The marijuana-related economy has contributed to social conditions favoring HIV transmission among young people in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in several interrelated ways. Reducing HIV risk will require structural interventions to reduce discrimination and increase economic opportunity.

Although postconflict Afghanistan has some of the worst health indicators in the world, the government is working hard to rebuild the health infrastructure, extend services to underserved areas and improve the quality of health services.

Improving the management capacity of health departments at the provincial or district level is just as critical as strengthening the central ministry in fragile states to establish a health system that effectively addresses the health needs of the population. This paper describes a management capacity assessment tool developed for use in fragile states. The tool was applied to assess and make plans to build the management capacity of six counties in Liberia.

The Government of Rwanda has pioneered the application of performance-based financing (PBF) by introducing it nationwide. With the support of USAID and funding from the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the HIV/Performance-Based Financing Project, which closed in November 2009, assisted the Ministry of Health in increasing the delivery of specific HIV & AIDS services while protecting the quality and quality of primary health care services. 

Sector Two of the MSH-led AIDSTAR mechanism uses methods in capacity-building and health systems strengthening to increase program sustainability in the field of HIV & AIDS.