India's relatively low HIV prevalence rate often raises the question of whether it is in corporate sector interest to allocate resources to combat HIV and AIDS. The five case studies in this report feature a selection of Indian companies that felt compelled to engage in this fight and id allocate resources in order to do so. The challenges these companies encountered and innovative methods they used to surmount these challenges serve as useful lessons for those interested in launching similar intiatives.

This at-a-glance guide to global security provides a wealth of information on armed conflicts since 1946. It maps political violence, the links between poverty and conflict, assaults on human rights -- including the use of child soldiers -- and the causes of war and peace. Extraordinary changes have taken place since the end of the Cold War. Despite the escalating violence in Iraq, and the widening war in Darfur, there has been a decline in armed conflict worldwide. The number of battle-deaths, genocides and refugees has also decreased. Many of these changes can be attributed to international...

Climate change remains a global challenge requiring international collaborative action. Another area where countries have successfully committed to a long-term multilateral resolution is the liberalization of international trade. Integration into the world economy has proven a powerful means for countries to promote economic growth, development, and poverty reduction. The broad objectives of the betterment of current and future human welfare are shared by both global trade and climate regimes. Yet both climate and trade agendas have evolved largely independently through the years, despite...

'O Programa Multinacional de Africa Contra a SIDA 2000-2006' mostra que o financiamento disponibilizado atraves do Programa Multinacional Contra a SIDA (MAP) aumentou dramaticamente o acesso a prevencao, cuidado e tratamento de VIH em toda Africa. O livro faz amplo uso de dados de levantamentos e programas nacionais de VIH/SIDA que demonstram como o fi nanciamento do MAP tem ajudado a suportar criancas e adultos afectados pela SIDA, a prevenir a transmissao de mae a fi lho, ademais de ajudar os paises a adquirir capacidade para programas nacionais ampliados e mais efectivos, incluindo...

Africa is on the move, demonstrating in recent years a significant potential for economic growth. Although the region still faces many challenges, it is also generating pockets of economic vitality in the form of enterprise clusters that are contributing to national, regional, and local productivity. Through case examples from Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda, this book provides an understanding of how these dynamic enterprise clusters were formed and have evolved, and how knowledge, human capital, and technology have contributed to their success.

Sustainable poverty reduction and equitable economic development rest on the firm foundation of the rule of law. On the domestic front, countries must engage in legal reform in order to maximize the benefits of globalization, increase efficiency in business transactions, improve the way governments deliver essential services, and facilitate access to an effective justice system. Internationally, new rules are needed to face global threats such as money laundering, destabilizing capital movements, communicable diseases, and attacks on the environment. The first volume of The World Bank...

This World Bank Working Paper discusses equity and efficiency issues in secondary education transitions in Sub-Saharan Africa. Its main purpose is to identify and analyze national, regional, and local measures that may lead to the development of more efficient and seamless transitions between post-primary education pathways. In most African countries student transition from primary to junior secondary is still accompanied by significant repetition and dropout. Transitions within the secondary cycle also cause significant losses and should use more effective assessment and selection...

This study is based on research on secondary textbook and school library provision in Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Togo, as well as existing recent country reports on textbook provision and an extensive desk research. Considerable variations exist in Sub-Saharan African textbook requirements needed to meet secondary curriculum specifications just as significant differences exist between and within countries in regard to the average price of recommended textbooks. Some countries have no approved textbooks list. This World Bank Working Paper...

Increasingly the role of management and governance is recognized as important for providing and delivering effective services at all levels of education. In view of the growing demand for more and better services at secondary education levels, these are crucial issues that must be addressed urgently. Sub-Saharan Africa's secondary education and training systems must become more efficient and more effective. The current (unit) costs of junior and senior secondary education in most African countries prevent massive expansion of post-primary education. This demands a holistic approach to...

Economic and social changes, fast evolution of technology, and the growing importance of Internet services and international communications--all these require secondary education providers to adapt what is taught and learned in schools. However, in Africa the content of secondary curricula is in most cases ill-adapted to 21st century challenges, where young people are mobile, have access to 'more and instant information, ' and face health threats such as HIV/AIDS. In addition, implementation problems exist, and the time for instruction is often much less then what is required by the...