http://worldcat.org/entity/work/id/799499535

Public and private initiatives working together for health and education

This booklet seeks to examine the change in Bank focus on lending towards an approach to economic growth via a human resources development method. The forward cites a need for a better understanding of the importance of and interconnections among two essential prerequesites for development: 1) a thriving, growing economy and public policies that make that possible, and 2) investment in people through education, health and other basic services. In response to this combination the Bank is giving high priority to helping countries respond to the challenges and opportunities before them by lending for education, health, nutrition and other aspects of human capital development. As part of these efforts, the Bank assists countries to arrive at whatever form of public/private mix is best for their particular circumstances. This booklet decribes that work with two main purposes. The first is to help redress an information gap. Many decision makers and others involved in choices about public/private roles have limited information on, or experience with, the diversity and subtleties of issues and possible solutions on what private entities can and do contribute in the health and education fields. The public side they may know well, but the private possibilities much less so. The examples presented here of different approaches from different countries and situations are meant to help correct that informational imbalance. The second purpose is to bring together recent instances of the Bank's support for health and education initiatives involving the private sector, including some where non-governmental organizations and community-based groups have played an important role. A cross-section from various regions and subsectors of human development projects, these cases indicate the breadth and new directions of strategies now emerging. Some are still in their early stages, others more advanced.

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