UN Women  [to 15 March 2014]
http://www.unwomen.org/

Press release: UN Women and Cherie Blair Foundation for Women form new partnership to accelerate women’s economic empowerment
Posted on March 14, 2014
At the 58th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, UN Women and the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women today announced a new partnership which will see the collaboration between UN Women’s Knowledge Gateway for Women’s Economic Empowerment and the Cherie Blair Foundation’s Mentoring Women in Business Programme. More

“What matters gets measured, and what we measure is what ends up mattering” – Deputy Executive Director John Hendra
Posted on March 13, 2014
Remarks by UN Women Deputy Executive Director Policy and Programme John Hendra, at the CSW58 side event on “Indicators for monitoring gender equality: Lessons learned from the MDGs”, New York, 12 March 2014. More

UN Women Arab States office launches Arabic version of the UN Women “One Woman” song
Posted on March 13, 2014
As part of this International Women’s Day commemoration on 8 March, UN Women Arab States office unveiled to the public the Arabic version of the UN Women “One Woman” song. More

Media advisory: CSW side event “Voices of African Women and Girls for the Post-2015 Development Agenda”
Posted on March 13, 2014
UN Women, the Agency for Cooperation and Research in Development (ACORD) and the World YWCA is co-hosting this event during the 58th session of CSW to amplify the voices of African women and girls in the post-2015 discussions. More

Remarks by Executive Director at the Nordic Council of Ministers’ side event on Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women and Girls through Education
Posted on March 12, 2014
Remarks by UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, at the Nordic Council of Ministers’ side event on Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women and Girls through Education, New York, 12 March 2014 More

Opening remarks by UN Women Executive Director at High-level event on MDG progress
Posted on March 12, 2014
Opening remarks of UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka during the High-Level event with Heads of UN Agencies “Accelerating progress on the MDGs for women and girls”, New York, 11 March. A joint statement by the Heads of UN organizations was also adopted at the event. More

I Got Flowers Today: Ending violence against women – the missing MDG
Posted on March 12, 2014
At a 11 March reception in honour of Mr. Stavros Lambrinidis, the European Union Special Representative for Human Rights, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka highlighted the importance of ending violence against women and read adapted excerpt from the poem “I Got Flowers Today”. More

Remarks by Executive Director at a side event on How the Sirleaf Market Women’s Fund of Liberia is Spearheading the Market Women’s Movement across Africa
Posted on March 12, 2014
Remarks by UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, at a side event on How the Sirleaf Market Women’s Fund of Liberia is Spearheading the Market Women’s Movement across Africa, New York, 12 March 2014 More

Remarks by Executive Director at the a side event on Engaging Men and Boys to achieve the Millennium Development Goals for Women and Girls
Posted on March 12, 2014
Remarks by UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, at a side event on Engaging Men and Boys to achieve the Millennium Development Goals for Women and Girls, New York, 12 March 2014 More

UN Women congratulates Michelle Bachelet on her inauguration as President of Chile
Posted on March 12, 2014
UN Women congratulates Michelle Bachelet for her inauguration as President of Chile on 11 March in a ceremony held in the Chilean Congress in Valparaiso. More

“We can get to ZERO!” – UN Women Executive Director
Posted on March 11, 2014
Remarks by UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UNAIDS special event on HIV and gender equality as part of the post-2015 agenda, New York, 11 March 2014 More

Remarks by John Hendra at a side event on Women and Water: Multipliers of Development
Posted on March 11, 2014
Remarks by UN Women Deputy Executive Director Policy and Programme John Hendra, at a side event on Women and Water: Multipliers of Development, New York, 11 March 2014 More

Progress for women in politics, but glass ceiling remains firm
Posted on March 11, 2014
The Women in Politics Map 2014 launched by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women today shows that while progress on women’s political participation continues to be largely positive across the world, glass ceilings remain firmly in place for women at the highest levels. More

Women in Politics Map 2014 – Statement by John Hendra
Posted on March 11, 2014
Statement by UN Women Deputy Executive Director Policy and Programme John Hendra, New York, 11 March 2014 More

Opening statement by UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka at CSW58
Posted on March 10, 2014
In her opening statement at the 58th session of UN Commission on the Status of Women, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka outlined gaps and progress towards achieving the MDGs, and highlighted the #HeforShe campaign as part of an upcoming global campaign entitled “Empowering women empowering humanity – Picture it”. New York, 10 March 2014. More

UNFPA  United Nations Population Fund [to 15 March 2014]
http://www.unfpa.org/public/

Empowering Youth to End Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
12 March 2014
UNITED NATIONS, New York – “We want to stress the fact that youth cannot and will not be ignored. We may be young, but we have experienced female genital mutilation. We know how it feels. We understand it. Ending it is a battle we can win. It can end with us. We are ready for action.” This was the voice of Aissata Camara, one of the young participants invited to take part in a side-event of the 58th Commission on the Status of Women focusing on ending female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C).

Building the Future of Africa by Empowering Women and Youth
11 March 2014
UNITED NATIONS, New York – As the 58th session of the Commission on the Status of Women opened in New York, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, and the World Bank Group convened a high-level side event to focus efforts on a landmark partnership to promote regional peace, security and development in Sub-Saharan Africa.

FAO Food & Agriculture Organization [to 15 March 2014]
http://www.fao.org/home/en/

Family Farming in Asia-Pacific  
14 March 2014, Rome – The International Year of Family Farming was launched as part of a global campaign to reinforce awareness and support for small scale and family farmers around the world. The move to focus on family farmers for the international year was driven by strong advocacy from civil society, mainly the World Rural Forum. According to FAO, the contributions of these important agricultural producers is critical to the fight against hunger and malnutrition. Both in developing and developed countries, family farming is the predominant form of agriculture in the food production sector.

GM crops in traded food  
13 March 2014, Rome – There is a steady increase in incidents where low levels of GM crops are being detected in traded food and feed, FAO has said today. It is noted that this can be attributed to the increased production of genetically modified crops (GMOs) around the globe. According to FAO, the trace amounts of GM crops become mixed with non-GM food and feed crops as a result of accidents occurring during field production – for example, a field trial of a GM crop grown near a field of a non-GM crop. This could also by (…)

Asia and the Pacific: increase production
10 March 2014, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia— Government Ministers and high-level officials from nearly 40 countries are set to gather in Asia’s largest land-locked country this week to discuss ways and means to bring an end to hunger and improve food security across this vast continent. The 32nd Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC) being held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, is being hosted by the Government of Mongolia and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). FAO has warned that governments in Asia and the Pacific should take some major, fundamental decisions – and soon – about (…)

UNESCO  [to 15 March 2014]
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/for-the-press/all-news//

16 March 2013 – UNESCO and Samsung announce partnership

16 March 2013 – Education is everybody’s business

14 March 2013 – Multi-stakeholder Consultation on UNESCO’s Comprehensive Study on the Internet

14 March 2013 – Reconstruction of World Heritage mausoleums starts in Timbuktu (Mali)

13 March 2013 – Promoting the use of solar energy by empowering women of remote rural communities in Volcans Biosphere Reserve, Rwanda

13 March 2013 – Global Education & Skills Forum to address urgent educational needs of girls and women

13 March 2013 – Early “Science” is vital for girls

13 March 2013 – UN Ambassadors pledge to promote culture on the post 2015 agenda

12 March 2013 – Irina Bokova, Ban Ki-Moon, Lakhdar Brahimi: “The destruction of Syria’s cultural heritage must stop”

12 March 2013 – Puberty is not a problem to be solved: Empowering girls to succeed at school

12 March 2013 – Commission on the Status of Women highlights need for women in the media

12 March 2013 – UNESCO raises the flag for sustainable development through sustainable water management

12 March 2013 – UNESCO calls for youth empowerment through education to end Female Genital Mutilation

11 March 2013 – Director-General Champions girls’ education at a High-level Inter-Agency Event on MDGs for girls and women in New York

11 March 2013 – UNESCO and UN Women join efforts to promote gender equality through education

10 March 2013 – New global education goals must prioritize girls

WIPO  (World Intellectual Property Organization) [to 15 March 2014]
http://www.wipo.int/portal/en/index.html

US and China Drive International Patent Filing Growth in Record-Setting Year
The United States of America and China drove record-level patent-filing activity via WIPO in 2013 as the number of annual international patent applications surpassed the 200,000 mark for the first time. International trademark and industrial-design filings also achieved new record-breaking levels.
Mar 13, 2014 PR/2014/755

USAID [to 15 March 2014]
http://www.usaid.gov/

Press Releases
Administrator Shah to deliver remarks at Women and Girls Lead Global event
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
On March 13, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah will participate in a panel discussion highlighting Women and Girls Lead Global, a public-private partnership between USAID, CARE, the Ford Foundation and the Independent Television Service (ITVS).  The discussion will take place at Meridian’s White-Meyer House in Washington, D.C.  Read more

Impact Blog
Cooking With Green Charcoal Helps to Reduce Deforestation in Haiti
March 13, 2014 — Anna-Maija Mattila Litvak
An organization in northern Haiti is promoting a cooking fuel made from agricultural waste that can save trees, help farmers increase their yields and generate additional income. Read More

Bringing Hope to Women in Sri Lanka’s Former Conflict Zones
March 13, 2014 — Passanna Gunasekera, USAID/Sri Lanka
Like most places that have experienced conflict throughout the world, women were deeply affected by Sri Lanka’s 26-year conflict. Several USAID initiatives continue to support these women by integrating them into society and bringing normalcy back into their lives. Read More

DFID  [to 15 March 2014]
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-international-development

New UK support for Syria
15 March 2014  DFID  Press release
UK allocates over £36 million to organisations working inside Syria and across the region.

PM announces UK boost for Palestinian economy
14 March 2014  DFID, UKTI and British Council   Press release
David Cameron announces a range of initiatives to support the Palestinian economy.

ODI   [to 15 March 2014]
http://www.odi.org.uk/

Review of evaluation approaches and methods used by interventions on women and girls’ economic empowerment
Publication – Research reports and studies – 14 March 2014
Georgia Taylor and Paola Pereznieto
There is substantial work currently being done by the international development community to empower women and girls economically. This review assesses the quality and effectiveness of evaluation methods and approaches used to analyse the effects of programmes or projects on women and girls’ economic empowerment (WGEE).
Download

Measuring women’s empowerment and social transformation in the post-2015 agenda
Publication – Research reports and studies – 11 March 2014
Caroline Harper, Keiko Nowacka, Hanna Alder and Gaelle Ferrant
As the development community continues to discuss what should replace the MDGS in 2015, ODI and OECD researchers propose that most effective approach for achieving social transformation for women and girls is to focus on tackling discriminatory social norms. Progress should then be measured through transformative indicators, both under a dedicated gender goal and mainstreamed throughout all other goals.
Download

The technical is political: understanding the political implications of sector characteristics for the delivery of sanitation services
Publication – Research reports and studies – 11 March 2014
Nathaniel Mason, Richard Batley and Daniel Harris
The characteristics of service delivery sectors have political and technical implications. These characteristics, relating to market, task and demand as well as the type of good produced, can be applied to sanitation services in order to explore and respond to some of the problems of individual and collective action that affect the sector.
Download

Rapid Review of DFID’s Humanitarian Response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines
Publication – Research reports and studies – 11 March 2014
Steven A Zyck
In January 2014, ICAI sent a small team, led by Commissioner Mark Foster, to assess and provide prompt and timely feedback on the appropriateness and effectiveness of the UK Government’s response to Haiyan.
Find out more

What’s behind the demand for governance? An assessment of people’s views
Publication – Research reports and studies – 10 March 2014
Gina Bergh, Alina Rocha Menocal and Laura Rodriguez Takeuchi
This paper analyses emerging data from the United Nations’ MY World survey of people’s priorities for the future and how they have voted on governance-related issues. We compare this with a review of available evidence from global perception surveys and participatory research on people’s views and experiences relating to governance.

IMF  [to 15 March 2014]
http://www.imf.org/external/index.htm

March 13, 2014
IMF Conference Highlights Central Africa’s Investment Needs in Infrastructure
Press Release No. 14/95
March 13, 2014
The Government of Cameroon and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) jointly organized a high-level conference entitled “Financing the Future: Infrastructure Development in Central Africa” in Yaoundé, Cameroon on March 10, 2014

The conference brought together ministers, governors and more than 250 senior officials, academics, and representatives of financial institutions and civil society from across countries of the Economic Community of Central African States and beyond to discuss international experience and best practices to finance infrastructure development. The outcome of this conference will be presented at the high level Africa Rising conference organized by the government of Mozambique and the IMF in Maputo on May 29-30, 2014.

Participants agreed that investment in infrastructure can drive growth, raise productivity, and help reduce poverty, but also acknowledged that large infrastructure gaps remain in central Africa. The lack of infrastructure is a key obstacle to achieving faster growth because higher transportation, water, and power costs are estimated to reduce private sector productivity by almost half. Regional infrastructure projects and good coordination of national investment will  also foster regional integration.

Upgrading infrastructures is, however, very costly and implies large financing needs. For Central African countries, scaling up investment without taking on excessive debt constitutes a crucial policy challenge…

World Bank [to 15 March 2014]
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/all

World Bank Presents Views on Post-2015 Framework for MDGs
March 13, 2014 – As the 2015 deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) gets closer, the World Bank Group (WBG) is setting ambitious targets and reforming the way it does business to support a sustainable post-2015 development framework. The WBG is working with the United Nations (UN) and other multilateral development banks (MDBs) to make MDGs meet their objectives. While member states are the ones driving the Post-2015 agenda, the World Bank’s contribution from its ability to push the “data revolution,” or to help build a consensus on a new financing framework is being recognized by the international community. The WBG  is also committed to better leverage resources and knowledge to support strong economic growth and to tackle rising income equality, gender imbalance, climate change and fragility…

South Sudan: World Bank Mobilizes US$44 Million to Provide Critical Health Services and Fight Hunger
WASHINGTON, March 13, 2014 – The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors today approved US$44 million in additional financing to help South Sudan boost health services, fight hunger and assist people displaced by conflict in Jonglei, Upper Nile and other areas of the conflict affected country.“ South Sudan is facing a difficult time in its short history with conflict affecting six of ten states in the country,” said Bella Bird, World Bank Country Director for South Sudan. “The World Bank Group is mobilizing efforts in two very important life-saving ways, by expanding access to much-needed basic health services and helping to meet basic food needs of poor and vulnerable populations. “The first of the two projects approved by the Bank consists of a $25 million grant and a $10 million International Development Association (IDA*) credit and will support the Health Rapid Results project in Jonglei and Upper Nile states which are most affected by conflict…

Latin America: Increase in Number of Retirees with the Right to a Pension
   Beyond Contributory Pensions:  Fourteen Experiences in Latin America (Más allá de las Pensiones Contributivas: Catorce experiencias en América Latina) — notes that recent reforms of pension systems adopted in 14 Latin American countries in the last decade have helped reduce the proportion of the population over 65 with no access to benefits by almost 33%, a change that represent the most dramatic coverage improvement in decades.
The report also focuses on how LAC countries are addressing the urgent need to prevent its rapidly ageing population from falling into poverty. In 1950, life expectancy in the region was 52 years; it reached 74 in 2010 and is expected to exceed 85 by 2100.
Click here to read the full report.

Speeches & Transcripts
Speech by Makhtar Diop at the High-level Forum on Higher Education, Science and Technology in Africa
Makhtar Diop, World Bank’s Vice President for the Africa Region
High-level Forum on Higher Education, Science and Technology in Africa
Kigali, Rwanda
March 13, 2014
Full text – As Prepared for Delivery: http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/speech/2014/03/13/speech-by-makhtar-diop-at-the-high-level-forum-on-higher-education-science-and-technology-in-africa

BMC Public Health
(Accessed 15 March 2014)
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcpublichealth/content

Research article
Residential characteristics as correlates of occupants’ health in the greater Accra region, Ghana
Emilia Asuquo Udofia, Alfred E Yawson, Kwesi Adu Aduful and Francis Mulekya Bwambale
Author Affiliations
BMC Public Health 2014, 14:244  doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-244
Published: 11 March 2014
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/14/244/abstract

Abstract (provisional)
Background
Housing has been a relatively neglected site for public health action. However, it remains a place where human beings spend the most part of their day. As a result, the quality of housing has consequences for human health. We investigate residential characteristics associated with self-rated occupant health in five neighbourhoods in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana.

Methods
A cross sectional study using a semi-structured questionnaire was conducted among 500 informed adults aged 18 years and above to investigate residential characteristics associated with self-rated occupant health in five neighbourhoods in the Greater Accra Region, Ghana. Correlates of occupant rated health were determined using Pearson chi-square test and binary logistic regression.

Results
Forty-two per cent of houses were rented, 44% required repair and 46% shared sanitation facilities. One in twenty occupants reported poor health. Gender, employment status, income, ventilation, house wall material, odours, stale air, privacy, shared facilities, hand washing facility, type of house and house repair status were associated with poor health in the bivariate analysis. Only two variables were independently associated with poor self-rated health: occupants who lacked privacy were eight times more likely to report poor self-rated health when compared to peers who did not lack privacy [OR = 8.16, 95% CI 2.86-23.26] and women were three times more likely than men to report poor health [OR = 2.98, 95%CI 1.06-8.35].

Conclusion
The results provide further evidence of housing as a determinant of occupants’ health, and identify housing characteristics and living conditions as issues for public health action in Ghana.

Developing World Bioethics
April 2014   Volume 14, Issue 1  Pages ii–ii, 1–57
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dewb.2014.14.issue-1/issuetoc

ARTICLE
Impact of Three Years Training on Operations Capacities of Research Ethics Committees in Nigeria
Morenike Oluwatoyin Folayan, Aisha Adaranijo, Florita Durueke, Ademola Ajuwon, Adebayo Adejumo, Oliver Ezechi, Kola Oyedeji and Olayide Akanni
Article first published online: 24 SEP 2012
DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-8847.2012.00340.x
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1471-8847.2012.00340.x/abstract

Abstract
This paper describes a three-year project designed to build the capacity of members of research ethics committees to perform their roles and responsibilities efficiently and effectively. The project participants were made up of a cross-section of the membership of 13 Research Ethics Committees (RECs) functioning in Nigeria. They received training to develop their capacity to evaluate research protocols, monitor trial implementation, provide constructive input to trial staff, and assess the trial’s success in promoting community engagement in the research.

Following the training, technical assistance was provided to participants on an ongoing basis and the project’s impacts were assessed quantitatively and qualitatively. Results indicate that sustained investment in capacity building efforts (including training, ongoing technical assistance, and the provision of multiple tools) improved the participants’ knowledge of both the ethical principles relevant to biomedical research and how effective REC should function. Such investment was also shown to have a positive impact on the knowledge levels of other RECs members (those who did not receive training) and the overall operations of the RECs to which the participants belonged. Building the capacity of REC members to fulfill their roles effectively requires sustained effort and investment and pays off by enabling RECs to fulfill their essential mission of ensuring that trials are conducted safely and ethically.

Developing World Bioethics
April 2014   Volume 14, Issue 1  Pages ii–ii, 1–57
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dewb.2014.14.issue-1/issuetoc

ARTICLE
The Ethics of Engaged Presence: A Framework for Health Professionals in Humanitarian Assistance and Development Work
Matthew R. Hunt, Lisa Schwartz, Christina Sinding and Laurie Elit
Article first published online: 21 DEC 2012
DOI: 10.1111/dewb.12013
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dewb.12013/abstract

Abstract
In this article, we present an ethics framework for health practice in humanitarian and development work: the ethics of engaged presence. The ethics of engaged presence framework aims to articulate in a systematic fashion approaches and orientations that support the engagement of expatriate health care professionals in ways that align with diverse obligations and responsibilities, and promote respectful and effective action and relationships. Drawn from a range of sources, the framework provides a vocabulary and narrative structure for examining the moral dimensions of providing development or humanitarian health assistance to individuals and communities, and working with and alongside local and international actors. The elements also help minimize or avoid certain miscalculations and harms. Emphasis is placed on the shared humanity of those who provide and those who receive assistance, acknowledgement of limits and risks related to the contributions of expatriate health care professionals, and the importance of providing skillful and relevant assistance. These elements articulate a moral posture for expatriate health care professionals that contributes to orienting the practice of clinicians in ways that reflect respect, humility, and solidarity. Health care professionals whose understanding and actions are consistent with the ethics of engaged presence will be oriented toward introspection and reflective practice and toward developing, sustaining and promoting collaborative partnerships.

Globalization and Health
[Accessed 15 March 2014]
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/

Research
Local production of pharmaceuticals in Africa and access to essential medicines: ‘urban bias’ in access to imported medicines in Tanzania and its policy implications
Phares GM Mujinja, Maureen Mackintosh, Mary Justin-Temu and Marc Wuyts
Author Affiliations
Globalization and Health 2014, 10:12  doi:10.1186/1744-8603-10-12
Published: 10 March 2014
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/10/1/12/abstract

Abstract (provisional)
Background
International policy towards access to essential medicines in Africa has focused until recently on international procurement of large volumes of medicines, mainly from Indian manufacturers, and their import and distribution. This emphasis is now being challenged by renewed policy interest in the potential benefits of local pharmaceutical production and supply. However, there is a shortage of evidence on the role of locally produced medicines in African markets, and on potential benefits of local production for access to medicines. This article contributes to filling that gap.

Methods
This article uses WHO/HAI data from Tanzania for 2006 and 2009 on prices and sources of a set of tracer essential medicines. It employs innovative graphical methods of analysis alongside conventional statistical testing.

Results
Medicines produced in Tanzania were equally likely to be found in rural and in urban areas. Imported medicines, especially those imported from countries other than Kenya (mainly from India) displayed ‘urban bias’: that is, they were significantly more likely to be available in urban than in rural areas. This finding holds across the range of sample medicines studied, and cannot be explained by price differences alone. While different private distribution networks for essential medicines may provide part of the explanation, this cannot explain why the urban bias in availability of imported medicines is also found in the public sector.

Conclusions
The findings suggest that enhanced local production may improve rural access to medicines. The potential benefits of local production and scope for their improvement are an important field for further research, and indicate a key policy area in which economic development and health care objectives may reinforce each other.

Human Vaccines & Immunotherapeutics (formerly Human Vaccines)
April 2014  Volume 10, Issue 4
http://www.landesbioscience.com/journals/vaccines/toc/volume/10/issue/4/

Commentary
Vaccine refrigeration: Thinking outside of the box
Patrick J McColloster and Andres Martin-de-Nicolas
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.27660
Abstract
This commentary reviews recent changes in Centers for Disease Control (CDC) vaccine storage guidelines that were developed in response to an investigative report by the Office of the Inspector General. The use of temperature data loggers with probes residing in glycol vials is advised along with storing vaccines in pharmaceutical refrigerators. These refrigerators provide good thermal distribution but can warm to 8 °C in less than one hour after the power is discontinued. Consequently, electric grid instability influences appropriate refrigerator selection and the need for power back-up. System Average Interruption Duration Index (SAIDI) values quantify this instability and can be used to formulate region-specific guidelines. A novel aftermarket refrigerator regulator with a battery back-up power supply and microprocessor control system is also described.

Commentary
Coercion and polio eradication efforts in Moradabad
Christy A Rentmeester, Rajib Dasgupta, Kristen A Feemster and Randall M Packard
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.27667
Abstract
We introduce the problem of vaccine coercion as reported in Moradabad, India. We offer commentary and critical analysis on ethical complexities at the intersection of global public health and regional political strife and relate them to broader vaccine goals. We draw upon a historical example from malaria vaccine efforts, focusing specifically on ethical and health justice issues expressed through the use of coercion in vaccine administration. We suggest how coercion is indicative of failed leadership in public health and consider community-based collaborations as models for cultivating local investment and trust in vaccination campaigns and for success in global public health initiatives.

Research Paper
Measles epidemic from 1951 to 2012 and vaccine effectiveness in Guangzhou, southern China
Zhicong Yang, Jianxiong Xu, Ming Wang, Biao Di, Huifeng Tan, Qing He, Yanshan Cai, Jianhua Liang, Wensui Hu, Zhiqiang Dong and Chuanxi Fu
http://dx.doi.org/10.4161/hv.27895
Abstract
Background:
Since the National Expanded Program on Immunization was implemented in China, considerable progress has been made in reducing the incidence of measles. However, the incidence of measles increased again in 2004. Few post-marketing studies on measles vaccine effectiveness was reported in China. In this study, we aimed to describe the measles epidemic and to evaluate the effectiveness of the measles vaccine in Guangzhou, southern China.
Methods:
Based on the surveillance data for measles, we investigated the epidemiology during different periods between 1951 and 2012. We analyzed the clinical characteristics of laboratory-confirmed cases of measles between 2009 and 2012 and conducted a case-control study using test-negative cases as controls. We determined the protective effect of measles vaccine.
Results:
The highest annual incidence in Guangzhou was 2187.15/100 000 in 1964, and the lowest was 0.32/100 000 in 2011. The average incidence of measles from 1951 to 2012 was 306.27/100 000. There was a significant tendency of decline in recent years. From 2009 to 2012, there are 700 laboratory-confirmed cases were reported with an average onset age of 2.5 (median) years. The non-vaccinated target population (age <8 months and ≥15 years) accounted for 56.7% of the cases. The transient (non-resident) population accounted for 51.3% of the cases. Fewer cases were observed in the population targeted for measles vaccine (aged 8 months to 14 years). The effectiveness of a single dose of the measles vaccine was 89.1% (95% confidence interval (CI), 44.5–97.9), and the effectiveness of ≥2 doses of the measles vaccine was 97.8% (95% CI, 88.3–99.6) in children aged 8 months to 14 years old.
Conclusions:
There is a significant overall decline in the incidence of measles (including clinical and laboratory confirmed cases) in the measles vaccine targeted population in Guangzhou. Two doses of measles vaccine are more effective than one dose in preventing measles in China. In order to accelerate the elimination of measles, vaccination should also be given to the transient and the non-vaccine targeted population in a national schedule.

Intervention – Journal of Mental Health and Psychological Support in Conflict Affected Areas
March 2014 – Volume 12 – Issue 1  pp: 2-165
http://journals.lww.com/interventionjnl/pages/currenttoc.aspx

Special Section
Peacebuilding and psychosocial work
Narrowing the gap between psychosocial practice, peacebuilding and wider social change: an introduction to the Special Section in this issue
Hamber, Brandon; Gallagher, Elizabeth; Ventevogel, Peter

Abstract
The terms ‘psychosocial interventions’ and ‘peacebuilding’ are often used as umbrella phrases. While each of these covers a widely diverging field, a primary goal of ‘psychosocial interventions’ is to improve wellbeing of individuals and families, while ‘peacebuilding’ tends to focus on communal and institutional processes. Psychosocial practitioners do not often see their work as directly related to social change, while those involved in peacebuilding initiatives can have a limiting focus on individual wellbeing. The authors argue that greater attention should be given to the synergies that could be created by linking psychosocial work with processes of social change and communal recovery, within the context of collective violence and humanitarian emergencies. The articles in this issue of ‘Intervention’ describe experiences within very different contexts (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burma (Myanmar), Guatemala, Lebanon, Northern Ireland, occupied East Jerusalem, South Sudan and Rwanda), but their common thread is that they begin to show how psychosocial work can influence a peacebuilding environment and foster wider social change.

Intervention – Journal of Mental Health and Psychological Support in Conflict Affected Areas
March 2014 – Volume 12 – Issue 1  pp: 2-165
http://journals.lww.com/interventionjnl/pages/currenttoc.aspx

Field Reports
Do humanitarian crises offer opportunities for change? A critical review of the mental health and psychosocial support post emergency in the Republic of the Congo
Moayedoddin, Babak; Makaya, Christelle Nangho; Canuto, Alessandra

Abstract
Violent explosions rocked the city of Brazzaville (the capital of the Republic of the Congo) on 4 March 2012, officially causing more than 280 deaths and leaving approximately 15,000 people displaced. Two months after this event, despite a large number of people suffering from considerable psychological distress, few people had called for, or had received, appropriate mental health care or any external psychosocial support. A field evaluation, following this emergency, led to a critical review of the limited capacity of the mental health care system in Brazzaville to respond to the population’s needs. This evaluation also allowed a review of the current state of affairs in regard to mental health and psychosocial support by health care actors in Brazzaville. The crisis has, in this way, facilitated an increasing awareness and triggered a process of deeper examination of how to improve mental health care in the Republic of the Congo.

Intervention – Journal of Mental Health and Psychological Support in Conflict Affected Areas
March 2014 – Volume 12 – Issue 1  pp: 2-165
http://journals.lww.com/interventionjnl/pages/currenttoc.aspx

Field Reports
Integrating psychosocial support into nutrition programmes in West Africa during the Sahel food crisis
McGrath, Megan; Schafer, Alison

Abstract
For optimal physical and cognitive development to occur, a child requires adequate nutrition, but this should occur in addition to physical and emotional stimulation from a caregiver. Programmes, in which interventions for nutrition, maternal mental health and psychosocial stimulation are integrated, provide much wider benefits to a child’s psychical and cognitive development than stand-alone nutritional responses. With this in mind, United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) prioritised the integration of psychosocial stimulation, within their nutrition response, during the West Africa Sahel food crisis. Brief trainings were organised within five West African countries in order to strengthen the capacity of UNICEF and partner organisations to initiate psychosocial activities within their nutritional programmes.

The Lancet  
Mar 15, 2014  Volume 383  Number 9921   p927 – 1012
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

Editorial
Global elderly care in crisis
The Lancet
Preview |
The world’s population is ageing rapidly at an unprecedented rate. The proportion of people aged over 60 years will double from about 11% to 22% between 2000 and 2050. Population ageing has profound implications for the burden of disease and social and health-care systems. How well prepared are countries to cope with these changing demographics? Unfortunately, current elderly care systems worldwide are already unable to address the soaring demand from fast growing numbers of older people, even in higher-income countries.

PLoS One
[Accessed 15 March 2014]
http://www.plosone.org/

Research Article
Knowledge and Awareness of HPV Vaccine and Acceptability to Vaccinate in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Systematic Review
Stacey Perlman, Richard G. Wamai, Paul A. Bain, Thomas Welty, Edith Welty, Javier Gordon Ogembo mail
Published: March 11, 2014
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0090912
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0090912

Abstract
Objectives
We assessed the knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer, HPV and HPV vaccine, and willingness and acceptability to vaccinate in sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries. We further identified countries that fulfill the two GAVI Alliance eligibility criteria to support nationwide HPV vaccination.

Methods
We conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed studies on the knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer, HPV and HPV vaccine, and willingness and acceptability to vaccinate. Trends in Diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) vaccine coverage in SSA countries from 1990–2011 were extracted from the World Health Organization database.

Findings
The review revealed high levels of willingness and acceptability of HPV vaccine but low levels of knowledge and awareness of cervical cancer, HPV or HPV vaccine. We identified only six countries to have met the two GAVI Alliance requirements for supporting introduction of HPV vaccine: 1) the ability to deliver multi-dose vaccines for no less than 50% of the target vaccination cohort in an average size district, and 2) achieving over 70% coverage of DTP3 vaccine nationally. From 2008 through 2011 all SSA countries, with the exception of Mauritania and Nigeria, have reached or maintained DTP3 coverage at 70% or above.

Conclusion
There is an urgent need for more education to inform the public about HPV, HPV vaccine, and cervical cancer, particularly to key demographics, (adolescents, parents and healthcare professionals), to leverage high levels of willingness and acceptability of HPV vaccine towards successful implementation of HPV vaccination programs. There is unpreparedness in most SSA countries to roll out national HPV vaccination as per the GAVI Alliance eligibility criteria for supporting introduction of the vaccine. In countries that have met 70% DTP3 coverage, pilot programs need to be rolled out to identify the best practice and strategies for delivering HPV vaccines to adolescents and also to qualify for GAVI Alliance support.