American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
April 2014; 90 (4)
http://www.ajtmh.org/content/current

Reemergence of Anopheles funestus as a Vector of Plasmodium falciparum in Western Kenya after Long-Term Implementation of Insecticide-Treated Bed Nets
Robert S. McCann*, Eric Ochomo, M. Nabie Bayoh, John M. Vulule, Mary J. Hamel, John E. Gimnig, William A. Hawley and Edward D. Walker
Author Affiliations
Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan; Department of Biomedical Science and Technology, School of Public Health and Community Development, Maseno University, Maseno, Kenya; Centre for Global Health Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kisumu, Kenya; Division of Parasitic Diseases and Malaria, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
http://www.ajtmh.org/content/90/4/597.abstract
Abstract.
Historically, the malaria vectors in western Kenya have been Anopheles funestus, Anopheles gambiae s.s., and Anopheles arabiensis. Of these species, An. funestus populations declined the most after the introduction of insecticide-treated bed nets (ITNs) in the 1990s in Asembo, and collections of An. funestus in the region remained low until at least 2008. Contrary to findings during the early years of ITN use in Asembo, the majority of the Anopheles collected here in 2010 and 2011 were An. funestus. Female An. funestus had characteristically high Plasmodium falciparum sporozoite rates and showed nearly 100% anthropophily. Female An. funestus were found more often indoors than outdoors and had relatively low mortality rates during insecticide bioassays. Together, these results are of serious concern for public health in the region, indicating that An. funestus may once again be contributing significantly to the transmission of malaria in this region despite the widespread use of ITNs/long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs)

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
April 2014; 90 (4)
http://www.ajtmh.org/content/current

Collaborative Medical Engagement and Needs Assessment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: A Preliminary Report from Muanda
Emil Lesho*, Edmond Amisi Okito, Kelly Mann, Michael McCullough and Elisabeth Hesse
Author Affiliations
Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Silver Spring, Maryland; Hospital Militaire de Reference de Muanda, Armées de la République Démocratique du Congo, Muanda Military Base, Muanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Tripler Army Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii; Office of Security Cooperation, U.S. Embassy, Kinshasa, Kinshasha, Democratic Republic of the Congo; 82nd Civil Affairs Battalion, Fort Stewart, Georgia
http://www.ajtmh.org/content/90/4/774.abstract
Abstract.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the second largest and fourth most populous country in Africa. More than two decades of ongoing conflicts have degraded its healthcare system. A broad range of tropical diseases, along with opportunities for collaborative medical engagements (CMEs), are prevalent. However, reports from such events in this country are sparse. In June 2013, a CME was conducted in the western town of Muanda. Twenty-two hours of didactic sessions were collaboratively presented, and 158 patients were collaboratively evaluated. Durable dental and respiratory equipment, infrastructure improvements, and training opportunities were the top needs identified by the providers. Whether the regional referral hospital received sustainable benefit remains under investigation. However, the approach and needs assessment described herein provide a framework for future engagements or assistance. This CME established a precedence of medical partnership in the region because it led to the largest multidisciplinary joint collaboration in the history of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

BMC Health Services Research
(Accessed 12 April 2014)
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmchealthservres/content
Research article
Cervical cancer prevention in reproductive health services: knowledge, attitudes and practices of midwives in Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa
Boris K Tchounga, Antoine Jaquet, Patrick A Coffie, Apollinaire Horo, Catherine Sauvaget, Innocent Adoubi, Privat Guie, François Dabis, Annie J Sasco and Didier K Ekouevi
Author Affiliations
BMC Health Services Research 2014, 14:165 doi:10.1186/1472-6963-14-165
Published: 11 April 2014
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6963/14/165/abstract
Abstract (provisional)
Background
Cervical cancer is the most common cancer among women and the leading cause of cancer deaths in women in Cote d’Ivoire. Low resource countries can now prevent this cancer by using HPV vaccine and effective and affordable screening tests. However the implementation of these prevention strategies needs well-trained human resources. Part of the solution could come from midwives by integrating cervical cancer prevention into reproductive health services. The aim of this survey was to assess knowledge, attitudes and practices of midwives towards cervical cancer prevention in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, and to find out factors associated with appropriate knowledge.
Methods
A cross-sectional survey was conducted among midwives in the urban district of Abidjan, using a self-administered questionnaire. Knowledge was assessed by two scores. Factors associated with appropriate knowledge were determined using a logistic regression analysis. Attitudes and practices were described and compare using the Chi2 test.
Results
A total of 592 midwives were enrolled, including 24.5% of final-year students. 55.7% of midwives had appropriate knowledge on cervical cancer, and 42.4% of them had appropriate knowledge on cervical cancer prevention strategies. Conferences, courses taken at school of midwifery and special training sessions on cervical cancer (OR = 4.9, 95% CI [1.9 to 12.6], p <0.01) were associated with good knowledge on the management of this disease. Among these midwives, 18.4% had already benefited from a screening test for themselves, 37.7% had already advised screening to patients and 8.4% were able to perform a visual inspection. 50.3% of midwives knew HPV vaccine as a preventive method; among them 70.8% usually recommended it to young girls.
Conclusion
Despite sufficient knowledge about cervical cancer prevention, attitudes and practices of midwives should be improved by organizing capacity building activities. This would ensure the success of integration of cervical cancer prevention into reproductive health services in countries like Cote d’Ivoire.

Globalization and Health
[Accessed 12 April 2014]
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/
Commentary
Open access: academic publishing and its implications for knowledge equity in Kenya
Duncan Mwangangi Matheka, Joseph Nderitu, Daniel Mutonga, Mary Iwaret Otiti, Karen Siegel and Alessandro Rhyll Demaio
Author Affiliations
Globalization and Health 2014, 10:26 doi:10.1186/1744-8603-10-26
Published: 9 April 2014
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/content/10/1/26/abstract
Abstract (provisional)
Traditional, subscription-based scientific publishing has its limitations: often, articles are inaccessible to the majority of researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where journal subscriptions or one-time access fees are cost-prohibitive. Open access (OA) publishing, in which journals provide online access to articles free of charge, breaks this barrier and allows unrestricted access to scientific and scholarly information to researchers all over the globe. At the same time, one major limitation to OA is a high publishing cost that is placed on authors. Following recent developments to OA publishing policies in the UK and even LMICs, this article highlights the current status and future challenges of OA in Africa. We place particular emphasis on Kenya, where multidisciplinary efforts to improve access have been established. We note that these efforts in Kenya can be further strengthened and potentially replicated in other African countries, with the goal of elevating the visibility of African research and improving access for African researchers to global research, and, ultimately, bring social and economic benefits to the region. We (1) offer recommendations for overcoming the challenges of implementing OA in Africa and (2) call for urgent action by African governments to follow the suit of high-income countries like the UK and Australia, mandating OA for publicly-funded research in their region and supporting future research into how OA might bring social and economic benefits to Africa.

The Lancet
Apr 12, 2014 Volume 383 Number 9925 p1269 – 1358
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current
Editorial
Neglected tropical diseases: becoming less neglected
The Lancet
Preview | Full Text | PDF
Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) cover a wide range of infections that predominantly affect the poorest and most vulnerable individuals. Neglected, but not unknown, these diseases are preventable and treatable. They threaten the lives of more than 1 billion people worldwide, including half a billion children. To take the “neglected” out of NTDs, public and private partners—including drug companies, donors, and governments—committed to what is now referred to as the 2012 London Declaration to control, eliminate, or eradicate by 2020 ten NTDs (lymphatic filariasis, trachoma, soil-transmitted helminths, onchocerciasis, schistosomiaisis, leprosy, guinea worm, visceral leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and human African trypanosomiasis).

Health Policy
Advancing social and economic development by investing in women’s and children’s health: a new Global Investment Framework
Karin Stenberg MSc a, Henrik Axelson MSc e, Peter Sheehan DPhil p, Ian Anderson MSc q, A Metin Gülmezoglu PhD c, Marleen Temmerman PhD c, Elizabeth Mason MSc d, Howard S Friedman PhD n, Prof Zulfiqar A Bhutta PhD g h, Joy E Lawn PhD k, Kim Sweeny PhD p, Jim Tulloch MBBS r, Peter Hansen PhD i, Mickey Chopra MD m, Anuradha Gupta MBA l, Joshua P Vogel MBBS c, Mikael Ostergren MD d, Bruce Rasmussen PhD p, Carol Levin PhD s, Colin Boyle MBA t, Shyama Kuruvilla PhD f, Marjorie Koblinsky PhD o, Neff Walker PhD j, Andres de Francisco MD f, Nebojsa Novcic MPhil f, Carole Presern PhD f, Prof Dean Jamison PhD s, Flavia Bustreo MD b, on behalf of the Study Group for the Global Investment Framework for Women’s Children’s Health
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2813%2962231-X/abstract
Summary
A new Global Investment Framework for Women’s and Children’s Health demonstrates how investment in women’s and children’s health will secure high health, social, and economic returns. We costed health systems strengthening and six investment packages for: maternal and newborn health, child health, immunisation, family planning, HIV/AIDS, and malaria. Nutrition is a cross-cutting theme. We then used simulation modelling to estimate the health and socioeconomic returns of these investments. Increasing health expenditure by just $5 per person per year up to 2035 in 74 high-burden countries could yield up to nine times that value in economic and social benefits. These returns include greater gross domestic product (GDP) growth through improved productivity, and prevention of the needless deaths of 147 million children, 32 million stillbirths, and 5 million women by 2035. These gains could be achieved by an additional investment of $30 billion per year, equivalent to a 2% increase above current spending.

Viewpoint
Children growing up with HIV infection: the responsibility of success
Sarah Bernays, Prudence Jarrett, Katharina Kranzer, Rashida A Ferrand
Preview | Full Text | PDF
An estimated 3•4 million children are living with HIV, more than 90% in sub-Saharan Africa.1 Those working in paediatric HIV care are now cautiously optimistic. Comparing the landscape with 10 years ago when HIV-infected infants faced inevitable death, those born with HIV now have access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) so that increasing numbers of children are surviving to adolescence and beyond.2 Coupled with this progress, the number of new infections has substantially decreased (from 450 000 in 2005, to 260 000 in 2012) because of scale-up of interventions to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT), resulting in a shift of burden of HIV towards older children.

The Lancet
Volume 383, Issue 9924, Pages 1197 – 1199, 5 April 2014
doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60590-0
Typhoon Haiyan recovery: progress and challenges
Sima Barmania
5 months on, progress has been made in the provision of health services for those affected by Super Typhoon Haiyan but vital gaps remain. Sima Barmania reports.

PLoS One
[Accessed 12 April 2014]
http://www.plosone.org/

Research Article
A System for Household Enumeration and Re-identification in Densely Populated Slums to Facilitate Community Research, Education, and Advocacy
Dana R. Thomson mail,
Shrutika Shitole, Tejal Shitole, Kiran Sawant, Ramnath Subbaraman, David E. Bloom,
Anita Patil-Deshmukh
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0093925
Abstract
Background
We devised and implemented an innovative Location-Based Household Coding System (LBHCS) appropriate to a densely populated informal settlement in Mumbai, India.
Methods and Findings
LBHCS codes were designed to double as unique household identifiers and as walking directions; when an entire community is enumerated, LBHCS codes can be used to identify the number of households located per road (or lane) segment. LBHCS was used in community-wide biometric, mental health, diarrheal disease, and water poverty studies. It also facilitated targeted health interventions by a research team of youth from Mumbai, including intensive door-to-door education of residents, targeted follow-up meetings, and a full census. In addition, LBHCS permitted rapid and low-cost preparation of GIS mapping of all households in the slum, and spatial summation and spatial analysis of survey data.
Conclusion
LBHCS was an effective, easy-to-use, affordable approach to household enumeration and re-identification in a densely populated informal settlement where alternative satellite imagery and GPS technologies could not be used.

PLoS One
[Accessed 12 April 2014]
http://www.plosone.org/

Research Article
The Recognition of and Care Seeking Behaviour for Childhood Illness in Developing Countries: A Systematic Review
Pascal Geldsetzer mail, Thomas Christie Williams, Amir Kirolos, Sarah Mitchell, Louise Alison Ratcliffe, Maya Kate Kohli-Lynch, Esther Jill Laura Bischoff, Sophie Cameron, Harry Campbell
http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0093427
Abstract
Background
Pneumonia, diarrhoea, and malaria are among the leading causes of death in children. These deaths are largely preventable if appropriate care is sought early. This review aimed to determine the percentage of caregivers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with a child less than 5 years who were able to recognise illness in their child and subsequently sought care from different types of healthcare providers.
Methods and Findings
We conducted a systematic literature review of studies that reported recognition of, and/or care seeking for episodes of diarrhoea, pneumonia or malaria in LMICs. The review is registered with PROSPERO (registration number: CRD42011001654). Ninety-one studies met the inclusion criteria. Eighteen studies reported data on caregiver recognition of disease and seventy-seven studies on care seeking. The median sensitivity of recognition of diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia was low (36.0%, 37.4%, and 45.8%, respectively). A median of 73.0% of caregivers sought care outside the home. Care seeking from community health workers (median: 5.4% for diarrhoea, 4.2% for pneumonia, and 1.3% for malaria) and the use of oral rehydration therapy (median: 34%) was low.
Conclusions
Given the importance of this topic to child survival programmes there are few published studies. Recognition of diarrhoea, malaria and pneumonia by caregivers is generally poor and represents a key factor to address in attempts to improve health care utilisation. In addition, considering that oral rehydration therapy has been widely recommended for over forty years, its use remains disappointingly low. Similarly, the reported levels of care seeking from community health workers in the included studies are low even though global action plans to address these illnesses promote community case management. Giving greater priority to research on care seeking could provide crucial evidence to inform child mortality programmes.

PLoS Medicine
(Accessed 12 April 2014)
http://www.plosmedicine.org/
Research Article
Geographical Inequalities in Use of Improved Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation across Sub-Saharan Africa: Mapping and Spatial Analysis of Cross-sectional Survey Data
Rachel L. Pullan mail, Matthew C. Freeman, Peter W. Gething, Simon J. Brooker
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001626
Abstract
Background
Understanding geographic inequalities in coverage of drinking-water supply and sanitation (WSS) will help track progress towards universal coverage of water and sanitation by identifying marginalized populations, thus helping to control a large number of infectious diseases. This paper uses household survey data to develop comprehensive maps of WSS coverage at high spatial resolution for sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Analysis is extended to investigate geographic heterogeneity and relative geographic inequality within countries.
Methods and Findings
Cluster-level data on household reported use of improved drinking-water supply, sanitation, and open defecation were abstracted from 138 national surveys undertaken from 1991–2012 in 41 countries. Spatially explicit logistic regression models were developed and fitted within a Bayesian framework, and used to predict coverage at the second administrative level (admin2, e.g., district) across SSA for 2012. Results reveal substantial geographical inequalities in predicted use of water and sanitation that exceed urban-rural disparities. The average range in coverage seen between admin2 within countries was 55% for improved drinking water, 54% for use of improved sanitation, and 59% for dependence upon open defecation. There was also some evidence that countries with higher levels of inequality relative to coverage in use of an improved drinking-water source also experienced higher levels of inequality in use of improved sanitation (rural populations r = 0.47, p = 0.002; urban populations r = 0.39, p = 0.01). Results are limited by the quantity of WSS data available, which varies considerably by country, and by the reliability and utility of available indicators.
Conclusions
This study identifies important geographic inequalities in use of WSS previously hidden within national statistics, confirming the necessity for targeted policies and metrics that reach the most marginalized populations. The presented maps and analysis approach can provide a mechanism for monitoring future reductions in inequality within countries, reflecting priorities of the post-2015 development agenda.

Editors’ Summary
Background
Access to a safe drinking-water supply (a water source that is protected from contamination) and to adequate sanitation facilities (toilets, improved latrines, and other facilities that prevent people coming into contact with human urine and feces) is essential for good health. Unimproved drinking-water sources and sanitation are responsible for 85% of deaths from diarrhea and 1% of the global burden of disease. They also increase the transmission of parasitic worms and other neglected tropical diseases. In 2000, world leaders set a target of reducing the proportion of the global population without access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation to half of the 1990 level by 2015 as part of Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 7 (“Ensure environmental sustainability”; the MDGs are designed to improve the social, economic, and health conditions in the world’s poorest countries). Between 1990 and 2010, more than 2 billion people gained access to improved drinking-water sources and 1.8 billion gained access to improved sanitation. In 2011, 89% of the world’s population had access to an improved drinking-water supply, 1% above the MDG target, and 64% had access to improved sanitation (the MDG target is 75%).
Why Was This Study Done?
Despite these encouraging figures, the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation (JMP) estimates that, globally, 768 million people relied on unimproved drinking-water sources, 2.5 billion people did not use an improved sanitation facility, and more than 1 billion people (15% of the global population) were defecating in the open in 2011. The JMP estimates for 2011 also reveal national and sub-national inequalities in drinking-water supply and sanitation coverage but a better understanding of geographic inequalities is needed to track progress towards universal coverage of access to improved water and sanitation and to identify the populations that need the most help to achieve this goal. Here, the researchers use cross-sectional household survey data and modern statistical approaches to produce a comprehensive map of the coverage of improved drinking-water supply and improved sanitation at high spatial resolution for sub-Saharan Africa and to investigate geographic inequalities in coverage. Cross-sectional household surveys collect health and other information from households at a single time-point, including data on use of safe water and improved sanitation.
What Did the Researchers Do and Find?
The researchers extracted data on reported household use of an improved drinking-water supply (for example, a piped water supply), improved sanitation facilities (for example, a flushing toilet), and open defecation from 138 national household surveys undertaken between 1991 and 2012 in 41 countries in sub-Saharan Africa. They developed statistical models to fit these data and used the models to estimate coverage at the district (second administrative) level across sub-Saharan Africa for 2012. For ten countries, the estimated coverage of access to improved drinking water at the district level within individual countries ranged from less than 25% to more than 75%. Within-country ranges of a similar magnitude were estimated for coverage of access to improved sanitation (21 countries) and for open defecation (16 countries). Notably, rural households in the districts with the lowest coverage of access to improved water supply and sanitation within a country were 1.5–8 times less likely to access improved drinking water, 2–18 times less likely to access improved sanitation, and 2–80 times more likely to defecate in the open than rural households in districts with the best coverage. Finally, countries with high levels of inequality in improved drinking-water source coverage also experienced high levels of inequality in improved sanitation coverage.
What Do These Findings Mean?
These findings identify important geographic inequalities in the coverage of access to improved water sources and sanitation that were previously hidden within national statistics. The accuracy of these findings depends on the accuracy of the data on water supplies and sanitation provided by household surveys, on the researchers’ definitions for improved water supplies and sanitation, and on their statistical methods. Nevertheless, these findings confirm that, to achieve universal coverage of access to improved drinking-water sources and sanitation, strategies that target the areas with the lowest coverage are essential. Moreover, the maps and the analytical approach presented here provide the means for monitoring future reductions in inequalities in the coverage of access to improved water sources and sanitation and thus reflect a major priority of the post-2015 development agenda.

PLoS Medicine
(Accessed 12 April 2014)
http://www.plosmedicine.org/
Policy Forum
The Use of Preliminary Scientific Evidence in Public Health: A Case Study of XMRV
Kumanan Wilson mail, Katherine Atkinson, Jennifer Keelan
http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.1001623
Summary Points
:: The rapid response to XMRV as a novel pathogen has highlighted some challenges pertaining to policy making and editorial responsibilities in a policy environment influenced by the precautionary principle.
:: Once published, preliminary scientific evidence can result in rapid changes in policy and can undergo widespread dissemination via both the Internet and social media.
:: The impact on policy and the propagation of the initial scientific information may not cease if the evidence is disproven and retracted from peer-reviewed journals.
:: Regulators should consider the use of frameworks to guide the use of the precautionary principle and a separate, more flexible policy stream for precautionary policies.
:: Editors should continue to develop strategies to place preliminary scientific evidence of potential public health relevance in context for the public and for policy makers.

Risk Analysis
April 2014 Volume 34, Issue 4 Pages 599–788
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/risa.2014.34.issue-2/issuetoc
Original Research Article
Local Spatial and Temporal Factors Influencing Population and Societal Vulnerability to Natural Disasters
Yang Zhou1,3, Ning Li1,2,3,*, Wenxiang Wu4, Jidong Wu1,3 and Peijun Shi1,2,3
Article first published online: 27 MAR 2014
DOI: 10.1111/risa.12193
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/risa.12193/abstract
Abstract
The identification of societal vulnerable counties and regions and the factors contributing to social vulnerability are crucial for effective disaster risk management. Significant advances have been made in the study of social vulnerability over the past two decades, but we still know little regarding China’s societal vulnerability profiles, especially at the county level. This study investigates the county-level spatial and temporal patterns in social vulnerability in China from 1980 to 2010. Based on China’s four most recent population censuses of 2,361 counties and their corresponding socioeconomic data, a social vulnerability index for each county was created using factor analysis. Exploratory spatial data analysis, including global and local autocorrelations, was applied to reveal the spatial patterns of county-level social vulnerability. The results demonstrate that the dynamic characteristics of China’s county-level social vulnerability are notably distinct, and the dominant contributors to societal vulnerability for all of the years studied were rural character, development (urbanization), and economic status. The spatial clustering patterns of social vulnerability to natural disasters in China exhibited a gathering–scattering–gathering pattern over time. Further investigations indicate that many counties in the eastern coastal area of China are experiencing a detectable increase in social vulnerability, whereas the societal vulnerability of many counties in the western and northern areas of China has significantly decreased over the past three decades. These findings will provide policymakers with a sound scientific basis for disaster prevention and mitigation decisions.

Stability: International Journal of Security & Development
http://www.stabilityjournal.org/articles
[accessed 12 April 2014]
Practice Notes
Promoting Literacy and Protection with Solar Lamps in Yemen
Jerry Farrell
Abstract
By distributing solar lamps to vulnerable rural women in Yemen, we promoted enrollment in literacy programs, as well as reading among their children. We saw a number of secondary benefits as well: safer households where dangerous kerosene lamps were used less frequently in the evening; a number of livelihood activities – cooking, husbandry, handicrafts – continued safely into evening hours; children found it easier to work on their homework using the solar powered lamps; and children found it easier and safer to walk in dark, rural streets in the evening with the solar lamps slung around their necks.

From Google Scholar+ [to 12 April 2014]
Selected content from beyond the journals and sources covered above, aggregated from a range of Google Scholar monitoring algorithms and other monitoring strategies.

Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology
Volume 9, Number 2 (March 2014)
http://informahealthcare.com/toc/idt/current
Review Paper
Hearing assistive technologies in developing countries: background, achievements and challenges
Posted online on April 7, 2014. (doi:10.3109/17483107.2014.907365)
Bradley McPherson
Division of Speech and Hearing Sciences, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong,
Hong Kong, China
http://informahealthcare.com/doi/abs/10.3109/17483107.2014.907365
Abstract
Purpose: The burden of hearing impairment and disability is substantial in the developing world. This review outlines the associated need for amplification devices in low and medium income countries and some of the initiatives that have been taken to improve access to such devices, particularly hearing aids. The main observed barriers to access are listed and possible ways to improve access are considered.
Methods: Prevalence estimates for disabling hearing impairment are reviewed and a number of national and international examples of initiatives to facilitate use of hearing assistive devices in low and medium income countries are provided. Technologies that are potentially appropriate for hearing instruments in developing countries are suggested, as well as fitting programs that are more likely to be maintained over the long term.
Results: Challenges to successful hearing instrument fitting in low and medium income countries are many. However, some programs point the way to improved access to such devices. Successful hearing aid fitting programs in developing countries have typically combined appropriate technology with a sustainable local support base.
Conclusions: With a rising middle class in many developing countries, advances in technology, and ongoing training programs for those involved in amplification fitting, hearing device usage rates may eventually reach parity with those in developed economies.
Implications for Rehabilitation
The historical development of affordable hearing device fitting provision in low and middle income countries is outlined.
Three key barriers to widespread access to hearing device provision in many low and middle income countries (LMICs) are identified: lack of trained personnel, the high cost of many existing devices marketed in LMICs and limited public awareness of the benefits of hearing assistive technologies.
Examples of programs that have sought to overcome these barriers in LMICs are given and may influence the ways in which future hearing health care is provided.
Human Service Organizations Management, Leadership & Governance
Volume 38, Issue 2, 2014
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/wasw21/current#.U0sFzFcWNdc
Dynamics of innovation in nonprofit organizations: The pathways from innovativeness to innovation outcome
Sangmi Choia & Jae-Sung Choia*
DOI: 10.1080/23303131.2014.898005
Published online: 04 Apr 2014
Abstract
This study aims to examine the dynamics of innovation in human service nonprofits by investigating the pathways from innovativeness to innovation outcome through innovation input, process, and output. The findings from 258 community-based social service centers in South Korea suggest that innovativeness initiates innovation implementation and eventually contributes to innovation outcome. The study reveals that innovative culture may be the most important factor to facilitate innovation in human service nonprofits.
International JOURNAL OF CONTENTS
Vol.10 No.1, 2014.3, 54-61 (8 pages)
Concepts of Disaster Prevention Design for Safety in the Future Society
Hwang-Woo Noh , Keiko Kitagawa, Yong-Sun Oh
Abstract
In this paper, we propose a pioneering concept of DPD(Disaster Prevention Design) to realize a securable society in the future. Features of danger in the future society are expected to be diverse, abrupt occurring, large scale, and complicated ways. Due to increment of dangers with their features of uncertainty, interactivity, complexity, and accumulation, human-oriented design concept naturally participates in activities to prevent our society against disasters effectively. We presented DPD is an essential design activity in order to cope with dangers expected in the future societies as well as realize securable environments. DPD is also an integrated design aids including preemptive protections, rapid preparing, recovery, and interactive cooperation. We also expect these activities of DPD is effective for generation of new values in the market, satisfaction of social needs, expansion of design industry, and a novel chance for development in the future society. Throughout this paper, we submit various aspects of DPD concepts including definition, classification, scope, necessity, strategy, influencing elements, process, and its principle. We expect these concepts will be the seed and/or basement of DPD research for the future works. For the direction of study for DPD in the future, we emphasize alarm system for preemptive protection rather than recovery strategy for the damage occurred. We also need to research about progressive prevention techniques and convergence with other areas of design. In order to transfer the concept of product design from facility-oriented mechanism to human-oriented one, we should develop new kinds of city basis facilities, public-sense design concepts referred to social weak-party, e-Learning content design preparing disasters, and virtual simulation design etc. On the other hand, we have to establish laws and regulations to force central and/or provincial governments to have these DPD strategies applying their regional properties. Modern design activities are expanding to UI(user interface) content design area overcoming the conventional design concept of product and/or service. In addition, designers are recognized as art directors or life stylists who will change the human life and create the social value. DPD can be divided into prevention design, preparedness design, response design, and recovery design. Five strategies for successful DPD are Precaution-oriented, Human-oriented, Sense-oriented, Legislation, and Environment Friendly Strategies.

Report: ‘What Next For Afghanistan’
International Rescue Committee
April 2014 28 pages
The IRC report details specific recommendations, urging the international community to:
:: Make a long-term commitment to the people of Afghanistan.
:: Support millions in need by making high-return investments at the local level with effective community-based programs.
:: Break the cycle of displacement through refuge, resettlement and asylum for vulnerable Afghans who cannot yet safely return home, and target those who have returned with concentrated support.
:: Respond quickly to lifesaving humanitarian and life-building development needs.
:: Use limited resources effectively. Aid agencies must coordinate and share information so that assistance reaches all in need.
:: Create a plan to align humanitarian and development response by listening to the needs of the people and draw on existing frameworks to create a comprehensive plan.
These recommendations were developed with and are supported by the IRC’s Afghanistan Taskforce: Madeleine Albright, Sir John Holmes, M. Farooq Kathwari, Kathleen Newland, Milbrey Rennie, Gideon Rose, Maureen White and James Wolfensohn.
David Miliband, president and CEO of the IRC said: “Conflict has torn at the fabric of Afghanistan for generations and a great deal of blood and treasure has been spent in the last decade. What we need now is urgent and sustainable investment to support the Afghans in securing their own future. Despite real security concerns the international community must not turn its back on the Afghan people. The end of international military operations in Afghanistan is the time to redouble humanitarian efforts, not scale them back.”

Media Release: Empowering professionals to secure the rights of children in care: Guide launched by the Council of Europe and SOS Children’s Villages
4 April 2014
The guide – Securing Children’s Rights: A Guide for Professionals Working in Alternative Care – promotes a child rights-based approach to social care practice and aims to help professionals in the field of alternative care understand and support the rights of the children and young people with whom they work. The Guide incorporates and promotes the use of existing instruments, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), the Guidelines for the Alternative Care of Children, and the booklet Discover your Rights! It was developed by a team of experts, who, over the course of country consultations in Albania, Croatia and Estonia, heard real experiences and thoughts of social workers, young people with care experience, care workers, and educators, as well as representatives of NGOs, academia, government, and international agencies. Altogether, over 80 stakeholders and 25 contributors helped shape the booklet….

Media release: Global Partners Are Taking the “Neglect” out of “Neglected Tropical Diseases” Private and public sector leaders release progress report and announce new funding
Excerpts
Global partners supporting the London Declaration on NTDs met in Paris to release a progress report of efforts around NTDs over the past two years, and to announce some US$240 million in new funding commitments. The 10 diseases covered by the London Declaration and its 2020 target include river blindness, Guinea worm, lymphatic filariasis, blinding trachoma, schistosomiasis, soil-transmitted helminths, leprosy, Chagas disease, visceral leishmaniasis and sleeping sickness.

Several partners also announced new funding towards the fight against NTDs. A group of partners is committing more than US$120 million to address intestinal worms common in communities with limited access to clean water and sanitation, including US$50 million from the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF). In addition, the World Bank Group, which has long played an important role in fighting onchocerciasis (river blindness), is committing US$120 million toward the goal of NTD control and elimination in low-income countries in Africa, including funding for school-based deworming efforts.

Pharmaceutical companies are fulfilling their commitments to sustain and expand drug donations through 2020, which resulted in nearly 1.4 billion NTD treatments in 2013. Investments in NTD program implementation and delivery are leveraging these drug donations – valued at an estimated US$19 billion through 2020 – and ensuring they reach all people who need them. Every new dollar invested in NTD program implementation helps deliver up to US$10 in donated drugs.

View the live webcast of the panel event at Institut Pasteur here.
Media release: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2014/04/Global-Partners-Are-Taking-the-Neglect-out-of-Neglected-Tropical-Diseases

Report: Making Development Co-operation More Effective – 2014 PROGRESS REPORT
UNDP-OECD
April 2014 143 pages
Excerpt from media release
The report “finds that global economic turbulence, conflicts in parts of the world, and budgetary pressures in many high-income countries have not shaken the international community’s determination to making development cooperation work better.” The report reviews progress at the half-way point between 2011, when new commitments were made globally, and the 2015 target date for the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). Drawing on data from 46 developing countries receiving development cooperation and 77 countries and organizations providing it, the report covers almost half of all official development assistance programmed for developing countries.
http://www.us.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/pressreleases/2014/04/03/undp-oecd-report-finds-strong-commitment-to-improve-development-co-operation-/

Royal Academy of Engineering launches major new prize to reward innovation and entrepreneurship in Africa
UK’s Royal Academy of Engineering announced the launch of the first Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation and called for entries from engineers connected with universities and research institutions in sub-Saharan African countries. The Prize is described as “Africa’s biggest prize devoted to engineering innovation, covering all disciplines from mechanical, civil and computing to biomedical, oil and gas, mining and electronic engineering.” The overall winner receives £25,000, and “every shortlisted entrant will receive six months of extensive mentoring, training and support in commercialising their innovation, as part of the Academy’s commitment to international development.” The Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation is supported by the Shell Centenary Scholarship Fund, Consolidated Contractors Company, ConocoPhilips and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. The deadline for entries is Friday 30 May 2014. More at www.raeng.org.uk/africaprize

AMREF [to 5 April 2014]
The wind of change is blowing through AMREF
We started as a small idea that grew into a big deal. And as our vision expanded into more ideas, so did our organisation. After careful consideration, we decided to come together as One AMREF, one brand, one identity. We took a really good, hard look at our brand. We asked, we researched, we tested. We wanted to make our brand stronger and more impactful and create greater value to our communities, our partners, our supporters!
We relooked at our identity, our programmes, our partnerships, our most valued customers- the communities in Africa that we serve. We wanted to be easily identified by what we do.
We thank you all for your support, friendship, commitment and the trust you have in us that has helped us deliver on our promise. Without you we would not have touched the lives of over 30 million people in Africa. Thank you!
Now the wind of change is blowing through AMREF. On April 10, we will be different. Celebrate with us as we make our next big move…

AMREF ‏@AMREF_Worldwide Apr 5
57 years serving communities @AMREF_Worldwide . Time for a change…#thebrand…

Aravind Eye Care System [to 5 April 2014]
Latest Vision Centre at Kadayam Opened
Kadayam, March 26, 2014
Aravind- Tirunelveli opened its latest vision centre at Kadayam. Dr.R.Ramakrishnan – Chief medical officer welcomed the gathering and the centre was inaugurated by Dr.R. Kim- Chief medical officer Aravind, Madurai. Lamp lighting ceremony was performed by Ms Kalyani Paramasivam, Medical Officer, ESI Hospital. Various leaders and key persons in the community gathered for the occasion. On the inaugural day, 92 patients were screened of which 86 were new cases and 6 review cases

AravindEyeFdtn ‏@AravindEye Apr 1
#Aravind Celebrates 10 years of Hope http://conta.cc/1ff7rfg #constantcontact for our #retinoblastoma patients!

BRAC [to 5 April 2014]
BRAC launches innovation fund to make mobile money work for the poor
On March 30, 2014 BRAC officially launched the BRAC innovation fund for mobile money at the Frugal Innovation Forum: Scaling Digitally in Savar, Bangladesh. BRAC is experimenting with transitioning from cash and exploring new development strategies enabled by mobile money with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Asif Saleh, BRAC Senior Director of Strategy, Communication and Capacity shared his thoughts, “Often NGOs lack the space to take risk and innovate. Therefore adoption of new technology can take a long time. Mobile money is an exciting new tool for financial inclusion and service delivery across many sectors, and we’re really thrilled that the Gates Foundation has given BRAC support for experimentation in this initiative. We’re seeing a lot of great ideas and look forward to beginning implementation later this year.”BRAC, the world’s largest NGO, impacts more than 120 million people in Bangladesh and works in eleven other countries. It is widely considered one of the most innovative and effective NGOs in the world, most notably for achieving success at scale.
BRAC’s Social Innovation Lab hosted an open challenge, whereby anyone could submit an idea related to how mobile money can improve the lives of the poor. Selected projects will be implemented by BRAC in Bangladesh over the course of the next year. At the Frugal Innovation Forum, over a hundred participants representing thirteen countries spent two days sharing their experiences with mobile money and data, and learning about the latest innovations emerging from the global South…

BRAC @BRACworld Apr 1
Read the whole story here – http://bit.ly/1hv6Y9F to know about the launching of BRAC innovation fund that’s funded by @gatesfoundation.