The health benefits of transport projects: a review of the World Bank transport sector lending portfolio

2008-05-01

The World Bank recently published a paper reviewing the contribution of its transport lending portfolio to health outcomes over the past decade. The review takes in both current and completed transport projects in a portfolio totalling some 229 projects at a cost of $28bn. This review shows that in the majority of the cases the focus has been on improvements in road safety, as measured by a reduction in the fatality or injury rates. Among the 55 projects with health related objectives, 82 percent had objectives to improve road safety, while only 7 percent had objectives to improve safety of other modes of transport and only 2 percent each had HIV/AIDS prevention or air quality improvement objectives.

To download a copy of the paper please visit the World Bank website.