Linking Health, Nutrition and Wages: The Evolution of Age at Menarche and Labor Earnings among Adult Mexican Women

This study uses a human capital framework to evaluate the impact on labor market productivity of investments in health and nutrition in Mexico. The research extends the existing literature by proposing age at menarche as an effective indicator for analyzing the impact on productivity in the labor market of health and nutritional investments during childhood and adolescence. As in the case of adult height and body mass index, indicators that have been widely used in the analysis of the health-productivity relationship, menarche is a variable that reflects the secular increase in the level of economic development of many countries in the region. Age at menarche has shown a steady decrease of approximately 3-4 months per decade in many countries over the past 150 years. This decrease is a reflection of a variety of socio-economic factors and in particular nutritional status as a child. Despite the parallels between menarche and adult height as indicators of cumulative health status, age at menarche has apparently not been previously incorporated into the analysis of the impact of health on economic development. The paper considers the correlates of age at menarche in the framework of a reduced form health production function. Particular emphasis is placed on the importance of policy-sensitive health variables as determinants of age at menarche, and hence long-run female health. Hourly wages are used to measure the impact on labor market productivity of investment in health and nutrition early in the life cycle. Age at menarche is presented as a proxy for certain aspects of the health and nutritional components of human capital. The integrated human capital framework that underlies the theoretical model is developed in Schultz (1997), and applied in such works as Schultz (1996), Schultz and Tansel (1997) and Strauss and Thomas (1997).

Poverty, precarious work, and the COVID-19 pandemic: lessons from Bolivia

Bolivia is one of the poorest countries in Latin America with a gross domestic product of around US$3500 per capita, health spending of approximately$220 per capita, a labour market dominated by informal work, and a weak health system. However, in the response to COVID-19, Bolivia has fared better than other health systems in the region and provides insight with regard to the implementation of subnational non-pharmaceutical interventions and supporting workers without social protection. The Bolivian Government confirmed the first case of COVID-19 in the country on March 10, 2020, and responded quickly by cancelling events, closing schools and borders, and implementing a national lockdown on March 22, 2020. However, the Bolivian Government was under pressure to open the economy in an election season. In response, the Bolivian Government shifted responsibility for most non-pharmaceutical interventions to departmental and municipal governments on June 1, 2020. The Bolivian Government maintained a mask mandate, school and border closures, and a nightly curfew, while allowing departmental and municipal governments to set workplace, social gathering, population mobility, and public transit policies. Daily deaths from COVID-19 increased markedly from 20 on June 1, 2020, to 96 on Aug 1, 2020.1 &nbsp;</p

The quest for universal health coverage: achieving social protection for all in Mexico

Mexico is reaching universal health coverage in 2012. A national health insurance programme called Seguro Popular, introduced in 2003, is providing access to a package of comprehensive health services with financial protection for more than 50 million Mexicans previously excluded from insurance. Universal coverage in Mexico is synonymous with social protection of health. This report analyses the road to universal coverage along three dimensions of protection: against health risks, for patients through quality assurance of health care, and against the financial consequences of disease and injury. We present a conceptual discussion of the transition from labour-based social security to social protection of health, which implies access to effective health care as a universal right based on citizenship, the ethical basis of the Mexican reform. We discuss the conditions that prompted the reform, as well as its design and inception, and we describe the 9-year, evidence-driven implementation process, including updates and improvements to the original programme. The core of the report concentrates on the effects and impacts of the reform, based on analysis of all published and publically available scientific literature and new data. Evidence indicates that Seguro Popular is improving access to health services and reducing the prevalence of catastrophic and impoverishing health expenditures, especially for the poor. Recent studies also show improvement in effective coverage. This research then addresses persistent challenges, including the need to translate financial resources into more effective, equitable and responsive health services. A next generation of reforms will be required and these include systemic measures to complete the reorganisation of the health system by functions. The paper concludes with a discussion of the implications of the Mexican quest to achieve universal health coverage and its relevance for other low-income and middle-income countries

Report of the Lancet Commission on the Value of Death: bringing death back into life

The story of dying in the 21st century is a story of paradox. While many people are overtreated in hospitals with families and communities relegated to the margins, still more remain undertreated, dying of preventable conditions and without access to basic pain relief. The unbalanced and contradictory picture of death and dying is the basis for this Commission

Salud: Qué sabemos, qué más deberíamos de saber y cómo podemos averiguarlo

This presentation deals with the impoverishment of health spending in Mexico. First, it gives an overview of the problem around the world, followed by a detailed account of what is the situation in Mexico from a historical perspective. The author holds that families finance health events by reducing spending in other basic needs and human capital. Then, the presentation discusses future research lines and methodological and data-related challenges. This work was presented at the Taller de consulta sobre medición de la calidad de vida, 2006

Closing the cancer divide an equity imperative

Cancer has become a leading cause of death and disability and a serious yet unforeseen challenge to health systems in low-and middle-income countries. A protracted and polarized cancer transition is under way and fuels a concentration of preventable risk, illness, suffering, impoverishment from ill health, and death among poor populations. Closing this cancer divide is an equity imperative. The world faces a huge, unperceived cost of failure to take action that requires an immediate and large-scale global response. Closing the Cancer Divide presents strategies for innovation in delivery, pricing, procurement, finance, knowledge-building, and leadership that can be scaled up by applying a diagonal approach to health system strengthening. The chapters provide evidence-based recommendations for developing programs, local and global policy-making, and prioritizing research. The cases and frameworks provide a guide for developing responses to the challenge of cancer and other chronic illnesses. The book summarizes results of the Global Task Force on Expanding Access to Cancer Care and Control in Developing Countries, a collaboration among leaders from the global health and cancer care communities worldwide, originally convened by Harvard University. It includes contributions from civil society, global and national policy-makers, patients and practitioners, and academics representing an array of fields.--Publisher website