Stephen Commins is the Associate Director for Global Public Affairs and Lecturer in Urban Planning at the Luskin School of Public Affairs at UCLA. Dr. Commins is also the Partnership and Strategy Specialist, Development Innovations, at International Medical Corps. Dr. Commins worked for seven years as the Senior Human Development Specialist in the Human Development Network at the World Bank and was a member of the World Development Report 2004 team. His recent work has focused on fragile states, disasters, and basic service delivery, particularly in the health sector. Recent papers include “Non-State Providers, the State and Health in Post-Conflict Fragile States”, “The Medium-Term Impact of Disasters in Bangladesh”, and “Decentralization and Accountability in Africa”, and a chapter in a new book on conflict and health. He currently is an adviser to the Secure Livelihoods Resource Consortium (Overseas Development Institute, UK; Sustainable Development Policy Institute, Pakistan).