Global Health Policy

Major gains in global health spending over the last decade are over.  This was the top line message from the 2012 edition of Financing Global Health, the fourth report in the series, which Chris Murray and Michael Hanlon of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation recently presented at CGD.

When national governments or global health funders have to decide whether to subsidize a new medical technology (a new vaccine, a new AIDS medication, a new clinical pathway), some ask whether the new technology is “cost-effective”, that is, whether the health gains from the introduction of the new technology outweigh the health given up or foregone as other activities are displaced to accommodate the additional costs.

Population and development in Western Africa are closely linked. At the heart of these issues lies the slow demographic transition of the region’s countries, which still experience some of the highest fertility rates in the world.

Last month the Center for Global Development hosted a meeting on the Role of Population and Development Research in Western Africa at our offices in Washington DC.   Over the daylong workshop, 17 participants with a diverse range of expertise and perspectives discussed the many pressing population and development issues in that part of the world. Participants came from organizations including USAID, the World Bank, IPAS, UC Berkeley, UNPFA, PRB, the Hewlett Foundation, and Cornell University. In their discussions, the group agreed that there remains a lack of clear policy recommendations or consensus on how to best address the population and development nexus, despite a renewed focus on the role of family planning, reproductive health, and demography as essential drivers of economic development.   In addition, a few common themes emerged and participants identified several research questions that will require closer attention over the coming years.

Pakistan is the world sixth largest population, with more than 180 million people today, and is projected to become the fifth largest population by 2050 (UN Medium variant projection).  The demographic evolution of Pakistan – as well as of some other “big” countries such as Nigeria, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – will have far-reaching repercussions on the world’s total population.  However, future population trends in Pakistan will have also a huge impact on the geopolitical balance of