Ghana's government has embarked on a decentralization process since the 1980s, but devolution of the health system faces important challenges and weaknesses. Ghana has made significant progress, and several building blocks for a devolved health system have been put in place. However, important weaknesses remain regarding several of the key requirements to successful decentralization. Ghana has along the years put in place several important building blocks for a truly decentralized health system. But these efforts have been hampered, and their effectiveness diminished, by the absence of a...

Water scarcity is increasingly becoming a threat to water security in different countries or areas of East Asia, driven by water over-withdrawal and pollution, and aggravated by climate change and variability. The 'Green Water Defense in East Asia' study, as part of the driver for green growth in the water sector of East Asia region, seeks to find a sustainable solution to this challenge. The concept of Green Water Defense (GWD) is developed building on such principles as 'live and build with nature', 'green adaptation', 'produce more with less' and 'low impact development', etc. It is...

This applied study addresses the large flood exposures of Central Europe and proposes efficient financial and risk transfer mechanisms to mitigate fiscal losses from such natural catastrophes. In 2010 the V-4 Visegrad countries (i.e., Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia) demonstrated their historical vulnerability to floods - Poland suffered $3.2 billion in flood related losses, comparable to it $3.5 billion of losses in 1997. Flood modeling analysis of the V-4 shows that a disaster event with a 5 percent probability in any given year can lead to economic losses in these countries of...

La presente evaluation du secteur sanitaire prive au Burkina Faso vise quatre objectifs: a) determiner le role que le secteur prive joue dans le systeme national de sante; b) formuler un diagnostic sur la nature et l'efficacite de l'interface entre secteurs public et prive ainsi que sur les cadres juridique, reglementaire, technique et humain dans lequel evolue ce secteur; c) formuler des recommandations au Gouvernement, renforcer le dialogue entre les parties prenantes impliquees dans les secteurs public et prive; et d) informer les entrepreneurs de la finance, de l'assurance, de...

This country assessment is part of a set of studies planned in order to provide a better understanding of how to improve the business environment in which the private sector operates in Congo and other African countries. The assessment was conducted in order to establish a baseline of information, to help with political decision-making and provide market information. The private health sector assessment in the Republic of Congo provides a diagnosis of the nature and the effectiveness of the interface between the public and private sectors, establishes a dialogue on policy with stakeholders,...

Becoming a middle-income economy is an explicit development goal of many countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. This book assesses the implications of that goal for secondary education in Ethiopia. It shows that a rapid expansion of secondary education will be needed to support the country's transition from a low-income economy with substantial subsistence agriculture to a lower-middle-income economy with an increased share of commercial agriculture, as well as growing industrial and service sectors. As Ethiopia moves towards this goal, the demand for a labor force with skills beyond basic literacy...

This report is among the first analyses in Africa to examine how parents and communities have taken up the challenge of feeding their children during the school day. It carries important messages for countries throughout Africa and beyond that are seeking to develop sustainable, community-led school feeding programs. Many school systems in Africa have expanded through the introduction of mass education. Uganda has been at the forefront of this reform process and currently grappling with improving the quality of education as is the case with many other countries in the region. Quality...

Azerbaijan experienced a 'golden age' in the last decade, during which the average growth rate reached record high levels and poverty decreased significantly. On average, the economy grew by 15.3 percent per year in real terms during this period. As a result, poverty declined dramatically from 49.6 percent in 2001 to 15.8 percent in 2008. This study takes an inclusive growth approach to investigating the ways in which the country's high growth was translated into significant poverty reduction. The report first investigates the sources of growth in Azerbaijan with an emphasis on sectoral...

The paper 'Challenges and Approaches to Electricity Grids Operations and Planning with Increased Amounts of Variable Renewable Generation: Emerging Lessons from Selected Operational Experiences and Desktop Studies' focuses on analyzing the impacts of variable renewable energy on the operation and planning of the the power system (mostly, generation system). It is aimed at informing stakeholders in power utilities, regulatory bodies and other relevant audiences, on the fundamentals of technical challenges and approaches to operate electricity grids with renewable energy. It covers renewable...

Given the chronic power shortages faced by numerous developing countries, and the need everywhere to keep pace with demand, understanding the drivers of public private partnerships (PPPs) in energy is critical. While many private electricity projects have been delayed and financing costs have increased, the impact of the global financial crisis was less severe than that of previous crises that originated in developing countries. This resilience stems from developing countries' need to expand generation capacity, electricity sector reforms and better regulatory frameworks, and short-term...