'The Human Resources for Health Crisis in Zambia' is part of the World Bank Working Paper series. These papers are published to communicate the results of the Bank's ongoing research and to stimulate public discussion. Despite reporting some health gains since the 1990s, health outcomes remain poor in Zambia and it will be very challenging to achieve the health-related Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The Government of Zambia recognizes that the improvement of child and maternal health and the reduction in mortality from HIV/AIDs and malaria require better access to an appropriate number...

The full report was prepared and edited by Maryanne Sharp and Ioana Kruse.

HIV/AIDS and Tuberculosis in Central Asia: Country Profiles is part of the World Bank Working Paper series. These papers are published to communicate the results of the Bank's ongoing research and to stimulate public discussion. The countries of Central Asia are still at the earliest stage of an HIV/AIDS epidemic. However, the region is experiencing steep growth of new HIV cases; related epidemics of injected drug use, sexually-transmitted infections (STIs), and tuberculosis; a high percentage of youth in the total population; and low levels of knowledge about the epidemics. HIV/AIDS and...

Many countries that subscribe to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have committed to ensuring access to basic health services for their citizens. Health insurance has been considered and promoted as the major financing mechanism to improve access to health services, as well to provide financial risk protection. In Africa, several countries have already spent scarce time, money, and effort on health insurance initiatives. Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Tanzania are just a few of them. However, many of these schemes, both public and private, cover only a small proportion of...