What happens when a household loses a job, gets hit by flood, or experiences a health emergency? For many families in the region, it’s not just a one-time hardship, it’s part of a repeating pattern. We used data on urban households from Colombia’s Encuesta Longitudinal Colombiana de la Universidad de los Andes (ELCA). This nationally representative panel survey has … [Read more...] about Predictable and Preventable: Designing Protection for Recurring Shocks
políticas públicas
Saving Lives with Quality Health Services: The Experience of Belize
Chelsea Simms lives in Punta Gorda, a fishing village on the southern Caribbean coast of Belize. She is 25 years old and has just given birth to her second child. The first was delivered by cesarean section. The second almost took her life. In early April, Chelsea began feeling unwell but didn’t recognize the symptoms as signs of labor. Nevertheless, she went to the local … [Read more...] about Saving Lives with Quality Health Services: The Experience of Belize
Health Spending in Latin America and the Caribbean Will Double by 2050: What Can Be Done?
Health spending is a major concern in our region, for households and governments alike. Two recently published studies that were commissioned by the IDB examine how health spending may evolve in the near future, what drives these changes, and what can be done. Health Expenditures Are Growing Fast but Not Equally The first paper projects that health spending will rise … [Read more...] about Health Spending in Latin America and the Caribbean Will Double by 2050: What Can Be Done?
Quality in Health Care: 10 Key Lessons
In February of 2025, we gathered to celebrate ten years of work by the Salud Mesoamerica Initiative, a strategy that has enabled us to strengthen maternal and child health care for the most vulnerable populations in eight countries: Belize, Guatemala, Panama, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the state of Chiapas in Mexico. During the event, I had the … [Read more...] about Quality in Health Care: 10 Key Lessons
How Much Could Chilean Households Save by Switching to Generic Drugs?
In Latin America and the Caribbean, pharmaceutical expenditure ranges from 8.5% (Costa Rica) to 22.1% (Mexico) of total health expenditure. Although governments bear part of this expenditure, in many of the region's countries households assume a significant proportion. In Chile, for example, health spending directly paid by households accounts for 32% of total health spending, … [Read more...] about How Much Could Chilean Households Save by Switching to Generic Drugs?