'The Health Sector in Eritrea' is part of the World Bank Country Study series. These reports are published with the approval of the subject government to communicate the results of the Bank's work on the economic and related conditions of member countries to governments and to the development community. In March 2001, the Ministry of Health of the Government of Eritrea launched a process to prepare a long-term health sector policy and strategic plan (HSPSP), with a focus on assuring equitable, quality, and sustainable health care. The Ministry outlined an open, participatory, three-step...

Inequality and Economic Development in Brazil is part of the World Bank Country Study series. These reports are published with the approval of the subject government to communicate the results of the Bank's work on the economic and related conditions of member countries to governments and to the development community. Excessive income inequality is unfair and undesirable on ethical grounds and can bring adverse effects on economic growth, health outcomes, social cohesion, and crime. Excessively unequal initial conditions are likely to lead to a perverse cycle of weak social mobility. Such is...

According to the authors of 'Zambia', poverty is on the rise in the country, its economy is not growing fast enough, the quality of economic governance is on the decline, and its public resources are not well spent. Addressing the longstanding challenges that Zambia faces in public expenditure management will require strong political will. In order to assure that public accountability is enduring and not dependent on the government which happens to be in power, it must strengthen budget processes and institutions that can provide public oversight and promote basic checks and balances. This...

Malnutrition is crippling Bolivia, afflicting approximately one in four babies born there each year. Despite high annual expenditures on improving nutrition and food security, and notwithstanding some stunning successes in the past two decades, the fundamental problem is still not improving. This book begins by defining the nature and extent of the malnutrition problem in Bolivia, its causes, and its occurrence relative to wealth, location, and ethnicity. It goes on to identify the underlying reasons for the failed response, asserting that the most fundamental barrier to progress is a general...

Rapid and sustained growth, in excess of 5% per annum, is key for sustained poverty reduction in Yemen. However, the achievement of such a target is challenging and necessitates aggressive changes in the overall business environment and governance structure along with the removal of certain obstacles to growth. This Country Study reviews Yemen's economic performance and evaluates the government's medium- and long-term development plans. It offers a detailed analysis of the major structural characteristics of the Yemeni economy and the primary economic sectors with the goal of identifying...

Many of the problems that Cali is currently experiencing are an indication of Colombia's complicated social economic situation. The high levels of crime, increasing poverty, and a distressed financial situation are signs that Cali has been hit harder than other large cities. In order to assist Cali, the World Bank has, along with the city of Cali, collaborated on a City Development Strategy (CDS). The aim of this report is to summarize the analytical work carried out as part of the City Development Strategy (CDS) process and to put forth for further discussion an initial set of...

After the break-up of the Soviet Union, the economic contraction in the Kyrgyz Republic was among the worst experienced in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Their output declined by fifty percent between the years 1991 and 1995. The fiscal costs to the country were nothing short of disastrous. Just as the Kyrgyz Republic was about to decisively restore growth and macroeconomic stability, a series of natural disasters and a regional crisis caused another fiscal setback. This report details a set of measures which, if implemented, will restore fiscal stability to the country. It...

This report considers a number of important issues including the reform in the national social security system, pension regime for government workers, funded pension plans to supplement the national social security system, and funded plans to guarantee pension benefits or to supplement them. It examines the inter-linkages and balance between them as well as suggesting remedies.

'China: Overcoming Rural Poverty' assesses the state of poverty in China at the end of the 1990s. The book also evaluates the most effective and efficient means of overcoming the remaining absolute poverty in the new decade. It focuses on China's absolute poor who are increasingly concentrated in remote and mountainous townships and villages. The report places considerable emphasis on the macroeconomic context, and finds that the trends in poverty reduction in the 1990s have been partly determined by larger macroeconomic trends.

This report offers an overview of the challenges and opportunities in addressing the problem of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean. It provides a snapshot of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the region, gives examples of ways in which Caribbean countries and regional bodies such as the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have responded to the epidemic, and discusses alternative actions for addressing the crisis. This book also highlights a range of strategies for donor coordination and cooperation in the region.