Helpdesk Reports
Youth employment programmes are varied but meta-analysis and systematic reviews of impact assessments of these programmes indicate that some interventions have an overall positive effect on employment and earnings. Assessments of programmes which support youth job creation in the private sector find that larger businesses are more likely to generate jobs than micro-enterprises. In general,… Read more
A rapid review of the literature has found a selection of innovative WASH options available for situations of severe population overcrowding and limited spaces. Case study information was collated from African, Middle Eastern, South Asian and Caribbean countries. As requested, a number of experts were consulted for their opinion where there was a lack of… Read more
Diarrhoeal diseases are very common causes of death in low and middle-income countries. The aim for this systematic review was to show which promotional approaches might change handwashing and sanitation behaviour, and which implementation factors affect the success or failure of such promotional approaches. For community-based approaches, involvement of the community, enthusiasm of community leaders,… Read more
If WASH services are to deliver continuous benefits to users, they must be supported by strong, responsive, permanent in-country institutions. Strengthening permanent institutions is very challenging in difficult operating environments and requires approaches that work beyond the delivery of taps and toilets alone. This document is aimed at WASH practitioners and policy-makers developing management and support processes that ensure service… Read more
With 2.1 billion people – mostly in rural areas – lacking safely managed drinking water and reported low rural water supply functionality rates, the Sustainable Development Goals pose a triple challenge: to reach unserved mostly rural population groups, to raise service levels, and to sustain existing and future services. This assessment uses a multi-country case… Read more
Financing for social protection often comes from government funds. Any way of expanding fiscal space could therefore be useful with the political will for prioritisation (UNESCP, 2016). Egypt created an Economic Justice Unit in the Ministry of Finance to review expenditure priorities, and Costa Rica and Thailand shifted military spending to finance universal health services… Read more
The evidence found for this report shows that vending machines have been used to make contraceptives available to vulnerable groups in low and middle income countries in a number of programmes. Examples from different parts of the world include: A six-year HIV prevention pilot programme started in 2009, which plans to install 100 CVMs using… Read more
Theoretically derived factors (preexisting child characteristics, trauma exposure, caregiver– child relationship, and school-based mental health programming) were examined as potential correlates of distress in children residing in the region closest to the epicenter of the 2010 Chilean earthquake. One year before the earthquake, 2nd-grade students who attended 9 schools that provide government-run mental health intervention… Read more
In its 1988 report, a committee of the Institute of Medicine highlighted assessment as one of the three core functions of public health along with policy development and assurance. The committee recommended that every public health agency regularly and systematically collect, assemble, analyse, and make available information on the health of the community, including statistics… Read more
Conflict and displacement create distinctive challenges for education practitioners. However, opportunities for reform and positive change within the sector also arise simultaneously during and after conflict. This book explores some of the prospects for positive transformation. A series of 10 case studies presents specific examples of how positive change has been implemented in the education… Read more
Drawing on research from a diverse set of countries, including the USA, Somalia, Colombia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, the contributors of this volume consider the relationship between education and internally displaced persons. The case studies presented raise fundamental questions regarding the barriers to education and some unexpected benefits for displaced children. The dynamics… Read more