Lessons from the development process of the Afghanistan integrated package of essential health services

In 2017, in the middle of the armed conflict with the Taliban, the Ministry of Public Health decided that the Afghan health system needed a well-defined priority package of health services taking into account the increasing burden of non-communicable diseases and injuries and benefiting from the latest evidence published by DCP3. This leads to a 2-year process involving data analysis, modelling and national consultations, which produce this Integrated Package of Essential health Services (IPEHS). The IPEHS was finalised just before the takeover by the Taliban and could not be implemented. The Afghanistan experience has highlighted the need to address not only the content of a more comprehensive benefit package, but also its implementation and financing. The IPEHS could be used as a basis to help professionals and the new authorities to define their priorities

The Synergy of Financial Sector Development and Information Sharing in Financial Access: Propositions and Empirical Evidence

This study assesses the role of information sharing in financialization (or coexistence of financial sub-systems) for financial access. The empirical evidence is based on contemporary and non-contemporary Fixed Effects and Quantile regressions on 53 African countries for the period 2004–2011. The positive complementarity of information sharing offices (ISOs) and financial formalization is an increasing function of financial activity (or access to credit) whereas the negative complementarity of ISOs and financial informalization is a decreasing function of financial activity. In order to leverage on the synergy between ISO and financial formalization for enhanced financial access, some policy measures are proposed

ICT, Financial Sector Development and Financial Access

This study assesses the role of ICT (internet and mobile phone penetration) in complementing financial sector development (financial formalization and informalization) for financial access. The empirical evidence is based on generalized method of moments with 53 African countries for the period 2004–2011. The following findings are established from linkages between ICT, financial sector development and financial activity. First, the interaction between ICT and financial formalization (informalization) decreases (increases) financial activity. Second, with regard to net effects, the expected signs are established for the most part. In spite of the negative marginal effects from financial informalization, the overall net effects are positive. Third, the potentially appealing interaction between ICT and informalization produces positive thresholds that are within ranges. Policy implications are discussed in three main strands. They include implications for (i) mobile/internet banking, (ii) a quiet life and (iii) ICT in reducing information asymmetry and surplus liquidity