The report provides data on progress and trends in reaching the Millennium Development Goals for health, nutrition and population. It looks at poor-nonpoor disparities; health system reforms as a means of laying building blocks for the efficient and equitable delivery of interventions; the financing of health spending through domestic resources and aid; and improving the effectiveness of development assistance in health. In doing so, the report links the health Millennium Development Goal agenda with the broader poverty-reduction agenda. In addition, the report provides an inventory of World...

This volume presents eleven case studies that document how well or poorly health, nutrition, and population programs have reached disadvantaged groups in the countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America where they were undertaken. The studies were commissioned by the Reaching the Poor Program, undertaken by the Word Bank in cooperation with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Dutch and Swedish governments, in an effort to find better ways of ensuring that health, nutrition, and population programs benefit the neediest. These case studies, reinforced by other material gathered by the...

Vietnam's successes in the health sector are remarkable. Between 2000 and 2005, Vietnam achieved reductions in mortality rates for all ages, while some of its neighbors saw little change or even increases. To date, its infant and under-five mortality rates are comparable to those of countries with substantially higher per capita incomes. According to the data assembled in 'Health Financing and Delivery in Vietnam', the country continues to perform strongly in the sector, but its health care system is facing new challenges, as do those of other countries. By international standards, for...

'Reforming China s Rural Health System' examines the performance and workings of China s rural health system leading up to the reforms of the 2000s, outlines the reforms, and presents some early evidence on their impacts. The authors outline ideas for building on these reforms to further strengthen China s rural health system, covering health financing and health insurance, service delivery, and public health. The authors conclude by using the experiences of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries to gaze into China s future, asking not only what China s health...