Tag: Human Development
Since the last Human Development Report was published in 2010, several key events and developments have impacted empowerment in Palestine. While some have had a positive impact, on the whole there has been a marked deterioration in the state of Palestinian empowerment over the past four years. The international recognition of Palestinian readiness for statehood… Read more
This paper considers evidence for the effects of policies on gender gaps in education, distinguishing between policies that are ostensibly gender neutral and those that explicitly target girls. The demand for girls’ schooling is often more responsive than boys’ to gender neutral changes in school distance, price, and quality, patterns which can be explained in… Read more
The critical importance of unrestricted access to clean drinking water and basic sanitation for all is highlighted in Millennium Development Goal 7, which calls for the reduction by half of the proportion of people without such access by 2015. Unfortunately, little attention has been paid to the needs of such access for the one billion… Read more
Attention to the negative effects of structural barriers on HIV efforts is increasing. Reviewing national legal and policy environments with attention to the international human rights commitments of states is a means of assessing and providing focus for addressing these barriers to effective HIV responses. Recognition of the harms inherent in laws that constitute structural… Read more
The world’s population is ageing rapidly, with the over-60 population growing fastest. Since 2000, there have been more people aged 60 or over than children under 5. A rapidly ageing population presents large and unique challenges. This briefing discusses the results of pilot healthcare programmes in four countries, Cambodia, Mozambique, Peru and Tanzania. The findings… Read more
The social, economic, human rights and political challenges to global mental health addressed in this paper explore the inextricable relationship between mental health, poverty and debt. They include the need for more health economics research on cost-effective interventions; limited funding available to improve access to mental health services; the need for a move away from a… Read more
This paper explores the links between water infrastructure, water policies, processes and protections, along with mechanisms for women’s leadership and decision-making for contributing to rural well-being. The broad-brush strokes approach is our attempt to reveal the breadth and complexity of the interdisciplinary nature of problems, which can only be solved via interdisciplinary and collaborative approaches…. Read more
For women and girls in particular, their socially prescribed role as carers can undermine their rights and limit their opportunities, capabilities and choices – posing a fundamental obstacle to gender equality and well-being. This report seeks to move towards a world in which individuals and society ‘recognise and value the importance of different forms of… Read more
This report is a collection of evidence and brief examples highlighting the effect and benefits of placing women at the core of planning, implementation and operations of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) programmes. The experiences also show how women’s empowerment and the improvement of water supply, sanitation facilities and hygiene practice are inextricably linked. One cannot… Read more
Policy discussion of social accountability initiatives has increasingly focused on questions about their tangible development impacts. The empirical evidence is mixed. This meta-analysis rethinks some of the most influential evaluations through a new lens: the distinction between tactical and strategic approaches to the promotion of citizen voice to contribute to improve public sector performance. Field… Read more
This paper reports on a meta-case study analysis of a 10 year research programme on citizenship, participation and accountability which analysed a nonrandomised sample of 100 research studies of four types of citizen engagement in 20 countries. By mapping the observable effects of citizen participation through a close reading of these studies, a typology of… Read more