Investing in Health: Development Effectiveness in the Health, Nutrition, and Population Sectors (Evaluation Country Case Study Series)

World Bank lending for health, nutrition, and population (HNP) activities is accelerating. The Bank's emphasis has evolved from expanding HNP service delivery capacity to encouraging systemic reform. The Bank is now the major source of external finance for the sector in the developing world. The policy influence of its nonlending services is potentially significant. With the current generation of projects, the Bank and its partners are attempting to address underlying constraints to sector performance, while remaining cognizant of the difficulty of improving health sector effectiveness and efficiency, even in developed countries. This volume recommends that the Bank seek to: • do better, not more, in the HNP sector, • improve project monitoring and evaluation, and • strengthen its ties with the World Health Organization and other interested organizations.