Electrokit: Power Utility Toolkit-The Overview: Best Practices in Electric Power Distribution Companies in the Latin America and Caribbean Region

The Electrokit is an initiative created by the IDB to strengthen transformation and continuous improvement of electric utilities in the LAC region. It follows international standards that characterize and evaluate utilities based on indicators and best practices. The Electrokit is organized in 16 activities that are common to most electricity utilities. The aim of the toolkit is to provide power utilities, policy and decision-makers access to best practices, current trends, and expertise to: (i) identify challenges, develop a strategy and action plan for addressing them; and (ii) support utilities to be more sustainable, efficient, improve customer experience and accelerate innovation to stay ahead of the rapidly sector transformation. The Overview presents the main objectives of the toolkit, the structure of its areas and activities, and a guide on how companies could design an action plan.

Systematic review and meta-analyses on the prevalence of dementia in Latin America and Caribbean countries: Exploring sex, rurality, age, and education as possible determinants

Background: Studies have shown that the prevalence of dementia in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) may be higher than in high-income countries. Thus, we sought to systematically analyse the prevalence of dementia and explore possible drivers that lead to this disparity in LAC countries. Method: We searched Pubmed, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, Lilacs, and SciELO for studies on dementia in LAC countries in English, Spanish, and Portuguese languages. Random-effects model was applied. Results: Twenty-nine studies from 12 LAC countries were included. Pooled prevalence of all-cause dementia was 11%. Further analyses with studies providing raw prevalence by sex, area, and educational level showed a higher prevalence for women (9%) than for men (5%). Also, dementia prevalence was higher for rural than urban residents (12% vs 8%, respectively). Participants without formal education presented more than double the prevalence of dementia (22%) compared to those with at least one year of formal education (10%). Studies with more recent data collection showed higher dementia prevalence. Conclusion: Our findings suggest a high global dementia prevalence in LAC countries and an unequal burden of dementia for women, lower-educated, and rural residents. Secular raises in dementia prevalence call for increased public health efforts for preventative action.

Internationalizing Revolution: The Nicaraguan Revolution and the World, 1977–1990

This special issue traces its roots to a workshop on the international, transnational and global dimensions of the Nicaraguan Revolution held at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) in May 2019. Convened by Dr. Eline van Ommen and Dr. Tanya Harmer, the editors of this special issue, the workshop was generously funded by the LSE Department of International History and the LSE Latin America and Caribbean Centre. Most of the articles that follow were first presented at this workshop, where a lively exchange took place on the revolution's history and present-day legacies.