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East Asia & Pacific is facing some great development challenges today: urbanization, protection of the environment, the need to find renewable energy sources and many others. This site wants to create a conversation around those important issues. More »

Health, Nutrition and Population

保持良好健康状况之秘诀：安全饮水和环境卫生

Submitted by Patricio V. Marquez on Thu, 2012-03-22 10:27

Available in English

今年世界水日（3月22日）前夕，一些公众健康方面的消息称，人的健康与患病后的医疗保健无关，而是与可提高人们尤其是贫困人口健康水平、生产能力以及生活质量的关键投资有关。
 

2012年联合国儿童基金会和世界卫生组织联合报告《饮用水和环境卫生方面取得的进展》指出，2010年年底，全球有61亿人（占全球总人口89%）用上了更清洁、更安全的饮用水。这意味着与此相关的千年发展目标较之2015年这一最后期限已大幅提前完成。该报告还预测说，到2015年，全球92%的人口将用上更清洁、更安全的饮用水。
 

但是，不太好的消息是，全世界只有63%的人口用上了条件更好的环卫设施。预计到2015年，这一数字将仅会增加到67%，大大低于千年发展目标中设定的75%这一分项目标。目前，全世界有25亿人缺少条件更好的环卫设施。该报告重点指出，这些数字显示，全世界各地区和各国之间以及各国国内各地方之间存在巨大差距（如撒哈拉以南非洲地区仅有61%的人口用上了安全饮水）。
 

การต่อสู้กับเอชไอวี/เอดส์ในประเทศไทย: การแจกจ่ายเข็ม และหลอดฉีดยาที่สะอาด จะทำได้ง่ายเหมือนการแจกถุงยางอนามัยหรือไม่?

Submitted by Anne Elicaño on Mon, 2011-12-05 19:08

ยังมีอีกที่: English, Français

เวลาที่ (ฉัน) คิดถึงเรื่องเอชไอวี/เอดส์ มโนภาพที่ผุดขึ้นมาได้แก่ ริบบิ้นสีแดงและการแจกถุงยางอนามัย ซึ่งนับเป็นภาพลักษณ์ที่ดีที่บ่งบอกว่าประเทศไทยทำอย่างดีที่สุด ในการแก้ปัญหาการแพร่ระบาดของเอชไอวี/เอดส์ โดยมีการรณรงค์ให้ข้อมูลอย่างกว้างขวาง และมีโครงการส่งเสริมการใช้ถุงยางอนามัย 100% อันเป็นเหตุให้อัตราการแพร่เชื้อเอชไอวี/เอดส์ในบรรดาผู้ขายบริการทางเพศลดลง

อย่างไรก็ตาม ภาพลักษณ์เหล่านั้นเริ่มจางหายไปจากใจ เมื่อตอนที่ฉันได้ไปเยือนพื้นที่ที่ดูเก่า ๆ โทรม ๆ และยากจนแห่งหนึ่งของกรุงเทพฯ และได้พบกับผู้ที่มีความเสี่ยงมากสุดในการติดเชื้อเอชไอวี/เอดส์ในขณะนี้ นั่นคือผู้ใช้ยาด้วยการฉีดนั่นเอง

การระบาดของเอชไอวี/เอดส์และโรคที่แพร่ทางเลือดอื่นๆ เกิดขึ้นเมื่อมีการใช้เข็มฉีดยาร่วมกัน ภายใต้อิทธิพลของยา ผู้ใช้ยาจำนวนมากก็อาจมีเพศสัมพันธ์โดยไม่ป้องกัน แต่มีโครงการที่เรียกว่า ‘การลดอันตราย’ ซึ่งแจกจ่ายเข็มฉีดยา หลอดฉีดยาและถุงยางอนามัยให้กับผู้ใช้ยาเพื่อป้องกันการแพร่เชื้อ ในขณะที่การแจกถุงยางอนามัยทำได้ง่าย แต่การแจกเข็มฉีดยาไม่เป็นเช่นนั้น

Fighting HIV/AIDS in Thailand: can distributing clean needles ever be as easy as giving out condoms?

Submitted by Anne Elicaño on Wed, 2011-11-30 14:17

Available in: Français, ภาษาไทย

When I think of HIV/AIDs, symbols pop into my mind: the red looped ribbon and the free condom. They’re actually a good representation of what Thailand is doing best to combat the epidemic- massive information campaigns and the 100% Condom Program which saw the dramatic decline of HIV/AIDS among sex workers.

However, those symbols faded in my mind after I visited an old, impoverished part of Bangkok and met the people who currently are the most vulnerable to HIV/AIDS- the injection drug users.
 
HIV/AIDS and other blood-borne diseases are transmitted when needles are shared. Under influence, many users are also likely to have unprotected sex.  There are programs called ‘harm reduction’ where drug users are provided with clean needles, syringes, and condoms to avoid transmission. Condom distribution is easy but needles are another issue.  
 

VIH/SIDA en Thaïlande: sera-t-il un jour aussi simple de distribuer des aiguilles stériles que des préservatifs?

Submitted by Anne Elicaño on Mon, 2011-11-28 17:17

Disponible en: English, ภาษาไทย

Quand je pense au SIDA, deux images me viennent à l’esprit : le fameux ruban rouge et le préservatif gratuit. D’ailleurs, ils résument assez bien les efforts réussis de la Thaïlande pour contrer l’épidémie : des campagnes massives d’information et le programme « 100 % Préservatifs » qui a permis de réduire la contamination chez les professionnels du sexe. 

Mais la prégnance de ces symboles s’est éteinte après que j’ai rencontré, dans un vieux quartier misérable de Bangkok, ceux qui sont aujourd’hui les plus exposés à l’infection : les usagers de drogues injectables.

L’utilisation d’une même aiguille par plusieurs usagers contribue à propager le virus du SIDA et les autres maladies transmissibles par le sang. D’autant que, sous l’emprise de la drogue, les toxicomanes risquent davantage d’avoir des rapports sexuels non protégés. Il existe des programmes dits « de réduction des risques » (ou des « méfaits ») qui consistent à fournir aux usagers de drogues des aiguilles stériles, des seringues et des préservatifs afin d’éviter la contamination. Si la distribution de préservatifs ne pose plus guère de problèmes, il n’en est pas de même pour les aiguilles et les seringues.

From Kerema to Port Moresby: the raincallers and the road

Submitted by Aleta Moriarty on Tue, 2011-05-03 18:23

Roads are not sexy. You don’t see glossy ads pleading for people to sponsor a road. You don’t see the construction of a road moving global audiences to tears. There are no celebrities, concerts, wrist-bands for the road. I guess that is because for most people in the developed world, we take roads for granted.

Recently I spent some time around Kerema, which although only 350 km from the country’s capital, feels as one of the most remote and cut-off places in Papua New Guinea. Kerema is the Gulf’s provincial capital and, with its surrounding villages, it has been cut-off from the rest of the country due to a mere 67 km of mostly un-passable road. Under the Roads Maintenance and Rehabilitation Project, the World Bank has been supporting the Government of Papua New Guinea to restore the road. Today, the Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved the second phase of this project, which will see the rest of the road restored and paved to a proper national standard.

Helping Rural Clinics Work in Solomon Islands

Submitted by Hamish Wyatt on Tue, 2010-10-05 12:19
Hayleen Dusaru is the Moli clinic's registered nurse

I recently spent almost a week calf deep in mud, shooting around islands, and speaking to beneficiaries and community helpers of the Solomon Islands Rural Development Program (RDP). The trip was an illuminating and uplifting opportunity to get out into rural areas and meet the people that are experiencing the direct benefits of one of the World Bank’s most dynamic projects within Solomon Islands.

Terms like ‘bottom up approach’ and ‘grass roots focus’ are catch-cries that are often heard but not always followed within development projects. However, spending some time in villages that are controlling the funds and direction of infrastructure projects and seeing clear and sometimes astounding benefits from them reinforces the principle that this program is not offering simple lip-service or superficial checklists of community involvement. This is really what community direction of projects looks like. (The Country Manager in Solomon Islands, Edith Bowles, has blogged about this  program before, read her views on its agricultural aspects and on the effects of the islands’ remoteness.)

World Bank opens largest set of development data --for free and in several languages

Submitted by Claudia Gabarain on Tue, 2010-04-20 11:55

Big news: the World Bank has launched an open data site with more than 2,000 financial, business, health, economic and human development statistics. Until now, most of this had been available only to paying subscribers. Not only that, but the site and indicators are also available in French, Spanish, and Arabic --with 330 indicators initially, but set to grow.

For those who need a little background and more info to understand just how big this move is, check out this story (also in Chinese) that explains the potential and impact of making this data free. For data geeks and developers, just dive right in and enjoy.

 

Today: Ask questions to health expert about H1N1 virus

Submitted by James I Davison on Tue, 2009-10-06 10:14

Officials at the World Health Organization have said that a second wave of the Influenza A/H1N1 virus could get worse, and large numbers of people in all countries, including the East Asia and Pacific region, remain susceptible to the pandemic. The World Bank is working with the United Nations and WHO to help strengthen developing countries’ health systems and increase pandemic readiness.

Starting in about 15 minutes, World Bank health expert Keith Hansen will be answering questions about H1N1 and health systems in developing countries in an online discussion. Hansen will be online today at 10:30 a.m. (Washington DC time). Submit your questions now.

Indonesia's 'big bang' decentralization experiment: Helping poor regions spend resources well

Submitted by Wolfgang Fengler on Thu, 2009-08-20 13:40

After five years in Indonesia, my family and I have left this wonderful country and moved to Kenya. The last five years have been excellent years for Indonesia. The economy stabilized, growth resumed and services started to improve, although modestly and not in all areas. Indonesia still remains an underrated country, but this may change. Indonesia has only mildly been affected by the global crisis. After holding its second direct presidential election, where more than 100 million Indonesians cast their votes, the country can expect another five years of political and economic stability, and possibly some improvements in the business climate.

In my last blog on Indonesia, I’d like to focus on Indonesia’s decentralization experiment, which was put in place ten years ago and made effective on January 1, 2001. Indonesia’s decentralization was a by-product of its democratization after the dismantling of Suharto’s “new order” regime.  Indonesia then implemented one of the most ambitious decentralization programs of modern times, radically transferring responsibility and financial resources to lower levels of government. My colleagues Bert Hofman and Kai Kaiser coined the phrase “big bang decentralization” (pdf). Even though decentralization makes sense in a country covering three time zones and more than 17,000 islands, many were skeptical about this experiment, particularly in the central government.

Zai jian – Goodbye – See you again: a look back on China's progress upon leaving the World Bank

Submitted by David Dollar on Thu, 2009-07-02 11:46

This is my last week in the World Bank, after working at the institution for 20 years, the last five as country director for China and Mongolia.

A few weeks ago I had the unique opportunity to camp out on top of the Great Wall, which was a fitting exclamation mark at the end of my five years as the World Bank's China Country Director. It was a cloudy, drizzly day as we started, but then cleared up and turned into a lovely evening. The large group of kids we had with us slept in one of the guard towers along the wall, but I and a few others opted to sleep under the stars. The next morning opened with some mist, but then turned into a spectacular blue day. Some long-term Beijing residents hiking with us noted that they couldn’t recall ever seeing the countryside so green.

Beijing’s dry climate sets a limit on how green and blue it’s ever going to get, but the improvement over five years is noticeable and is one of the two most striking achievements of China in this period. In many cities, air pollution has declined as a result of policies that include banning the use of coal in inner cities, strengthening public transportation, discouraging car use (gasoline now costs 50% more than in the U.S.), moving heavy industry out of inner cities, and more stringent enforcement of environmental regulations.