The objective was to establish how stakeholders in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) conceptualize child mental health impact. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 stakeholders from disadvantaged urban communities in Kenya, South Africa, Turkey and Brazil. Participants represented education, welfare and health care agencies; as…

Local coalitions can advance public health initiative but have not been widely used or well-studied in low- and middle-income countries. This paper provides (i) an overview of an ongoing matched-pairs community-randomized controlled trial in 28 communities in Armenia and Georgia (N = 14/country) testing local coalitions to promote smoke-free…

The purposes of this study were to (a) assess the efficacy of a universal classroom-based mental health and social skills program for primary school students in Vietnam, and (b) given the universal nature of the intervention, assess outcomes as a function of risk status (high versus low). RECAP-VN is a semi-structured program that provides…

Current public health training infrastructure and facilitators in most developing nations are insufficient relative to public health service delivery needs. We examined five areas of student perceptions of a web-based public health learning initiative, the Peoples-uni, which focused on: reasons for enrolling, learning expectations; technical…

This article investigates how school building design can support primary school feeding programmes in low- and middle-income countries. Furthermore it argues for schools to become community "development hubs"; incorporating both local access to education and also to programmes for nutrition, ICT, health education and other services,…

The article interrogates current international development constructs of childhood, rights, vulnerability, and schooling in light of the daily experiences of two Malawian children affected by HIV/AIDS. It aims to better understand how development efforts targeted at these children function in practice, and suggests that current development…

Key leaders working for international, bilateral, and private organizations presented oral testimony and written statements on how developing countries can be assisted in coping with the AIDS crisis. Michael Merson of the World Health Organization, Richard Bissell of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and Milton Amayun…

This report is designed to: (1) synthesize information presented at a forum on adolescent fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa and to review the major research findings; (2) provide highlights of some notable program efforts reaching adolescents in Sub-Saharan Africa; and (3) offer a series of recommendations for future action. Five key cultural and…

This document summarizes discussions at an invitational workshop on health care development in Nigeria. The discussion centered on the need for cooperation among government service-delivery agencies and on the need to improve general national economic conditions. The following broad topics were discussed: (1) the history of health care during the…

This special UNICEF report documents the range of problems behind the decline of living standards in Africa and describes the practical steps which are being taken to confront the crisis. Discussed are (1) increasing implementation of immunization programs and progress in promoting oral rehydration therapy; (2) the impact on child survival and…

Clear communication between physicians and their patients is essential for the success of any health program or intervention. In some cases, though, doctors and patients do not speak the same language. Also, patients sometimes cannot read, or they read very little in any language, including their native tongue. Occasionally, interpreters may be…

Breakthroughs in science and social organization could soon be helping to save the lives of half the 40,000 young children who now die every day. They could also prevent several million children a year from becoming mentally or physically disabled. To achieve these goals, local successes showing that a child health revolution is possible must be…

Describes application of participatory model for creating school-based mental health services in a developing country. Describes process of identifying individual and cultural factors relevant to mental health. Discusses importance of formative research and collaboration with stakeholders to ensure cultural specificity of interventions, and the…

The case histories of water and sanitation schemes described in this volume can best be understood by identifying the moments at which critical hurdles were encountered and surmounted. The first case study, which concerns Bangladesh, discusses promising prospects that existed amid the pollution and the technical and managerial expansion of the…

This paper outlines selected differences between the United States and Latin America health care systems as they relate to primary mental health care. It notes that historically both the United States and Latin America have relied on custodial psychiatric hospitals. The alternative of community care for psychiatric patients is described as it is…