Formulating, designing and implementing pro-poor policies

The evidence base on the effectiveness and impact of health-related interventions targeted to the very poor is weak. It is difficult, therefore, to determine whether successful small-scale or expanded initiatives could be replicated elsewhere, and what scope there might be for scaling up small-scale initiatives.

One gap in the knowledge base is the lack of information on the costs and benefits of operations. Another gap is the lack of information on user perspectives (which institutional mechanisms are more or less acceptable to beneficiaries?) Greater investment in improving the evidence base on reaching the very poor will be needed in future.