HEALTH
Development is about people. Good health, nutrition, and reproductive policies, and effective health services, are critical links in the chain of events that allow countries to break out of the vicious circle of poverty.

The Bank’s five main priorities in public health are HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, maternal/child health and nutrition, and tobacco control. The Bank is increasingly taking a life cycle approach to assessing health, which starts in pregnancy, and moves through birth, infancy, childhood, the school years, adolescence, adulthood, and aging. The framework highlights four principles: health interventions have a cumulative impact, interventions must be prioritized at several points across the life cycle, interventions in one generation bring benefits to successive generations, and interventions targeted at addressing key risks for families and the associated gaps in the health system can break the cycle of poverty and ill health.

AIDS
AIDS is not just a public health problem, it is a major development crisis. Because it kills so many adults in the prime of their working and parenting lives, it decimates the workforce, fractures and impoverishes families, orphans millions, and shreds the fabric of communities.

The World Bank has committed more than US$1 billion to 99 HIV/AIDS-related projects in 56 countries. HIV/ AIDS program lending is likely to rise as more countries turn to the Bank for financial and technical assistance in response to the epidemic.

The Bank has also recently committed itself to dramatically stepping up the level of its activities to address the enormous threat posed by HIV/AIDS. Some of these activities would take place through new channels such as the Multisectoral AIDS Program for Africa. This program, a collaborative effort of the Bank, UNAIDS, and members of the International Partnership Against AIDS in Africa, has the potential to make a far-reaching impact. It will make available US$500 million from IDA to support national programs in HIV/AIDS prevention and care, dramatically increasing the amount of resources available to fight the epidemic.

AIDS Resources:
AIDS Economics
HIV/AIDS Prevention in Africa
HIV/AIDS Prevention in South Asia
World AIDS Day, December 1, 2000
UNAIDS
Take a quiz to see what you really know about AIDS

VACCINES
Immunization saves lives. It is one of the most cost-effective, equitable health interventions available. Once immunized, every child, rich or poor, is equally protected for life. The World Bank Group supports immunization worldwide through:

• assistance to country governments (via loans and credits, and technical assistance);
• its policy dialogue aimed at making immunization every country's priority; and
• partnerships with organizations strengthening the control of communicable diseases, as well as grants to help stimulate vaccine research and development.

Vaccine Resources:
Economics of AIDS Vaccines
Immunization Update #4 (10/6/00)
World Bank Boosts Support for Immunization
Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI)
The International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI)
International Vaccine Institute
The Vaccines Page
World Health Organization: Vaccines & Immunizations
Bill and Melinda Gates Children's Vaccine Program at PATH
Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) - National Immunization Program

SAFE MOTHERHOOD
Ten years after the launch of the Safe Motherhood Initiative, more than 1,500 women die every day in the developing world from preventable pregnancy-related complications. Nearly 20,000 pregnancies a day result in stillbirths or infant deaths within the first week of life. The death of a woman of reproductive age translates into substantial economic and social hardship for her family and community. By ensuring that women receive sufficient maternal care, and by providing women with effective family planning services, many of these deaths can be avoided.

As the World Bank recognizes women's role in eradicating poverty and enabling development, the Bank supports member governments, along with other assistance agencies and non-governmental organizations to develop programs and implement policies that will make pregnancy and birth as safe as possible for women and children. The World Bank now has over 100 projects with women's health components in over 70 countries. Lending has averaged US$490 million during the last three years for reproductive health (family planning, maternal health and STDs/AIDS control) compared to US$170 million in 1990.

Safe Motherhood Resources:
Safe Motherhood International Conference, November 12-15, 2000
Safe Motherhood and the World Bank: Lessons From 10 Years of Experience: This review of 10 years' experience describes cost-effective strategies, discusses factors to be considered in program planning and implementation, and recommends ways that development agencies such as the Bank can assist developing countries in improving maternal health outcomes.
Reproductive Health Data (.pdf): From the World Development Indicators.