This Sector Strategy paper presents the World Bank's strategy in the health, nutrition, and population (HNP) area. The objectives of this paper are to: (a) review major trends in the HNP sector, key development changes, and the emerging consensus on reform strategies; (b) assess past and current Bank involvement in the HNP sector in low- and middle-income countries; and (c) define a clear strategy to guide the Bank's future work in the HNP sector. In developing the Bank's strategy for the HNP sector, the following principles have been influential: a focus on the human dimension of development; responsiveness to clients, especially the poor; sound technical analysis and attention to outcomes; recognition of the political dimensions of reforms; respect for diversity in values and social choices; and the need for local ownership and partnerships. The Bank's objectives in the HNP sector are to: (a) improve the health, nutrition, and population outcomes of the poor; (b) enhance the performance of health care systems; and (c) secure sustainable health care financing.

"The past three decades have seen impressive advances in development in the East Asia and Pacific (EAP) region. Gains in income and education have been accompanied by reductions in high levels of infant and child mortality and fertility, improved nutritional levels, better hygiene and sanitation and increased access to health care."This book is intended to help address the development challenges and policy directions for the World Bank's Health, Nutrition, and Population (HNP) sector in the region. It highlights key lessons learned in the EAP region and presents policy options and recommendations to strengthen the quality and effectiveness of Bank-supported HNP operations.The development of this strategy is closely linked to the Bank's overall sector strategy that identified three major development priorities: • Improve the health, nutrition, and population outcomes of the poor • Enhance the performance of health care systems • Secure sustainable health care financing.A Health, Nutrition, and Population Strategy for the East Asia and Pacific Region is meant to provide the guidelines and parameters to be used at the country-level. Strategy development will be ongoing, building on best practices within the region as well as internationally.This book is an invaluable resource for all those interested in the field of health, nutrition, and population in the context of international development.

World Bank lending for health, nutrition, and population (HNP) activities is accelerating. The Bank's emphasis has evolved from expanding HNP service delivery capacity to encouraging systemic reform. The Bank is now the major source of external finance for the sector in the developing world. The policy influence of its nonlending services is potentially significant.With the current generation of projects, the Bank and its partners are attempting to address underlying constraints to sector performance, while remaining cognizant of the difficulty of improving health sector effectiveness and efficiency, even in developed countries. This volume recommends that the Bank seek to: • do better, not more, in the HNP sector, • improve project monitoring and evaluation, and • strengthen its ties with the World Health Organization and other interested organizations.