UNICEF [to 8 February 2014]
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_71508.html

UNICEF Executive Board
First regular session 2014
4-7 February 2014
Selected Documentation
:: Thematic discussion on the work of UNICEF in  humanitarian situations  http://www.unicef.org/about/execboard/files/2014-CRP4-Humanitarian_Action-16Jan14.pdf

::  Plan for global thematic evaluations, 2014-2017
http://www.unicef.org/about/execboard/files/2014-3-Global_thematic_evaluations-ODS-English.pdf

:: Costed UNICEF Gender Action Plan,  2014-2017
http://www.unicef.org/about/execboard/files/2014-CRP5-Progress_on_costed_gender_action_plan-23Dec2013-ENGLISH.pdf

:: Special focus session “Partners for change and  development: the growing partnership between the  European Union and UNICEF”
http://www.unicef.org/about/execboard/files/2014_FRS-Special_Focus_Session-Concept_Note-EU-UNICEF_partnership.pdf

Media Releases
UNICEF prioritizes the hardest hit children as Typhoon-damaged communities move down the road to recovery
MANILA, Philippines, 7 February 2014 – Three months after a massive Typhoon devastated the central Philippines, the long trek back to normalcy for children hardest hit by Typhoon Haiyan has begun.

UNICEF notes strong results in new global estimates for measles mortality 2000 – 2012
NEW YORK/GENEVA, 6 February 2014 – UNICEF today noted that the drop in measles demonstrates the importance of investing in vaccines and immunisation – both routine and mass campaigns – as estimated global measles deaths decreased by 78 per cent from more than 562,000 in 2000 to 122,000 in 2012.

UNICEF statement on Report of the UN Secretary-General on children and armed conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic
NEW YORK, 5 February 2014 – The first report of the UN Secretary General on children and armed conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic provides a chilling account of the brutality and abuses that children have suffered for

Thailand: UNICEF expresses ‘deep concern’ about violence against children in the far south
BANGKOK, 5 February 2014 – UNICEF today said it was deeply concerned about the continuing violence against children in Thailand’s restive southernmost provinces, including the killing of three young boys in Narathiwat Province on Monday night.

New handbook to enhance new-born and child care in Liberia
MONROVIA, Liberia, 4 February 2014 – Over 30 community health workers, county health directors, senior health ministry officials and programme staff are field testing the new World Health Organization/UNICEF handbook on new born and child care. The three-day workshop is facilitated by experts from UNICEF, WHO and Save the Children.

Central African Republic: UNICEF and partners set up temporary classrooms for over 20,000 displaced children in capital
BANGUI, Central African Republic/DAKAR, Senegal/GENEVA, 4 February 2014 – More than 20,000 children in Central African Republic (CAR) capital, Bangui, will start classes in temporary learning spaces after violence forced them to flee their homes and closed down their schools.

EU and UNICEF boost their partnership to improve child and maternal health and to save more children
NEW YORK, 4 February 2014 – The European Union announced today that it has allocated €320 million ($431 million) through UNICEF to improve the health and nutrition of children and women in 15 developing countries and to help speed progress in meeting the Millennium Development Goals.

UNHCR [to 8 February 2014]
http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home

Press Releases
UN refugee agency starts an airlift operation to deliver core relief items to 50,000 displaced in northeastern Syria
Press Releases, 9 February 2014
Damascus – The UN refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Thursday that it has started the 1st out of up to 13 airlifts planned to deliver winterized core relief items (CRI), medicine, and other supplies to 50,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) in northeastern Syria. The first flight took off today from Damascus heading to Qamishli with hundreds of boxes of medical supplies including medicines, vaccines, syringes, sugar and saline solution, in addition to a UNHCR armored vehicle. The second and third flight will follow tomorrow with 5000 kitchen sets, two prefabricated warehouses and winterized CRI on board…

Statement by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, António Guterres on SARC/ UN Homs Evacuation and Humanitarian Aid Delivery Effort
Press Releases, 9 February 2014
“I would like to pay tribute to the enormous courage of the volunteers of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and the staff of the UN who carried out a humanitarian evacuation effort of civilians as well as an aid delivery operation in Homs in the most dangerous of circumstances.
This shows that even in the darkest of nights it is possible to offer a glimmer of hope to people in desperate need of assistance.
I am particularly encouraged by the determination of our staff to go on trying to help those who so far haven’t been reached with critical, lifesaving aid.”

News
Almost 9,000 people flee from CAR to Cameroon to escape fresh tension and violence
Thousands have been fleeing to the town of Kentzou in eastern Cameroon. Most are Central Africans, but arrivals include people from Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria and Mali.

South Sudan: UNHCR and partners start aid distribution for 10,000 in Malakal
This is the first aid to reach the displaced people living outside the UN base in Malakal, which was the scene some of the fiercest fighting last month.

Music keeps hope alive for a trio of urban refugees in Luanda
Music helps Freeboy Gbaryeel cope with the drudgery of his daily life and the uncertainty of his future. A gift of guitars could help him become self-sufficient.

Typhoon Haiyan: Indigenous people seek to break cycle of displacement
Jahina Lugasan has been displaced twice in her life, most recently by Typhoon Haiyan. This is a heritage she does not want to pass on to her granddaughter.

Central African Republic: Chadian refugees leave their home of decades
Under a programme launched by UNHCR and the IOM, a group of 201 Chadian refugees are repatriated. Some 400 Congolese will also go home this week.

UNOCHA [to 8 February 2014]
http://www.unocha.org/

Latest Press Releases
08 Feb 2014
Syrian Arab Republic: Note to correspondents — UN Emergency Relief Coordinator on Old City of Homs
Source: United Nations, UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Country: Syrian Arab Republic New York, 8 February 2014 Please find below a quote attributable to the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency relief Coordinator, Valerie Amos : “I am deeply disappointed that the three-day humanitarian pause agreed between the parties to the conflict was broken today and aid workers deliberately targeted. I extend my sympathies to people who were injured in…

06 Feb 2014
Mauritania: High-Level Humanitarian Mission commits to strengthen partnership with Mauritania
Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Country: Mauritania (Nouakchott/Dakar, 6 February 2014): A high-level humanitarian mission with strong participation from Arab countries and Turkey this week found fertile ground for building new partnerships with local partners in Mauritania. “We will make sure Mauritania remains on the humanitarian agenda. The doors for new partnerships with the Government and its humanitarian partners are wide open,” said Ambassador Atta Al-…

06 Feb 2014
Philippines: Bohol earthquake survivors need support
Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Country: Philippines US$33.8 million required to help people obtain shelter and other necessities (Manila, 6 February 2014): Nearly four months after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake devastated parts of Bohol Island in the Philippines, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator (RC/HC), Luiza Carvalho, is calling on donors to provide an additional US$19 million for urgent shelter needs, as well as health, education and…

04 Feb 2014
South Sudan: South Sudan: US$1.27 billion appeal to save lives, alleviate suffering and preposition aid before the rains
Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Country: South Sudan (Juba, 4 February 2014): Aid agencies in South Sudan urgently require $1.27 billion to assist 3.2 million people suffering the humanitarian consequences of the crisis. The conflict, which started on 15 December 2013, has led to devastating humanitarian consequences: the lives of millions of citizens have been shattered; almost 900,000 have left their homes; and thousands more have been hurt or wounded as a…

04 Feb 2014
Somalia: Statement from the UN Humanitarian Coordinator: As Somalia’s fragile improvements continue, HC cautions against complacency
Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Country: Somalia (Mogadishu, 4 February 2014) — Commenting on the latest results of Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit twice annual assessment and forecast of the food and nutrition situation in Somalia the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Mr. Philippe Lazzarini warned against complacency in the wake of a slight improvement…

03 Feb 2014
Mali: Sahel Humanitarian Response Plan 2014 – Guide to Giving
Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Country: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Gambia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal Contributing to individual emergencies and strategic response plans To access each country’s humanitarian needs overview and strategic response plan, and donate directly towards these strategies, view the Sahel Country pages on the OCHA/CAP website. Each country’s plan has links to on-line information on the participating organizations and…

Latest Map
Philippines: Philippines Eastern Samar: Typhoon Haiyan – Summary of Ongoing…

UNDP  United Nations Development Program [to 8 February 2014]
http://www.us.undp.org/content/undp/en/home.html

05 Feb 2014
People’s message to the UN: Governance essential for sustainable development post-2015
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Office of the High-Commissioner for Human Rights and the Permanent Missions to the United Nations of Germany and South Africa presented today the findings from the global thematic consultation on governance and the Post-2015 agenda to the United Nations Member States.

03 Feb 2014
Africa: Urgent action needed to link mining with region’s development objectives
On the margins of Africa’s largest annual mining conference, “Mining Indaba”, multilateral development organizations have called on the private sector to join forces with them in ensuring the revenues from mining are reinvested in people.

UN Women  [to 8 February 2014]
http://www.unwomen.org/

07/02/2014
Turning the tide towards actions for change, thorough the sustainable development goals

06/02/2014
Interview with the Director General of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, Martin Dahinden

03/02/2014
A focus on gender equality as the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals meets

03/02/2014
UN Women Executive Director meets with South Sudanese women leaders at African Union Summit

UNFPA  United Nations Population Fund [to 8 February 2014]
http://www.unfpa.org/public/

06 February 2014
Statement by the Executive Director for the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals
UNFPA Executive Director, Babatunde Osotimehin, addressed the morning session of the 5th meeting of the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals. His speech highlighted that young girls are the face of the future, and women and girls should be able to make choices about their lives in order to contribute to themselves and to the community.  Dr. Osotimehin highlighted that access, rights and opportunities must be available on an equal basis both to boys and girls.

05 February 2014 – Statement
International Day of Zero Tolerance to FGM
Millions of girls around the world are still threatened by genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), despite a century of efforts to put an end to it. In the 29 countries in Africa and the Middle East where the practice is concentrated, more than 125 million girls and women have been cut. UNFPA projects that a further 86 million young girls worldwide are likely to experience some form of the practice by 2030, if current trends continue. more

04 February 2014 – Dispatch
Improving Health Care in West Africa
Preliminary results of the demographic and health survey released earlier this week in Sierra Leone indicate that the country improved health services in the last five years. If compared with the previous survey, indicators, especially in the area of reproductive health, can put the West African nation on track to achieve internationally agreed development goals. more

UNESCO  [to 8 February 2014]
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/for-the-press/all-news//

7 Feb 2014
Pakistan: Director-General Highlights Science-Policy-Sustainable Development Nexus

7 Feb 2014
Mobile Learning Week: A Revolution for Inclusive & Better Education

7 Feb 2014
Interview: Greening technical and vocational education and training

7 Feb 2014
The Spanish Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Environment and MAB announce three new Spanish biosphere reserves

6 Feb 2014
UNESCO launches Malala Funds-in-Trust for Girls’ Education in Pakistan

7 Feb 2014
Asia-Pacific journalists learn how to combat trauma in the field

7 Feb 2014
A UNESCO emergency mission to launch rehabilitation of the Islamic Arts Museum of Cairo

4 Feb 2014
The Republic of Korea’s Vision of Development Resonates with UNESCO’s mandate

4 Feb 2014
Developing the Kenya National OER Policy for achieving Education for All

USAID [to 8 February 2014]
http://www.usaid.gov/

Jason Fraser Sworn In As Mission Director to Angola
February 3, 2014
Jason Fraser was sworn in today as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) mission director to Angola.  Fraser assumes leadership over a portfolio of programs that support democracy and governance, the electoral process, economic growth, and the President’s Malaria Initiative.

USAID Announces RISE: A New Initiative To Build Resilience In West Africa’s Sahel
February 3, 2014
Today, at the high-level launch of the United Nations’ Sahel Humanitarian Response Plan in Rome, Italy, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Assistant Administrator for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance Nancy Lindborg announced USAID’s RISE (Resilience in the Sahel-Enhanced) Initiative.

DFID  [to 8 February 2014]
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-development

Britain will provide clean water and sanitation to retired Gurkha soldiers, their families and communities in Nepal.
Britain will provide clean water and sanitation to retired Gurkha soldiers, their families and communities living in remote Nepali hilltop villages, the Minister of State Alan Duncan announced today following a visit to the Gurkha heartlands.

Access to clean water means retired Gurkha soldiers can live out their lives in dignity in Nepal, their families can enjoy good health, and their children can go to school rather than spend their days trekking to fetch clean water.

New funding of £10 million will enable the construction of 400 water supply systems and nearly 10,000 latrines, through the Gurkha Welfare Scheme.

Poor sanitation and lack of clean water is a major issue in rural Nepal and thousands of children under five die each year from preventable water-borne diseases.

This year marks 200 years since the start of the Anglo Nepali war (1814-16), where the British first recognised the potential of the fierce Gurkha warriors and began recruiting them. 2014 also marks the centenary of the First World War: Gurkhas fought in France, Turkey, Palestine and Mesopotamia…

ECHO  [to 8 February 2014]
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/index_en.htm

Sahel crisis: EU gives €142 million in humanitarian aid in 2014
3/2/2014 – The European Commission today has announced it will give €142 million in humanitarian funds to the Sahel region of Africa in 2014, which is once again suffering because of a severe food and nutrition crisis this year. In addition, many people in Mali are in need of humanitarian aid as a result of the situation in the North….
[Read more]

EU Civil Protection Mechanism supporting Slovenia
3/2/2014 – In a swift operation, coordinated by the European Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Centre, Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic offered electricity generators within hours of a Slovenian request… [Read more]

OECD  [to 8 February 2014]
http://www.oecd.org/

6-February-2014
Donors doing too little to strengthen domestic revenues in fragile states, OECD says
International donors are not doing enough to help fragile states increase their domestic revenue, according to a new OECD report that shows only a tiny fraction of development aid goes into programmes to improve tax collection.

4-February-2014
Consumer Prices, OECD – Updated: 4 February 2014
OECD annual inflation nudges up to 1.6% in December 2013

4-February-2014
Launch of OECD report on mental health and work in the UK – London, Monday 10 February 2014
Tackling mental ill-health of the working-age population is an issue that has been neglected for too long, despite creating very high and increasing costs to people and society at large.

3-February-2014
Australia: Local employment agencies should play a greater role in job creation, says OECD
Slower growth in key markets like China and India is reducing momentum across the Australian economy, cutting into employment opportunities and putting more pressure on the government to ensure that public policy delivers optimal results for growth and job creation.

3-February-2014
OECD Economic Survey of Finland launches Wednesday 12 February 2014
The OECD’s latest Economic Survey of Finland, to be published on Wednesday 12 February 2014, assesses the gradual pick-up in economic activity as well as uncertainty surrounding the recovery.

World Trade Organisation [to 8 February 2014]
http://www.wto.org/english/news_e/news13_e/news13_e.htm

:: The WTO launches a book on Tuesday 11 February 2014  that looks at the constraints faced by developing and emerging countries in accessing new markets. “Connecting to global markets: Challenges and opportunities” features case studies presented by academic institutions of the WTO Chairs Programme, which funds WTO-related academic work at 14 universities in developing countries. Director-General Roberto Azevêdo delivers the opening speech at the event.

World Bank [to 8 February 2014]
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/all

Region/Global actions and announcements
Access to High Speed Internet is Key to Job Creation and Social Inclusion in the Arab World
ABU DHABI, February 6, 2014 – The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries lag behind when compared with other regions in the development of broadband networks, internet access and use, and creation of digital content.  The demand for widespread access to broadband internet, a key driver of economic growth, job creation, and social inclusion, has never been greater. According to the latest regional report by the World Bank on broadband in the Arab world, open competition and policy and regulatory changes could transform the region into a global leader in high speed internet.“The Middle East and North Africa region has been the cradle of science and technology and can again use modern technology to address the contemporary problems faced by the region,” said Inger Andersen, World Bank Vice President for the MENA region.  “We at the World Bank Group are committed to working closely with all countries in MENA to improve access and quality of broadband internet connecti Show Less –
Date: February 6, 2014

Fish Farms to Produce Nearly Two Thirds of Global Food Fish Supply by 2030, Report Shows
WASHINGTON, February 5, 2014 – Aquaculture – or fish farming – will provide close to two thirds of global food fish consumption by 2030 as catches from wild capture fisheries level off and demand from an emerging global middle class, especially in China, substantially increases.These are among the key findings of “Fish to 2030: Prospects for Fisheries and Aquaculture” – a collaboration between the World Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), released today. The report highlights the extent of global trade in seafood which tends to flow heavily from developing to developed countries.According to the FAO, at present 38 percent of all fish produced in the world is exported and in value terms, over two thirds of fishery exports by developing countries are directed to developed countries. The “Fish to 2030” report finds that a major and growing market for fish is coming from China which is projected…
Date: February 5, 2014

Kenya to Host African Institute for Remittances Secretariat: Institute to be fully operational in 2015
ADDIS ABABA, February 3, 2014 – The African Union (AU) Executive Council, has selected the Republic of Kenya to host the African Institute for Remittances (AIR). The Council asked the African Union Commission to conclude the Host Agreement with the Republic of Kenya so as to ensure the formal take-off of the Institute this year.   It also asked the World Bank and other development partners to support the Institute. The Institute is scheduled to be fully operational by 2015.“I am delighted that the Executive Council has decided that the Republic of Kenya will host the AIR. The establishment of AIR, the first of its kind in the world, is a cornerstone in harnessing Diaspora resources for social and economic development in Africa”, said Dr. Mustapha S. Kaloko, Commissioner of Social Affairs of the African Union Commission. He also called upon development partners to continue supporting the Institute.  Kenya is one of four member countries that had expressed interest…
Date: February 3, 2014

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
February 2014; 90 (2)
http://www.ajtmh.org/content/current

Determinants and Coverage of Vaccination in Children in Western Kenya from a 2003 Cross-Sectional Survey
Lisa M. Calhoun, Anna M. van Eijk, Kim A. Lindblade, Frank O. Odhiambo, Mark L. Wilson, Elizabeth Winterbauer, Laurence Slutsker, and Mary J. Hamel
Am J Trop Med Hyg 2014 90:234-241; Published online December 16, 2013, doi:10.4269/ajtmh.13-0127
http://www.ajtmh.org/content/90/2/234.abstract

Abstract
This study assesses full and timely vaccination coverage and factors associated with full vaccination in children ages 12–23 months in Gem, Nyanza Province, Kenya in 2003. A simple random sample of 1,769 households was selected, and guardians were invited to bring children under 5 years of age to participate in a survey. Full vaccination coverage was 31.1% among 244 children. Only 2.2% received all vaccinations in the target month for each vaccination. In multivariate logistic regression, children of mothers of higher parity (odds ratio [OR] = 0.27, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] = 0.13–0.65, P ≤ 0.01), children of mothers with lower maternal education (OR = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.13–0.97, P ≤ 0.05), or children in households with the spouse absent versus present (OR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.17–0.91, P ≤ 0.05) were less likely to be fully vaccinated. These data serve as a baseline from which changes in vaccination coverage will be measured as interventions to improve vaccination timeliness are introduced.

BMC Public Health
(Accessed 8 February 2014)
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcpublichealth/content

Research article  
Chinese immigrant parents’ vaccination decision making for children: a qualitative analysis
Linda DL Wang, Wendy WT Lam, Joseph T Wu, Qiuyan Liao, Richard Fielding BMC Public Health 2014, 14:133 (7 February 2014)

Abstract (provisional)
Background
While immunization coverage rates for childhood routine vaccines in Hong Kong are almost 100%, the uptake rates of optional vaccines remain suboptimal. Understanding parental decision-making for children’s vaccination is important, particularly among minority groups who are most vulnerable and underserved. This study explored how a subsample of new immigrant mothers from mainland China, a rapidly-growing subpopulation in Hong Kong, made decisions on various childhood and adolescent vaccines for their offspring, and identified key influences affecting their decision making.

Methods
Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 23 Chinese new immigrant mothers recruited by purposive sampling. All interviews were audio-taped, transcribed and analyzed using a Grounded Theory approach.

Results
Participants’ conversation revealed five underlying themes which influenced parents’ vaccination decision-making: (1) Institutional factors, (2) Insufficient vaccination knowledge and advice, (3) Affective impacts on motivation, (4) Vaccination barriers, and (5) Social influences. The role of social norms appeared overwhelmingly salient influencing parents’ vaccination decision making. Institutional factors shaped parent’s perceptions of vaccination necessity. Fear of vaccine-targeted diseases was a key motivating factor for parents adopting vaccination. Insufficient knowledge about vaccines and targeted diseases, lack of advice from health professionals and, if provided, suspicions regarding the motivations for such advice were common issues. Vaccination cost was a major barrier for many new immigrant parents.

Conclusions
Social norms play a key role influencing parental vaccination decision-making. Insight gained from this study will help inform healthcare providers in vaccination communication and policymakers in future vaccination programme.

Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Volume 92, Number 2, February 2014, 77-152
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/92/2/en/index.html

Editorial
No universal health coverage without strong local health systems
Bruno Meessen a, Belma Malanda b & for the Community of Practice “Health Service Delivery”
a. Department of Public Health, Institute of Tropical Medicine, Nationalestraat 155, 2000, Antwerp, Belgium.
b. Brussels, Belgium.
Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2014;92:78-78A. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.14.135228

Despite the current global and national momentum,1 universal health coverage could remain an empty promise unless it is focussed on the provision of quality essential services to everyone. And this, in turn, will not happen without strengthening local health systems.

Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Volume 92, Number 2, February 2014, 77-152
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/92/2/en/index.html

Diarrhoea-related hospitalizations in children before and after implementation of monovalent rotavirus vaccination in Mexico
Marcelino Esparza-Aguilar, Paul A Gastañaduy, Edgar Sánchez-Uribe, Rishi Desai, Umesh D Parashar, Vesta Richardson & Manish Patel
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/92/2/13-125286-ab/en/index.html

Abstract
Objective
To assess, by socioeconomic setting, the effect of nationwide vaccination against species A rotavirus (RVA) on childhood diarrhoea-related hospitalizations in Mexico.

Methods
Data on children younger than 5 years who were hospitalized for diarrhoea in health ministry hospitals between 1 January 2003 and 31 December 2011 were collected from monthly discharge reports. Human development indexes were used to categorize the states where hospitals were located as having generally high, intermediate or low socioeconomic status. Annual rates of hospitalization for diarrhoea – per 10 000 hospitalizations for any cause – were calculated. Administrative data were used to estimate vaccine coverage.

Findings
In the states with high, intermediate and low socioeconomic status, coverage with a two-dose monovalent RVA vaccine – among children younger than 5 years – had reached 93%, 86% and 71%, respectively, by 2010. The corresponding median annual rates of hospitalization for diarrhoea – per 10 000 admissions – fell from 1001, 834 and 1033 in the “prevaccine” period of 2003–2006, to 597, 497 and 705 in the “postvaccine” period from 2008 to 2011, respectively. These decreases correspond to rate reductions of 40% (95% confidence interval, CI: 38–43), 41% (95% CI: 38–43) and 32% (95% CI: 29–34), respectively. Nationwide, RVA vaccination appeared to have averted approximately 16 500 hospitalizations for childhood diarrhoea in each year of the postvaccine period.

Conclusion
Monovalent RVA vaccination has substantially reduced childhood diarrhoea-related hospitalizations for four continuous years in discretely different socioeconomic populations across Mexico.

Conflict and Health
http://www.conflictandhealth.com/
[Accessed 8 February 2014]

Case study
Implementing a successful tuberculosis programme within primary care services in a conflict area using the stop TB strategy: Afghanistan case study
Seddiq K, Enarson DA, Shah K, Haq Z and Khan WM Conflict and Health 2014, 8:3 (7 February 2014)

Abstract (provisional)
Introduction
Afghanistan has faced health consequences of war including those due to displacement of populations, breakdown of health and social services, and increased risks of disease transmission for over three decades. Yet it was able to restructure its National Tuberculosis Control Programme (NTP), integrate tuberculosis treatment into primary health care and achieve most of its targets by the year 2011. What were the processes that enabled the programme to achieve its targets? More importantly, what were the underpinning factors that made this success possible? We addressed these important questions through a case study.

Case description: We adopted a processes and outcomes framework for this study, which began with examining the change in key programme indicators, followed by backwards tracing of the processes and underlying factors, responsible for this change. Methods included review of the published and grey literature along with in-depth interviews of 15 key informants involved with the care of tuberculosis patients in Afghanistan.

Discussion & evaluation: TB incidence and mortality per 100,000 decreased from 325 and 92 to 189 and 39 respectively, while case notification and treatment success improved during the decade under study. Efficient programme structures were enabled through high political commitment from the Government, strong leadership from the programme, effective partnership and coordination among stakeholders, and adequate technical and financial support from the development partners.

Conclusions
The NTP Afghanistan is an example that public health programmes can be effectively implemented in fragile states. High political commitment and strong local leadership are essential factors for such programmes. To ensure long-term effectiveness of the NTP, the international support should be withdrawn in a phased manner, coupled with a sequential increase in resources allocated to the NTP by the Government of Afghanistan.

JAMA Pediatrics
February 2014, Vol 168, No. 2
http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/issue.aspx

Editorial
The Beginning of the End of Measles and Rubella
Mark Grabowsky, MD, MPH

Abstract
Measles was first imported into the New World in the early 16th century by European colonists, often with devastating effects on native populations. Rubella importation followed and led to congenital rubella syndrome. It is estimated that during the following 5 centuries, more than 200 million people globally died of measles. Disease incidence fell rapidly after the availability of vaccines in the United States for measles in 1963 and rubella in 1969, and after the availability of a combined measles-rubella vaccine in 1971. As vaccination expanded into other countries of the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization established a goal to eliminate measles from the Western hemisphere by 2002 and rubella by 2010. By 2004, transmission had been interrupted in the United States. However, there has been concern that pockets of transmission persisted or that transmission could be reestablished if immunization coverage levels declined.

Journal of the Royal Society – Interface
April 6, 2014; 11 (93)
http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/current

Analytical reasoning task reveals limits of social learning in networks
Iyad Rahwan1,2, Dmytro Krasnoshtan1, Azim Shariff3 and Jean-François Bonnefon4,5
+ Author Affiliations
1Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Masdar Institute of Science and Technology, Abu Dhabi 54224, United Arab Emirates
2School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9AB, UK
3Department of Psychology, 1277 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403-1227, USA
4Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Toulouse, France
5Unité 5263 Cognition, Langues, Langage et Ergonomie, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/11/93/20131211.abstract

Abstract
Social learning—by observing and copying others—is a highly successful cultural mechanism for adaptation, outperforming individual information acquisition and experience. Here, we investigate social learning in the context of the uniquely human capacity for reflective, analytical reasoning. A hallmark of the human mind is its ability to engage analytical reasoning, and suppress false associative intuitions. Through a set of laboratory-based network experiments, we find that social learning fails to propagate this cognitive strategy. When people make false intuitive conclusions and are exposed to the analytic output of their peers, they recognize and adopt this correct output. But they fail to engage analytical reasoning in similar subsequent tasks. Thus, humans exhibit an ‘unreflective copying bias’, which limits their social learning to the output, rather than the process, of their peers’ reasoning—even when doing so requires minimal effort and no technical skill. In contrast to much recent work on observation-based social learning, which emphasizes the propagation of successful behaviour through copying, our findings identify a limit on the power of social networks in situations that require analytical reasoning.