Health spending has been growing at a much higher rate than the income of countries practically all over the world. This increase is due to many factors such as the demographic and epidemiological transition, the increase in the expectations of the middle class and, mainly, the presence of more and better health technologies, such as medicines and medical devices. The case of Brazil does not escape the general rule. Expenditure on medicines increased by 40% from 2010 to 2015. Currently, this expenditure represents 16% of the public health budget.

Health spending has been growing at a much higher rate than the income of countries practically all over the world. This increase is due to many factors such as the demographic and epidemiological transition, the increase in the expectations of the middle class and, mainly, the presence of more and better health technologies, such as medicines and medical devices. The case of Brazil does not escape the general rule. Expenditure on medicines increased by 40% from 2010 to 2015. Currently, this expenditure represents 16% of the public health budget.

Current carbon emission trends threaten inevitable and irreversible changes to the environment that could cost the region US$100 billion annually by 2050 and the loss of up to 2.5 million jobs by 2030. Climate change affects us all. However, women, indigenous peoples, African descendants, and persons with disabilities are particularly vulnerable to the environmental, economic, and social disruptions caused by climate change. At the same time, these groups are decisive agents of change for the mitigation of climate change and the transition to a green and sustainable economy.

The IDB Group's Laboratory of Digital Social Security and Beat, the mobility platform, partnered to identify innovative solutions for individuals who use digital platforms as an occupational alternative. This alliance began with a survey of more than 4,500 Beat drivers in Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru aimed at understanding their background, general use of mobility apps to generate income, financial health and literacy, and social security coverage.

The Health Information Exchange (HIE) is one of the main national digital health infrastructures of Israels digital health strategy, which is led by the MOH. This document narrates the case of the construction of a Health Information Exchange in Israel and the importance of not only technology but also the health systems structure and budget constraints to generate higher HIE usage rates and, therefore, better results for patients.

This technical note describes how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Latin America and the Caribbean, and analyzes the implications for the health of the population, health spending, and reforms and investments in health services, in order to to understand how we should prepare for future health emergencies. This note summarizes the few empirical studies and analyzes administrative data from hospitals and civil registration systems in four countries.

Recent estimates show that almost 15% of the Jamaican population is 60 years old or more. About 7% of this population need help with at least one activity of daily living. The demand for long-term care services is expected to rise as the countrys population grows older. In a context in which family sizes are shrinking and older adults are experiencing poor health and critical socioeconomic vulnerability, the means to meet care needs privatelyeither by relying on unpaid care, provided by their families or close networks, or by purchasing services in the marketare scarce.

Rapid population aging will drive a strong increase in the demand for long-term care services in Latin America and the Caribbean. To inform policy making, in this study we present novel estimates of the number of care dependent older persons in 26 countries of the region. For ten of these countries, estimates are based on existing survey data. For the remaining 16 countries, we use a statistical model to predict the prevalence of care dependence based on the relationship between this condition and age, sex and health status.