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This paper surveys health reform in the former Soviet republics of Central Asia, in the aftermath of their independence and transition from the Soviet command economy. Socio-economic, epidomiological and institutional realities face the countries. Section 2 sets out demographic and epidemiological trends, which suggest the scope and priorities for health services. The next section analyzes recent economic performance, highlighting worsening financial constraints. The existing health systems are evaluated in Section 4, centering on their primary strengths and weaknesses. Section 5 addresses critical institutional elements of the reform process, including decentralization and staffing issues. The reform agenda facing health policymakers in Central Asia is then investigated in Section 6, focusing upon empirical and descriptive aspects, in order to provide a reliable basis for discussing future options. Section 7 concludes that the large declines in real health spending signal that each country will have to do more with less. Consequently, current public health programs like maternal and child health programs will need to be restructured; improvement incentives to induce consumers and providors to behave more efficiently will have to be issued; and modorn management and quality assurance systems will have to be introduced. Although the reform debate focuses on financial sustainability, particularly attempts to bring in additional non-budget revenues, equally important is the need to focus on basic public health activities and delivery system restructuring.

This valuable service includes an electronic discussion forum, numerous papers and resources on evaluation, news and upcoming events, and links to other evaluation resources and practitioners. There is a special section on network evaluation and the use of social analysis in development projects

A gateway to methods, tools and manuals, indicators, case studies, discussion lists and bibliographies relevant to participatory monitoring and evaluation. Includes some background to the issues, with links to relevant full-text documents and websites

This network seeks to strengthen child-centred research to contribute towards real improvement in children's well-being. It was founded in 1993 as a response from the research community to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Convention serves as a common agenda for research aimed at improving children's living conditions, well-being and participation. The aim of the website's Resources page is to compile lists of relevant links to child-centred research institutions, on-line research reports and journals, and bibliographies. The page is by no means complete, and the intention is to add links continuously. Also on the resources page are a selected number of child rights related links which are not primarily research based, but which could be helpful in research on children’s issues. A news section with relevant information is also available. There is also a list of well-working child rights related mailing lists

This United Nations website provides information on the MDGs. It lists the goals, their status in 2004, and access to the Millennium Declaration. It includes a host of other MDG related materials as well