Breaking New Ground in the Philippines: Opportunities to Improve Human and Environmental Well-Being (PDF: 327KB)

 In the face of mounting development challenges, people and communities across the Philippines are designing innovative programs that address human and environmental well-being in holistic ways. (November 2004)

Children's Environmental Health: Risks and Remedies

 Due to their size, physiology, and behavior, children are more vulnerable than adults to environmental hazards. Children worldwide require special protection from longstanding risks — such as smoke from traditional fuels — as well as from emerging risks — such as exposure to an increasing number of hazardous chemicals. (July 2002)

Client-Centered Quality: Clients' Perspectives and Barriers to Receiving Care
To provide high-quality reproductive health care, providers must understand and respect their clients’ needs, attitudes, and concerns. This policy brief, one in the series “New Perspectives on Quality of Care,” examines the issues that impede quality of care in providing reproductive health information and services from a client's perspective, and the ways in which these barriers can be overcome. (July 2002)

Health Sector Reform: How It Affects Reproductive Health

 Many less developed countries are reforming their health systems in an effort to achieve public health goals more affordably and effectively. Many are also attempting to expand and improve reproductive health services and other measures to improve women's health. The need to pursue reproductive health objectives while implementing health sector reforms poses a major challenge. (June 2003)

Healthy Mothers and Healthy Newborns: The Vital Link

 Newborn health starts with maternal health. Although infant and child mortality rates have been dropping, little progress has been made to reduce maternal and newborn death rates. (April 2002)

Healthy People Need Healthy Forests

 Deforestation worldwide continues at a net rate of 9.4 million hectares a year, posing a serious threat to human communities and natural ecosystems at the outset of the 21st century. (October 2001)

Improving the Health of the World's Poorest People Policy Brief (PDF: 106KB)

 This policy brief, based on a longer report by the Population Reference Bureau, "Improving the Health of the World's Poorest People," highlights the extent of the rich-poor health divide, the factors that play a role in health disparities, and approaches for improving the health of the poor. (April 2004)

Integrating Population, Health, and Environment in Ethiopia
This policy brief, Integrating Population, Health, and Environment in Ethiopia, is based on the Ethiopia PHE assessment written by Dessalegn Rahmato, Yeraswork Admassie, and Yared Mekonnen in 2007. The methods used to conduct the assessment in Ethiopia included a review of relevant government policies and project documents, key informant interviews, and focus group discussions. (November 2007)

Integrating Population, Health, and Environment in Kenya
This policy brief, Integrating Population, Health, and Environment in Kenya, is based on the Kenya PHE assessment coordinated by the National Coordinating Agency for Population and Development (NCAPD) and conducted by the University of Nairobi and the Kenya PHE task force between October 2006 and April 2007. The methods used to conduct the assessment in Kenya included a review of relevant government policies and project documents, key informant interviews, site household surveys, and focus group discussions. (November 2007)

Integrating Population, Health, and Environment in Rwanda
The last decade in Rwanda's history has been one of transition and rebirth. Ten years ago, the country was emerging from several years of strife and civil conflict; in 2009, urban and rural areas are energized with the promise of steadily improving economic, social, and health conditions. Despite this impressive transformation, Rwanda faces various challenges, many related to the complex relationships between population trends, poverty, and environmental conditions. Continued improvement in the quality of life of Rwanda's citizens depends in large part on finding innovative and integrated solutions to complex population, health, and environment problems. (February 2009)

Integrating Population, Health, and Environment in Tanzania
This policy brief, Integrating Population, Health, and Environment in Tanzania, is based on the Tanzania PHE assessment written in 2007 by Dr. N.F. Madulu, formerly of the Institute of Resource Assessment/University of Dar es Salaam, and the members of the Tanzania PHE assessment team. The methods used to conduct the assessment in Tanzania included a review of relevant policies, laws, and project documents; key informant interviews; and field visits to case study sites. (November 2007)

Intregrating Population, Health, and Environment in Uganda
After decades of instability and civil conflict, Uganda has enjoyed relative stability, sustained economic growth, and great improvements in health over the last 20 years. During the same period, Uganda's population has grown rapidly, and in 2009 surpassed 30 million people. This rapid population growth is contributing to the degradation of Uganda's natural resources, the backbone of the country's economy and household livelihoods. Continued reductions in poverty depend in large part on finding innovative and integrated solutions to the complex population, health, and environment problems affecting Uganda's poorest people.  (June 2009)

Linking Population, Health, and Environment in Fianarantsoa Province, Madagascar

 For more than a decade, development practitioners and communities in Fianarantsoa province, Madagascar, have been involved in community-based projects that link family planning, health, and environment efforts. (2006)

Malnutrition Is Still a Major Contributor to Child Deaths (PDF: 376KB)

 Malnutrition continues to be one of the world's most serious development problems. Exacerbating the consequences of infectious disease, malnutrition contributes to about 6 million deaths annually of children under 5. But cost-effective interventions can reduce the global impacts of malnutrition. This policy brief examines the causes and effects of malnutrition (both underweight and overweight), and provides a set of short-term and long-term actions that can improve the nutritional status of the world over the next decade. (2007)

Population, Health, and Environment Issues in the Philippines: A Profile of Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM)
This regional PHE profile highlights key population, health, and environment indicators and important development challenges for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM). The profile is designed to help educators, policymakers, and community leaders identify key threats to sustainable development and explore possible approaches to addressing them. This profile is part of a series covering select regions of the Philippines, and is intended as a companion publication to the Population Reference Bureau's 2006 data sheet, Making the Link in the Philippines: Population, Health, and the Environment. (October 2008)

Population, Health, and Environment Issues in the Philippines: A Profile of Calabarzon Region
This regional PHE profile highlights key population, health, and environment indicators and important development challenges for the Calabarzon Region (Region 4-A). The profile is designed to help educators, policymakers, and community leaders identify key threats to sustainable development and explore possible approaches to addressing them. This profile is part of a series covering select regions of the Philippines, and is intended as a companion publication to the Population Reference Bureau's 2006 data sheet, Making the Link in the Philippines: Population, Health, and the Environment. (October 2008)

Population, Health, and Environment Issues in the Philippines: A Profile of Central Visayas
This regional profile of the Central Visayas Region, Philippines, highlights key population, health, and environment indicators and important development challenges for the region. It is part of a PRB series covering select regions of the Philippines. (April 2008)

Population, Health, and Environment Issues in the Philippines: A Profile of the National Capital Region
This regional profile of the National Capital Region, Philippines, highlights key population, health, and environment indicators and important development challenges for the region. It is part of a PRB series covering select regions of the Philippines. (April 2008)

Progress Toward the Millennium Development Goals in the Middle East
Countries in the MENA region were among the 189 countries that attended the 2000 United Nations Millennium Summit, where leaders from around the word adopted the Millennium Declaration and made a commitment to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination against women. This policy brief is also available in Arabic. (March 2004)

Promoting Healthy Behavior

 This policy brief is drawn from the longer report Promoting Healthy Behavior. Both the report and brief discuss ways in which health professionals can help individuals, communities, health systems, and governments make health-promoting decisions. To do this, public health and other professionals need to better integrate behavior-change strategies into their programs and policies at every level. (2005)

Providers and Quality of Care
Providers of reproductive health information and services face barriers to providing high-quality care, such as local customs and traditions, medical culture, and the strength of the facility and health care system in which they work. This policy brief, one in the series “New Perspectives on Quality of Care,” discusses the important role that providers play in quality of care and the kinds of interventions experts recommend to improve quality of care. (July 2002)

Ripple Effects: Population and Coastal Regions

 Nearly half of the world's population lives within 200 kilometers of a coastline and this number is likely to double by 2025. As human pressure on coastal areas increases, identifying ways to balance people's needs while sustaining coastal resources is becoming more important. (September 2003)

The Healthy Newborn Partnership: Improving Newborn Survival and Health Through Partnership, Policy, and Action (PDF: 394KB)

 This policy brief outlines the ways in which the Healthy Newborn Partnership (an interagency group formed to promote newborn health in developing countries) has helped to focus attention on newborn health issues. (July 2004)

Time to Intervene: Preventing the Spread of HIV/AIDS in the Middle East and North Africa

 This policy brief helps raise awareness among decisionmakers in the Middle East and North Africa about the urgent need for action by presenting some HIV/AIDS warning signs, risks, and vulnerabilities in the region. The number of people living with HIV/AIDS in MENA is low but increasing in every country in the region. This policy brief is also available in Arabic. (February 2007)

Why Invest in Newborn Health? (PDF: 268KB)

 This policy brief highlights two compelling reasons for investing in neonatal health services: Such investment is key to achieving health and development goals, and it is part of protecting newborns' human rights. (April 2003)