges, TLM development and production and their availability, management and usage in schools. It also looks at the role of information and communication technology (ICT) based TLMs and their availability. The...

Human capital encompasses a broad range of knowledge, skills, and capabilities for success in life and work; quality education is the prerequisite for such capital accumulation. Investment in quality education provides a nation with the workforce equipped to achieve increased productivity and growth. Tanzania has established the goal of attaining middle-income country status by 2015. The country has embraced a nationwide initiative to transform the educational system and prepare its youth to become competitive members of the East African and global economic communities. Building on...

La CSU a pour objectifs de s'assurer que tous peuvent avoir acces a des services de sante de qualite, de preserver l'ensemble des individus contre les risques a la sante publique et de proteger toutes les personnes contre l'appauvrissement attribuable a la maladie. Des pays aussi divers que le Bresil, la France, le Japon, la Thailande et la Turquie ont reussi a mettre en oeuvre la CSU et illustrent comment ces programmes peuvent a la fois agir en tant que dispositifs essentiels d'amelioration de la sante et du bien-etre de leurs citoyens et mettre en place les fondations d'une croissance...

The health workforce is the foundation of care and affects quality and outcomes; human resources for health (HRH) constitutes the largest portion of the health care budget of most countries. Latin America and the Caribbean has been challenged by imbalances in workforce composition, distribution, and skill mix, as well as by variations in productivity and quality. The Health Workforce in Latin America and the Caribbean: An Analysis of Colombia, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay provides an update on HRH in these six countries. The discussion is structured around five key areas of...

The 1992 creation of the National HIV/AIDS Program was a fundamental step for Argentina to reach the second lowest burden of HIV/AIDS in South America. From 2000 to 2010, Argentina further reduced the already low HIV/AIDS incidence of 15.9 per 100,000 by 25 percent and reduced the burden by 21 percent. This study analyzes the national and inter-provincial burden of disease, the demographics of new HIV cases, the demand and supply-sides of service delivery, and conducts a cost-benefit analysis of the National HIV/AIDS Program over the last decade. Though the National HIV/AIDS Program was an...

In Central and Eastern European countries, inequalities for Roma families living in marginalized communities start early and are striking. Some of these inequalities reflect hard-wired family circumstances such as being born in poverty. Others reflect lack of opportunities such as limited access to those basic goods and services that are necessary not only for realizing one's potential in life, but also for living with dignity. Gaps between Roma and non-Roma widen over the lifecycle in a way that reinforces and perpetuates disadvantage and translates into significantly unequal outcomes,...

In the past 15 years, employment, labor market participation, and wages have grown significantly in Brazil. Improved labor market outcomes have been the main drivers of reductions in poverty and inequality. Sustaining Employment and Wage Gains in Brazil: A Skills and Jobs Agenda analyzes Brazil's labor markets and identifies the key challenges involved in sustaining job creation, wage growth, and poverty reduction. The work finds that continued progress in employment and labor earnings will depend on the country's ability to achieve a first critical goal: raise labor productivity. Continued...

Bangladesh's ambition is to build on its very solid growth and poverty reduction achievements, and accelerate growth to become a middle income country by 2021, and share prosperity more widely amongst its citizens. This includes one of its greatest development challenges: to provide gainful employment to the over 2 million people that will join the labor force each year over the next decade. Moreover, only 54.1 million of its 94 million working age people are employed. Bangladesh needs to use its labor endowment even more intensively to increase growth and, in turn, to absorb the incoming...

Investments on the order of US$6 billion are estimated to be needed in the water sector in Nigeria in the next 10 years if the country is to achieve universal water supply coverage. This is the main finding of State Water Agencies in Nigeria: A Performance Assessment, in which the objective is to provide the government of Nigeria with a structured and coherent quantitative snapshot of the state of its urban water sector. The report focuses on water provision services from the States' Water Authorities or Water Boards (SWAs) as they are the major and only regulated agencies that provide water...