CMI Briefs

The Norwegian development research community is growing and thriving, but some of the old tensions with policy making remain.

Microbusiness can be an effective way out of poverty. Returns to capital for microbusinesses in poor rural areas can be so high that people with microbusinesses can double and even...

This brief assesses the impact of transitional justice mechanisms on peace and democracy. Based on four case studies from Africa and Latin America, it argues that the expected positive effects...

There is a healthcare crisis in India. Health indicators are dismal. 25% of the world’s maternal deaths every year, occur in India. 47% of all children in India are underweight....

The people of the Matanza-Riachuelo river basin in Argentina live in one of the most polluted places on earth. They suffer from severe health problems, and claim it is because...

The monumental building of the Parliament of Bangladesh is retracted in a park in the heart of Dhaka, and gives the impression of a powerful institution. In constitutional terms, it...

In the forty years since independence Bangladesh has rotated between electoral democracy and military rule, and between parliamentary and presidential system of government. The frequent systemic changes have hindered the...

During the last decade many Latin American countries have resorted to mano dura (iron fist) politics and militarisation to combat crime, drugs and subversion. The high number of killed, injured...

Guatemala suffers from high levels of undernourishment and malnutrition despite a strong political commitment to the right to food. Yet, there is an absence of food rights litigation. This brief...

Tanzania has one of the lowest health worker ratios in the world. It is the rural areas that suffer the most. The geographical imbalance represents a serious problem for the delivery of...

A study of diagnostic effort documents low worker effort in both churchbased and government health facilities. Despite a strong perception among patients about good medical quality in church-based health clinics, health workers in...

Health workers’ knowledge and skills are much better than their practice suggests. By closing the gap between knowledge and action, the quality of health services will increase substantially.  

Thousands of children die every year from diseases that are easy to diagnose and treat. A study from rural Tanzania shows that health workers usually don’t do those investigations that are required...

Islamic organisations’ role in improving women’s position in society is often dismissed. Instead, they are believed to be devoted to charitable work and entrench patriarchal structures in line with traditional...

Is right-to-health litigation a suitable strategy for advancing the right to health, or does it reinforce inequalities and undermine health authorities in their attempts to control costs and set fair priorities? Colombia...

This brief argues that even a successful reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah will fall short of providing the leadership the Palestinians need. Their domestic legitimacy are simply too frayed. Instead it argues...

تزعم هذه الورقة أنه حتى لو تم تحقيق مصالح ناجحة بين حركتي فتح وحماس، فإنذلك لن يوفر للفلسطينيين القيادة التي يحتاجونها، حيث أن شرعيتهم الداخلية قدتآكلت جداً. وبدلاً من ذلك...

Over the last ten years the new “Emerging Southern Powers” – China, India, Brazil and South Africa – have increased their economic and political engagement in Sub-Saharan Africa. They have introduced new...

In the spring of 2011, dramatic political changes and events took place in the Arab World. The Arab Spring was comprised of popular uprisings and civil unrest across the Arab world. However,...

Improvements having taken place in Maputo between 2007-2010 in the areas of poverty reduction, education, health, water, electricity, sanitation etc. seem – ironically – to have brought further challenges to...