Amanda Glassman

Amanda Glassman is the Director of Global Health Policy and a research fellow at the Center for Global Development.

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Results-Based Aid in Liberia: USAID Forward (and one step back)

May 11, 2012

By Amanda Glassman in Aid Effectiveness, Health Systems

This is a joint post with Jacob Hughes.

In a recent working paper, Jacob Hughes, Walter Gwenigale and I describe Liberia’s unique experience in pooling donor funds for health in a post-conflict setting, with good results. We also describe a new and complementary agreement between Liberia and USAID, called the Fixed Amount Reimbursement Agreement (FARA). It’s been heartening to see USAID take this step towards implementing results-based aid in Liberia, but the process has also highlighted the problems that such aid faces in the ‘real world’.

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Worried About Teen Births? Read Our Paper

May 10, 2012

By Amanda Glassman in Adolescent Fertility, Population & Reproductive Health Tags: Adolescent Fertility, Population

Despite declines in average fertility rates worldwide, an estimated 14 to 16 million children are born to women aged 15 to 19 each year. Over half of women in sub-Saharan Africa give birth before age 20. As I’ve blogged previously, many of these births take place in the context of early marriage. Approximately half of girls in sub-Saharan Africa are married by age 18, while 73% of girls are married by that same age in Bangladesh.

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A Warm Welcome to John May

May 7, 2012

By Amanda Glassman in Uncategorized

This week we are pleased to announce a new arrival to the CGD global health policy team, John May. John joins us from his previous position as Lead Population Specialist at the World Bank and will be working on issues relating to population and development as a visiting fellow at CGD. John has 35 years of international experience in population, reproductive health, and HIV/AIDS issues.

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Making Priority-Setting a Priority for Global Health

April 19, 2012

By Amanda Glassman in Priority-Setting, WHO Tags: Priority-Setting

This is a joint post with Kate McQueston.

This week the World Health Organization made dementia a priority, while Jim Kim—next in line for the World Bank—chose his as job creation. “Priority” is a word that is often used in global health and development when calling for increased attention to or funding of specific diseases, services, or interventions. But when facing a limited budget (as most low- and middle-income countries are) how can countries best sort multiple priorities into effective, sustainable policies?

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G-8: What Is the Connection between Smallholder Farming, Agricultural Productivity, and Nutrition?

April 18, 2012

By Amanda Glassman in Food Security, G8, Nutrition & Environmental Health Tags: Farming, Food Security, G8, Nutrition

For some time now, the food security movement has been stating that improving the agricultural productivity of smallholder farmers improves nutritional status. Last week’s G-8 Foreign Ministers Meeting Chair’s statement (here) reinforces this idea:

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Banker at the Global Fund, Doctor at the Bank?

March 30, 2012

By Amanda Glassman in Global Fund, Global Health Tags: World Bank

During one of my many virtual and real-time conversations this week on the contest for the World Bank presidency, John Paul Fawcett from RESULTS reminded me that we in global health world had just had a similar conversation about the transportability of leadership skills across disciplines and institutions when Gabriel Jaramillo -formerly of Banco Santander- took on the job of General Manager at the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria.

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More Products but Still Limited Incentives for Neglected Disease R&D

March 28, 2012

By Amanda Glassman in Clinical Trials, Neglected Disease, Research & Development Tags: NTD, R&D

This is a joint post with Kate McQueston.

Products to combat neglected diseases in low-income countries generate low profit margins and—without an obvious end market—research and development tend to be underfunded. In recent years, R&D funding for neglected diseases has remained low—$3.1 billion in 2010—and substantially less than the almost $150 billion price-tag over seven years recommended by the WHO.