Robust findings to guide policymakers
GDN's fifth Global Research Project "Promoting Innovative Programs from the Developing World: Towards Realizing the Health MDGs in Africa and Asia" is drawing to an interesting finish and the range of programs being evaluated offer great potential for policy outcomes. The project involved 20 program impact evaluations across 19 countries using experimental and quasi-experimental techniques of health interventions, from the developing and transition world. Preliminary findings will be presented at the upcoming project workshop at York, United Kingdom in January 2009.
Each study evaluates multiple objectives of a program. For example, the Health Services Extension Program in Ethiopia (HSEP) is a community based initiative for the provision of primary care to households. Operating at the village level the program involves health extension workers providing preventive and curative services including maternal and child health care, immunization and nutrition and maternal care education. This program is being evaluated using propensity score matching and preliminary results of child health indicators show that the DPT vaccination rate for children of treatment villages is about 12% higher than in the matched control group; however contrary to expectation the evaluation finds no positive impact on the reduction of diarrhoea incidence amongst children under age five.
Preliminary results from the evaluation of the extension of the Nicaraguan Social Security Institute’s health insurance to 1.2 million informal workers, for example, has already shown that a small subsidy or allowing sign-up at the individual’s place of business increases take-up by 29 and 24 percentage points respectively, a result which, if confirmed, could have significant implications for informal workers throughout Latin America.
The rigorous evaluation seeks to identify the greatest potential for replication and contributing to the achievement of the three Millennium Development Goals - MDGs (reducing child mortality, improving maternal health and, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases) directly related to health in Africa and Asia.
For more information about the project. More »
