Lack of income, inadequate health services, and poor infrastructure contribute to poor global health. With more than 100 health-related studies, IPA generates evidence on effective ways to improve access to quality health services and products, and ensure people use them.

In recent years, great progress has been made in global health. Rates of chronic hunger and child mortality are half what they were two decades ago. However, at the same time, progress has been slow in other areas, such as maternal mortality, access to improved sanitation, and the incidence of malaria. To determine how best to address these challenges and many others, IPA partners with health ministries, civil society organizations, and NGOs working in the sector to discover and encourage the use of effective approaches for improving health systems and programs. Among its findings, this research has identified cost-effective methods to reduce the incidence of diarrhea in children under five years of age, examined the role of subsidies in improving access to preventive health, and ways to recruit effective community health workers.