In Latin America and the Caribbean and in more advanced economies there is evidence that suggests an imbalance between the skills of the workforce and the skills demanded by the productive sector. If this skills mismatch is large and persistent it leads to significant economic and social costs: economies cannot use their human capital efficiently and many individuals cannot access good quality jobs.

The Avancemos conditional cash transfer (CCT) program, which has operated since 2006 in Costa Rica, focuses on families living in extreme poverty and social vulnerability with adolescents and youth between the ages of 12 and 25. In August 2015, nearly 157,000 students received the cash transfer upon meeting certain co-responsibilities associated with school attendance and completing the school year in secondary school.

This toolkit is designed to be a resource for researchers and technical staff of any discipline, working for governments and institutions interested in measuring and monitoring the quality of child care centers serving infants ages 0 to 3 years (36 months).

Like all living things, humans are "open systems." We're part of - not separate from - our environment, and we continually exchange materials, energy and information with it. What happens when we eat a piece of fruit, for instance? First, we use our senses (taste, smell, sight, touch, hearing) to gather information (Is it ripe?). Then, the fruit's material compounds enter our bodies. As we digest the fruit and break down and absorb its nutrients, energy accumulated from photosynthesis is released. We use this energy to burn carbohydrates through a process called cellular respiration.

A healthy environment is made up of many elements that are indispensable for our physical and spiritual health, our cultural wellbeing, and our happiness. Among these are, of course, breatheable air, drinkable water, and enough food to feed the community all of which can become contaminated. A healthy environment also includes factors that we don't often think about.

Urban mass transit systems should benefit men and women equally, but men and women often have different needs, priorities, and vulnerabilities. For example, women are more likely than men to make multiple stops, to be carrying packages or child-related items, and to be accompanied by children.More than men, they value flexibility over speed, affordable fares, comfort, good lighting, and safety. Systems must take those differences into account if they are to be as useful, accessible, and safe for women as they are for men.

Women and young men are the groups most affected by violence in Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC). While ur-ban violence is predominant among males, the level of vio-lence against women (VAW) is rising as oneof the most widespread violations of human rights, with reported femicide rates as high as 13.4 per 100,000. In addition to violent femicide, VAW includes physical, sexual, and emotional violence, all of which have

Urban renewal programs in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) are designed to improve the quality of life of low-income residents improvements in water and sanitation, social services, transportation, and housing. But men and women have different priorities and needs, which affect how they experience the city. For that reason, urban renewal effortsmay not benefit men and women equally or equitably¿unless those efforts take into account, in their planning and execution, certain key differences between the sexes.

Maternal, reproductive, and newborn health (MRNH) is a key determinant of the opportunities that women and their children will have in life. MRNH includes a woman's right to safely bear children and to freely decide whether to have them, how many to have, and when. Gender equity in health refers to the absence of avoidable differences between men and women in access to health care and in the probability of suffering illness, incapacity, or premature death.