Paris on the Mekong: using the aid effectiveness agenda to support human resources for health in the Lao People's Democratic Republic.

Background: This study examines the potential of aid effectiveness to positively influence human resources for health in developing countries, based on research carried out in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). Efforts to make aid more effective--as articulated in the 2005 Paris Declaration and recently reiterated in the 2008 Accra Agenda for Action--are becoming an increasingly prominent part of the development agenda. A common criticism, though, is that these discussions have limited impact at sector level.

Coverage and costs of a school deworming programme in 2007 targeting all primary schools in Lao PDR.

Infections with soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) are among the commonest infections in Lao PDR. Recent investigation in this country showed that intestinal helminths currently infect the majority of school-aged children. The Lao Government has addressed the problem by organizing regular anthelminthic chemotherapy with mebendazole 500mg for school and pre-school children in conjunction with health education activities incorporated into the national school curriculum.

Infection control practices for SARS in Lao People's Democratic Republic, Taiwan, and Thailand: experience from mobile SARS containment teams, 2003.

Background: Despite available recommendations on infection control for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), information is limited on actual practices in Asian hospitals during the epidemic. We describe practices observed by mobile SARS containment teams (mobile teams) during outbreak investigations.

Methods: We retrospectively summarized infection control practices observed in hospitals visited by mobile teams in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR), Taiwan, and Thailand, during March and April 2003.

Planning for health sector reform in post-conflict situations: Kosovo 1999-2000.

The restoration and development of health care systems in post-conflict situations and complex emergencies are attracting attention. Kosovo is unique in being a post-conflict situation, in a former socialist country, with an unclear political future, under temporary UN administration. The World Health Organization (WHO) led a process of developing a health policy framework for the emergency period that included elements of health sector reform, a somewhat controversial initiative.