Document Library
This report examines four not-for-profit school chains, run by non-governmental organisations in low-income contexts. These are Fe y Alegría, the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (better known by its acronym BRAC), Gyan Shala and Zambia Open Community Schools. These school chains have succeeded in reaching marginalised students and expanding access to hard-to-reach groups. The evidence also… 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
Better early childhood nutrition improves schooling, adult health, skills, and wages, but there is little evidence regarding its effect on the next generation. This study assessed whether nutritional supplementation in children aged <7 to 15 y affected their children’s nutritional status 29–38 y later. The study concludes that nutritional supplementation in girls is associated with… Read more
This project was commissioned by the British Council to explore the need to link secondary school learning outcomes to higher education needs in Mexico, as well as possible mechanisms to accomplish this. It aims to address the following research question: What skills or abilities are necessary for students to be adequately prepared for higher education and… Read more
This is the report of an evaluation of Swedish development bilateral research cooperation activities that aim to strengthen research capacity in Mozambique, Tanzania, Bolivia and Nicaragua, thus increasing their access to knowledge in areas of central importance for poverty-reducing development. The programmes in the four countries focused on capacity building of individual staff members, research infrastructure and, to a… Read more
This paper introduces the problem of the very limited representation of indigenous groups in higher education in Mexico, as well as some of its causes, namely: the poor quality of education received by indigenous populations at earlier educational levels; racism and discrimination which are still prevalent in Mexican society and limit options and opportunities open… Read more
During the Fox sexenio (2000-2006) the Mexican state embarked on the Intercultural Universities (Universidades Interculturales) for mature and postsecondary students, in state-sponsored attempts to overcome the social and cultural exclusion of indigenous peoples in Latin America. This experiment offered a unique opportunity to explore what is meant by a concept, interculturalidad, which has become steadily more prominent in Latin… Read more