Throughout the world HIV prevalence is generally lower in populations that practice male circumcision than in populations where most men are uncircumcised. This has been observed over the years of the epidemic and has been confirmed by three randomized controlled trials concluded in 2005-2006. The results have led to the conclusion that male circumcision is an effective risk-reduction measure for men and should be used in addition to other known strategies for the prevention of heterosexually acquired infection. This book provides guidance to decision makers on human rights, ethical and legal considerations that need to be addressed before planning to provide male circumcision services within the response to HIV.

This open access book is a collection of 12 case studies capturing decades of experience improving health care and outcomes in low- and middle-income countries. Each case study is written by healthcare managers and providers who have implemented health improvement projects using quality improvement methodology, with analysis from global health experts on the practical application of improvement methods. The book shows how frontline providers in health and social services can identify gaps in care, propose changes to address those gaps, and test the effectiveness of their changes in order to improve health processes and outcomes. The chapters feature cases that provide real-life examples of the challenges, solutions, and benefits of improving healthcare quality and clearly demonstrate for readers what quality improvement looks like in practice:Addressing Behavior Change in Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health with Quality Improvement and Collaborative Learning Methods in GuatemalaHaiti’s National HIV Quality Management Program and the Implementation of an Electronic Medical Record to Drive Improvement in Patient CareScaling Up a Quality Improvement Initiative: Lessons from Chamba District, IndiaPromoting Rational Use of Antibiotics in the Kyrgyz RepublicStrengthening Services for Most Vulnerable Children through Quality Improvement Approaches in a Community Setting: The Case of Bagamoyo District, TanzaniaImproving HIV Counselling and Testing in Tuberculosis Service Delivery in Ukraine: Profile of a Pilot Quality Improvement Team and Its Scale‐Up JourneyImproving Health Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Case Book will find an engaged audience among healthcare providers and administrators implementing and managing improvement projects at Ministries of Health in low- to middle-income countries. The book also aims to be a useful reference for government donor agencies, their implementing partners, and other high-level decision makers, and can be used as a course text in schools of public health, public policy, medicine, and development. ACKNOWLEDGMENT:This work was conducted under the USAID Applying Science to Strengthen and Improve Systems (ASSIST) Project, USAID Award No. AID-OAA-A-12-00101, which is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). DISCLAIMER:The contents of this book are the sole responsibility of the Editor(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. div=""^

The aim of this document is to help countries develop competency-based educational programmes in adolescent health and development in both pre-service and in-service education. In addition it provides guidance on how to assess and improve the structure content and quality of the adolescent health component of pre-service curricula. By fostering the capacity of health-care providers in adolescent health care and development the document supports the implementation in countries of the Global Standards for Quality Health-Care Services for Adolescents. The ultimate goal of this competency framework is to increase the quality of health-care services provided to adolescents by improving the education of primary health-care providers.

Since 2007 the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) have recommended voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) as an important strategy for the prevention of heterosexually acquired HIV in men in settings where the prevalence of heterosexually transmitted HIV is high. Over 25 million men and adolescent boys in East and Southern Africa have been reached with VMMC services. These new guidelines update earlier WHO recommendations to maximize the HIV prevention impact of safe VMMC services and aim to guide the transition to the sustained provision of interventions with a focus on the health and well-being of both adolescent boys and men.