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Making Government-Led Risk and Crisis Communication More Effective: Lessons Learned From Six Countries During the COVID-19 Pandemic
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-12-06)Government-led risk and crisis communication (RCC) is an essential priority in directing and supporting effective pandemic response in a country. Ineffective RCC during public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic can lead to public confusion, fear, and distrust, which eventually become barriers to the acceptance and practice of risk preventive behavior. In this analysis of five key RCC objectives in six countries (Ghana, Republic of Korea [Korea], Singapore, the United States [US], the United Kingdom [UK], and Vietnam), several lessons for future consideration are identified. First, governments ought to explore reasons for not being able to rapidly initiate and implement effective RCC so barriers can be identified and overcome before another crisis emerges. Second, public leaders must be committed to enhancing consistency, transparency, and accountability in their messaging, by prioritizing deference toward expert advice from scientific and public health experts. Third, it would be prudent to evaluate laws, standard operating procedures, and existing workflows to enhance public-private partnerships that enable cross-utilization of multistakeholder expertise and resources during a crisis. With this goal, it may be useful to proactively identify and acknowledge the important role that information and communication technologies (ICT) can play during non-pandemic times in enhancing health literacy and health communication. Strengthening laws and regulations to ensure privacy and human rights protections for those using ICT should be an ongoing priority, so that when ICTs must be leveraged during a crisis, there is a baseline level of assurance and confidence surrounding their safe and responsible use. Efforts to encourage the familiarization of the public with how infectious disease outbreaks spread and how people can keep themselves and each other safe should also be an ongoing priority, as scientific and health literacy can help the public prepare itself to receive and interpret RCC that is provided during a crisis. The continuous exposure to the technologies and means of sharing health information throughout various subpopulations within a country is an essential part of trust building over time, thus mitigating the fear, anxiety, social stigma, and potential distrust that could occur in times of an evolving pandemic, when levels of uncertainty are still quite high. Routine, repeated assessments of the public’s perceptions and needs during a crisis are key, as are other efforts to increase a nation’s preparedness to launch RCC rapidly and effectively (for example, government commitment to exploring public private partnerships). -
Publication
Older People’s Health and Long-Term Care During COVID-19: Impacts and Policy Responses
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-12-06)This policy note examines the major impacts of COVID-19 on various aspects of older peoples’ lives and health and long-term care (LTC) systems. It also provides a close review and analysis of public health measures and their impact in seven countries: Japan, Germany, Republic of Korea (Korea), Thailand, Vietnam, the United Kingdom (UK, specifically England), and the United States (US). Globally, older people have been one of the most affected groups during the pandemic. An adequate response to the impact was neglected or delayed in many countries, hence there is a critical need for systems to be more prepared. To better protect the increasing population of older people with complex health and care needs under the current prolonged pandemic, as well as during future ones, countries with limited resources should continue to strengthen their extant community-based care systems and foster the engagement of families and civil society in elder care. These countries also need to establish formal LTC systems and increase financial and workforce capacities of their systems. Care innovations through digitalization can provide useful tools to improve system efficiency and coverage, but better evidence and further policy efforts are necessary for effective use of these tools in the development of inclusive and integrated health and care systems resilient to future pandemics. Quality, timely, comparable data is crucial to support policy making and evaluation of aged-care systems promoting the health and well-being of later life for all. -
Publication
How Korea’s National Health Insurance (NHI) Responded to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Policy Note
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-12-06)Past experience of emerging infectious diseases enabled the Republic of Korea to respond promptly to COVID-19. The government’s zero out-of-pocket strategy, dedicated funding to infectious diseases, previously reformed legal and policy frameworks, and proactive risk communication minimized the impact of COVID-19 on the population’s health and economy. Pre-existing universal health coverage (UHC) and the role of national health insurance (NHI) contributed to lessening this burden. The National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) reduced premiums for vulnerable populations, facilitated early financing to health care providers, provided free COVID-19-related services, and increased benefit packages covering all populations in the country. The integrated health data system managed by the NHIS was used for customized treatments and enabled policy decisions during the pandemic. Data analysis for this note shows that there were no significant socioeconomic disparities in the COVID-19 prevalence, mortality, and vaccination rates. -
Publication
Central African Republic Poverty Assessment 2023: A Road Map Towards Poverty Reduction in the Central African Republic
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-12-06)This report — the Central African Republic’s (CAR’s) first ever poverty assessment — draws on unparalleled microdata to propose practical strategies for lifting Central Africans out of poverty. Against the backdrop of a wide range of development challenges — including persistent low growth, conflict and displacement, andthe increasing threats posed by climate change –CAR urgently needs policies for reducing poverty. This report draws primarily on the 2021 Enquête Harmonisée sur le Conditions de Vie des Ménages (EHCVM), the first household survey suitable for poverty measurement conducted in CAR in more than a decade, to try and guidesuch policies. The report provides CAR’s headline poverty and inequality statistics, using the EHCVM’s unique sampling strategy to cover internally displaced persons (IDPs). The analysis goes beyond considerations of monetary poverty alone, assessing the extent of non-monetary deprivation in CAR, examining constraints onhuman capital development, and exploring the role that livelihoods — especially in agriculture — can play in lifting people out of poverty. Using geospatial data, the results are also linked to indicators of physical access to schools and health facilities as well as key elements of basic infrastructure. This Executive Summary highlights the poverty assessment’s key findings and outlines the policies that can kickstart CAR’s pathway towards poverty reduction. -
Publication
What Can Financing Schemes and Payment Systems Do to Improve Pandemic Response?
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2023-12-06)The budget allocation in response to the COVID-19 pandemic indicates an increase in both health and non-health sectors, together with policy prioritization to mitigate socioeconomic damage globally. In contrast with responses to previous economic crises, many governments instead expanded their budget, resulting in increased support for the health care sector. However, a significant portion of the budget was allocated to economic stimulus and industrial investment. Accordingly, the budget allocated to prevention and response to infectious diseases in the health care sector was relatively small, or it was spent from ear-marked resources such as social health insurance. However, health crises such as the pandemic required an essential workforce and additional services to protect population health and expedite the socioeconomic recovery. In this sense, strengthening the sustainability and resilience of the health care system was a way toward national security and economic growth. Governments would need to allocate additional budgets to the health sector in response to health crisis, and mobilize earmarked funds collected from social insurance contributions. The latter enables the provision of essential health services with or without governments’ financial support. A mixed payment system could boost surge capacity in the health care system and provide incentives for medical providers.