The World Bank Doing Business report The World Bank’s Doing Business report is an objective and comparative assessment that measures how easy it is to start, run, and grow a business. For example, the report measures the time and cost it takes to register a business, get electricity, and enforce contracts. For over a decade,…
What innovation in the health sector are you most excited about right now? First, I think it’s important to define “innovation,” as I think it has become an overused and misunderstood term. I side with the view which USAID and others in development and humanitarian assistance have put forth. That is, innovation is something —…
Why is inclusion important for the development of Mexico? Mexico is a culturally rich and diverse country with a wealth of natural resources, but also a very unequal country. The already large divide between poor and rich is even wider for women in poverty, who experience the worst development outcomes according to regular evaluations. Being…
At the Global Health Supply Chain Summit in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, we had the opportunity to hear about innovations, public-private partnerships, and other unique solutions that actors from various points of pharmaceutical supply chains are utilizing to solve last mile challenges. Unmanned aerial vehicles, blockchains, Uber-like mobile phone applications for delivery of essential medicines,…
Access to information is a fundamental right. More than 100 countries worldwide have adopted right to information (RTI) legislation, which are laws regulating public access to information, particularly from public institutions (sometimes referred to as access to information or freedom of information laws). These countries are increasingly recognizing the connection between good governance, accountability, and freedom of…
1. What supply chain challenges inhibit universal access to HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care? The treatment of people with HIV presents unique challenges. Even once people are on treatment, they must be monitored to be sure the drugs are effective in decreasing the person’s viral load. WHO guidelines supported under the President’s Emergency Plan for…
During the internship year of my medical training, Peru was affected by a severe El Niño. At that time, millions of people living in the poor peri-urban belt of Lima lacked access to clean water and sanitation services. These factors were a recipe for a massive outbreak of diarrheal diseases in children. The pediatric services…
The UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) will be celebrated this week around the world, on December 3. This year’s theme, “Achieving 17 Goals for the Future We Want,” focuses on the role that the sustainable development goals play in “building a more inclusive and equitable world for people with disabilities.” For the…
Overheard at a recent workshop: “Girls who are having sex with their teachers need to be coached to make better choices.” A debate ensued. Do they? Is that really a choice they are making? Or is it the teachers who need to change their behavior, school administration that needs to be part of the solution,…
In 2013 I wrote a book called Redeeming REDD: Policies, Incentives, and Social Feasibility for Avoided Deforestation, published by Earthscan. In the book I argue that reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD, and the latest variant known as REDD+), needs a suite of enabling conditions, independent of market viability as well as measurement,…
The Sustainable Development Goals established an agenda for transforming the world in which we live. SDG1 sets for the ultimate objective for the global community: to end poverty in all of its forms by 2030. The remaining 16 SDGs identify critically interlinked objectives which are both necessary and sufficient to achieve this objective. They clearly…
In 2015, the United Nations ratified the Sustainable Development Goals, which include bold targets to eradicate poverty and deliver comprehensive healthcare worldwide by 2030. To achieve Goal 3, ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all at all ages, reaching the largest segment of the world’s poor — the women, children, and men who live…