Acknowledgments The study benefited from many forms of collaboration with the Vietnamese government; we are particularly grateful for the guidance provided by Drs. Lieu and Long (Director and Deputy Director, respectively, of the Department of Planning and Finance, Ministry of Health). We are also grateful for helpful comments, advice, and support throughout the course of the study from: Lisa Studdert of ADB; Susan Elliott of AusAid; and Dr. Graham Harrison, Henrik Axelson, and Nguyen Kim Phuong of WHO. Staff at the World Bank’s Hanoi office—notably Carry Turk, Huong Lan Dao, Mai Thi Nguyen, Nga Nguyet Nguyen, Nga Quynh Nguyen, and Thu Thi Minh Nguyen— provided extensive help and support for which we are grateful. Joseph Capuno provided extensive contributions to the study, which substantially improved its quality. Jack Langenbrunner, Panagiota Panopoulou, and Pia Schneider kindly served as peer reviewers, and Toomas Palu generously provided comments on an earlier draft. The study was undertaken under the general supervision of Ajay Chhibber (former County Director, Vietnam), Emmanuel Jimenez (Director, East Asia & Pacific Region Human Development Sector), Fadia Saadah (former Sector Manager, East Asia & Pacific Region Health, Nutrition & Population), and Martin Rama (Vietnam, Lead Economist). Samuel S. Lieberman Adam Wagstaff September 2008
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