Objectives: Better information on the potential costs of HIV/AIDS to the private sector is needed to determine whether companies have a financial incentive to invest in prevention and treatment interventions. Our objective was to estimate the cost of HIV/AIDS to businesses in Africa using company-specific data on employees, costs, and HIV prevalence. Methods: Six formal sector enterprises in So...

Vulnerability to Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection among factory workers is a global problem. This study investigated the effectiveness of an intervention to increase AIDS knowledge, perceived accessibility to condoms and condom use among young factory workers in Thailand. The intervention was a workplace program designed to engage the private sector in HIV prevention. A cross-sectio...

Addressing the malaria-agriculture linkages requires a broad inter-disciplinary and integrated approach that involves farming communities and key public sectors. In this paper, we report results of participatory involvement of farming communities in determining malaria control strategies in Mvomero District, Tanzania. A seminar involving local government leaders, health and agricultural officia...

BACKGROUND Information on the potential costs of HIV/AIDS to the private sector is needed if companies are to be given a financial incentive to invest in prevention and treatment interventions. OBJECTIVES To estimate the cost of HIV/AIDS to businesses in southern Africa using company-specific data on employees, costs, and HIV prevalence. METHODS : Six formal sector enterprises in South Afri...

This paper examines the role of provider payment policy as an instrument for addressing government and market failures and controlling costs in the health sector, particularly in developing countries. We empirically evaluate the impact of provider payment reform in Hainan province, China, on expenditures for different categories of services that had been subject to distorted prices under fee-fo...

Current use, misuse, and overuse of antibiotics raise dangers and ethical dilemmas that cannot be solved in isolation, exclusively within a health system building block or even within the health sector only. There is a need to tackle antibiotic resistance emergence and containment on levels ranging from individuals, households, and the communities, to health care facilities, the entire health s...

Eradicating poverty is perhaps the single most important global development challenge. As rural areas are typically home to the majority of the poor in developing countries, the success of poverty alleviation interventions in rural areas will be important in determining if this challenge is met. This paper examines the relationship between telecom reform and poverty alleviation in Kenya, docume...

The WHO Regional Office for Europe supports Member States in improving adolescent health by recommending comprehensive, multisectoral and evidence-informed adolescent health approaches; by delineating the critical contribution of the health sector; by fostering actions towards reducing inequalities; and by addressing gender as a key determinant of adolescent health. This publication aims to sup...