From Google Scholar+ [to 7 June 2014]
Selected content from beyond the journals and sources covered above, aggregated from a range of Google Scholar monitoring algorithms and other monitoring strategies.

The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research
http://link.springer.com/journal/11414/41/2/page/1
The Resilience Activation Framework: a Conceptual Model of How Access to Social Resources Promotes Adaptation and Rapid Recovery in Post-disaster Settings
David M. Abramson PhD MPH, Lynn M. Grattan PhD, Brian Mayer PhD, Craig E. Colten PhD, Farah A. Arosemena MPH, Ariane Bedimo-Rung PhD MPH, Maureen Lichtveld MD
Abstract
A number of governmental agencies have called for enhancing citizens’ resilience as a means of preparing populations in advance of disasters, and as a counterbalance to social and individual vulnerabilities. This increasing scholarly, policy, and programmatic interest in promoting individual and communal resilience presents a challenge to the research and practice communities: to develop a translational framework that can accommodate multidisciplinary scientific perspectives into a single, applied model. The Resilience Activation Framework provides a basis for testing how access to social resources, such as formal and informal social support and help, promotes positive adaptation or reduced psychopathology among individuals and communities exposed to the acute collective stressors associated with disasters, whether human-made, natural, or technological in origin. Articulating the mechanisms by which access to social resources activate and sustain resilience capacities for optimal mental health outcomes post-disaster can lead to the development of effective preventive and early intervention programs.

BMC Medical Ethics
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmedethics/content
Debate
Authorship ethics in global health research partnerships between researchers from low or middle income countries and high income countries
Elise Smith, Matthew Hunt and Zubin Master
BMC Medical Ethics 2014, 15:42 doi:10.1186/1472-6939-15-42
Published: 28 May 2014
Abstract (provisional)
Background
Over the past two decades, the promotion of collaborative partnerships involving researchers from low and middle income countries with those from high income countries has been a major development in global health research. Ideally, these partnerships would lead to more equitable collaboration including the sharing of research responsibilities and rewards. While collaborative partnership initiatives have shown promise and attracted growing interest, there has been little scholarly debate regarding the fair distribution of authorship credit within these partnerships.
Discussion
In this paper, we identify four key authorship issues relevant to global health research and discuss their ethical and practical implications. First, we argue that authorship guidance may not adequately apply to global health research because it requires authors to write or substantially revise the manuscript. Since most journals of international reputation in global health are written in English, this would systematically and unjustly exclude non-English speaking researchers even if they have substantially contributed to the research project. Second, current guidance on authorship order does not address or mitigate unfair practices which can occur in global health research due to power differences between researchers from high and low-middle income countries. It also provides insufficient recognition of “technical tasks” such as local participant recruitment. Third, we consider the potential for real or perceived editorial bias in medical science journals in favour of prominent western researchers, and the risk of promoting misplaced credit and/or prestige authorship. Finally, we explore how diverse cultural practices and expectations regarding authorship may create conflict between researchers from low-middle and high income countries and contribute to unethical authorship practices. To effectively deal with these issues, we suggest: 1) the need for further empirical and conceptual research regarding authorship in global health research; 2) raising awareness on authorship issues in global health research; and 3) developing specific standards of practice that reflect relevant considerations of authorship in global health research.
Summary
Through review of the bioethics and global health literatures, and examination of guidance documents on ethical authorship, we identified a set of issues regarding authorship in collaborative partnerships between researchers from low-middle income countries and high income countries. We propose several recommendations to address these concerns.

Journal of International Development
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jid.v26.4/issuetoc
REVERSING THE TELESCOPE: EVALUATING NGO PEER REGULATION INITIATIVES
Angela M. Crack*
Article first published online: 1 JUN 2014
DOI: 10.1002/jid.3010
Abstract
This article investigates perceptions of the extent to which non-governmental organization (NGO) peer regulation initiatives have been effective in enhancing accountability in the humanitarian sector. It is based upon semi-structured interviews with individuals with responsibility for accountability policy from leading NGOs and focuses on two of the best-known initiatives: Humanitarian Accountability Partnership and Sphere. It finds that the initiatives have prompted positive changes in practice, but there are significant concerns about their deleterious impacts. Participants describe a host of challenges, including the tendency of peer regulation to become excessively bureaucratic and labour intensive. They cast some doubt on the potential of the initiatives to assist NGOs to be more accountable to affected communities.

Home Cultures
Volume 11, Number 2, July 2014, pp. 237-261(25)
Queer Domicide: LGBT Displacement and Home Loss in Natural Disaster Impact, Response, and Recovery
Gorman-Murray, Andrew; McKinnon, Scott; Dominey-Howes, Dale
Abstract:
This article examines lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (LGBT) experiences of displacement, home loss, and rebuilding in the face of natural disasters. LGBT vulnerability and resilience are little studied in disaster research; this article begins to fill this gap, focusing on LGBT domicide—how LGBT homes are “un made” in disasters. To do this, we critically read a range of non-government, scholarly, and media commentaries on LGBT experiences of natural disasters in various settings over 2004–12, including South Asia, the USA, Haiti, and Japan. Additionally, we utilize preliminary data from pilot work on LGBT experiences of 2011 disasters in Brisbane, Australia, and Christchurch, New Zealand. we find that disaster impacts are the first stage of ongoing problems for sexual and gender minorities. Disaster impacts destroy LGBT residences and neighborhoods, but response and recovery strategies favor assistance for heterosexual nuclear families and elide the concerns and needs of LGBT survivors. Disaster impact, response, and recovery “un makes” LGBT home and belonging, or inhibits homemaking, at multiple scales, from the residence to the neighborhood. we focus on three scales or sites: first, destruction of individual residences, and problems with displacement and rebuilding; second, concerns about privacy and discrimination for individuals and families in temporary shelters; and third, loss and rebuilding of LGBT neighborhoods and community infrastructure (e.g. leisure venues and organizational facilities).

Oxford Monitor of Forced Migration
Vol. 4, No. 1
[PDF] Religious Plurality and the Politics of Representation in Refugee Camps: Accounting for the Lived Experiences of Syrian Refugees Living in Zaatari
p.37
Kat Eghdamian
Abstract
A review of existing literature in forced migration studies and of UNHCR policies on refugee camps reveals a paucity of engagement with issues of religious identity, religious plurality, and religious experience in refugee camp settings. This article asks why this is so and posits that an engagement with these issues is urgently needed. Drawing on the current humanitarian crisis in Syria, it argues for the importance of accounting for the lived experiences of Syrian refugees living in the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. An exploration of such lived experiences can re-veal necessary knowledge about the role of religion in forced migration studies for both academics and practitioners in the field, as well as give rise to more meaningful engagement with and effective protection and assistance policies for forced migrants.

The Guardian
Thursday, 29 May 2014
Letters
We must work to ensure that Syrians can get enough aid, wherever they are
For more than three years our organisations have worked to provide aid to Syrians in desperate need against a backdrop of failed international political leadership to end the crisis. More than 6.5 million are internally displaced and half the population (about 10 million) are in need of humanitarian assistance. Together we deliver vital assistance to millions of people whose lives have been shattered by this conflict. Syrian groups have reached many millions more. Humanitarian workers continue to deliver in extraordinary and often dangerous circumstances – this is the job, to serve those in need. It is a job that is getting more treacherous and difficult by the day.

More than 90 days ago the UN security council unanimously adopted a resolution to relieve suffering in Syria by requiring that humanitarian assistance be provided through the most direct routes possible. It is clear that the resolution has failed to achieve this objective: its demands have been ignored by the warring parties and people continue to be deliberately denied access to life-saving aid. The humanitarian situation is deteriorating, violence is escalating and diplomatic efforts to bring about a negotiated solution have failed. With stakes this high, new ideas and determined leadership are needed; the status quo is unacceptable.

The international community must work to ensure Syrians can get enough aid wherever they are, be that through sustainable cross-border or cross-line delivery. Efforts should focus on securing local ceasefires – through meaningful negotiations, not siege tactics and starvation strategies – so that aid can be delivered, economies restarted and dialogue to find a longer-term solution to the crisis renewed. It is not our job to tell politicians how to meet these goals but it is our role to highlight their failure to do so when it is so tragically and lethally costly. The world has stood aghast as Syrians clamour for an end to their suffering. History will be generous to those who answer their call and unforgiving to those who turn away.

Leigh Daynes CEO, Doctors of the World UK
Guido Dost director, Johanniter International Assistance
Jan Egeland secretary general, Norwegian Refugee Council
Rev John L McCullough president and CEO, Church World Service
Justin Forsyth chief executive, Save the Children
David Miliband president and CEO, International Rescue Committee
Manuel Patrouillard executive director, Handicap International Federation
Sven Seifert executive director of the board, Arche noVa
Henrik Stubkjaer general secretary, DanChurchAid
Liv Tørres secretary general, Norwegian People’s Aid
Marie-Pierre Caley CEO, Acted
Neal Keny-Guyer CEO, Mercy Corps

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Reuters
May 29, 2014 3:06pm EDT
U.N. council mulls authorizing cross-border Syria aid access
By Michelle Nichols
Excerpt
U.N. Security Council members are considering a draft resolution to authorize cross-border aid deliveries into Syria at four points without government consent, diplomats said on Thursday, after an earlier council demand for greater access was ignored.
The 15-member Security Council achieved rare unity in unanimously approving a resolution in February that demanded rapid, safe and unhindered aid access in Syria, where a three-year civil war has killed more than 150,000 people.
But deputy U.N. aid chief Kyung-wha Kang told the council on Thursday that the resolution had failed to make a difference. About 9.3 million people in Syria need help and 2.5 million have fled, according to the United Nations.
Council members Australia, Luxembourg and Jordan have drafted a stronger follow-up resolution that U.N. diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said would authorize deliveries into Syria at specific points from Turkey, Iraq and Jordan to reach millions of Syrians in opposition-held areas…
…The draft text is under Chapter 7, diplomats said, which would make it legally binding and enforceable with military action or other coercive measures such as economic sanctions. The February resolution was binding, but not enforceable…
…In a report last week, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon demanded the Security Council take urgent action to ensure humanitarian aid reaches more Syrians.
“All delivery routes must be made available to us – both cross-line and cross-border,” Kang told the council, according to a statement after the closed-door briefing on Ban’s report.
“Bureaucratic obstructions on the delivery of assistance must stop. We don’t have the time for arbitrary restrictions on how and to whom we are allowed to deliver aid,” she said.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/29/us-syria-crisis-un-aid-idUSKBN0E923N20140529

Summit: Saving Every Woman and Every Child – Within Arm’s Reach
Government of Canada
28-30 May 2014
Toronto, Canada
Overview
The Summit focused on reducing the preventable deaths of newborns, mothers and children under the age of five in developing countries. It will bring together global leaders and Canadian experts to galvanize support for the next phase of efforts and ensure that maternal, newborn and child health remains a global priority.

Canada “is a world leader in the global effort to reduce maternal and child mortality, and improve the health of mothers and children in the world’s poorest countries. As part of the G8 Muskoka Initiative, Canada is providing $2.85 billion in funding between 2010 and 2015 to improve the health and save the lives of women and children in developing countries.” Canada commuted an additional $3.5 billion to this work as part of the summit.

The Summit intended to build consensus on how to scale-up progress on maternal, newborn and child health. The critical issues include:
:: accelerating progress on maternal health
:: reducing newborn mortality
:: saving lives through immunization
:: scaling up nutrition as a foundation for healthy lives
:: building civil registration and vital statistics systems
:: building new partnerships with the private sector to leverage innovation and financing

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Speech by World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim at Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Summit
World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim
Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Summit
Toronto, Canada
May 30, 2014
As Prepared for Delivery — Excerpt

…We stand today on a critical threshold for global health and development. A quarter century ago, more than half a million women worldwide died annually due to childbirth, and more than 12 million children perished before the age of five, mainly from preventable causes. Today, with the Millennium Development Goals — and thanks to the collective efforts of so many in this room — these numbers have been nearly cut in half.
The 2010 Muskoka G8 Declaration was a pivotal moment in securing high-level political support for maternal, newborn, and child health. Canada’s leadership and commitment was critical for all our current efforts.

And Muskoka, in turn, paved the way for the Every Woman, Every Child partnership, to scale up global advocacy and support for women’s and children’s health. Mr. Secretary-General, thank you for your leadership.
And Prime Minister Harper, I want to thank you for your stunning announcement yesterday that Canada is committing an additional $3.5 billion for maternal, newborn and child health, beyond 2015. Once again, Canada is leading the charge to ensure that we meet our commitment to improve maternal health and reduce child mortality.

Four years after Muskoka, it’s the right time to reflect on how far we’ve come. While we can point to progress, we know that it’s been uneven. Too many women and children are still dying because they lack access to quality health care – especially in the least developed countries.

Over 6 million children under age five died in 2012 – that’s nearly 18,000 every day. The maternal and child mortality rates in the least developed countries are about 30 times those in high-income countries, with half the global burden in sub –Saharan Africa.

It doesn’t have to be this way. A baby in Cameroon and a baby in Canada should have the same opportunity to be born safely, and to have her mother survive childbirth to care for her.

The future should be brighter for every woman and every child. As the Lancet Commission on Investing in Health shows, a global convergence on maternal, newborn, and child health is possible within a generation – that is, if governments and donors invest sufficiently and smartly. And these investments will not only save lives, they will drive economic growth and prosperity.

So what are the smartest investments? The first is results-oriented service delivery. Shifting our focus from inputs to paying for results has been proven to be extremely effective in getting high quality, essential health services to women and children.

Empowering frontline health workers — with the autonomy and resources to develop strategies to improve service delivery — has resulted in transformational changes in access and quality.

This results-oriented approach enables health systems to innovate, and become more efficient and accountable for delivering timely and quality services.

Coupled with independent verification, it ensures accountability and transparency in the use of donor and government resources.

The evidence of this approach speaks for itself:
:: Argentina reduced neonatal mortality by 74 percent.
:: In Zambia, the use of modern family planning increased by 109 percent in just one year.
:: And in Zimbabwe, child immunization rates nearly doubled from 33 to 62 percent in a single year.

I’m proud that the World Bank Group has been able to support mothers and children through our partnership in results–based financing. We’re supporting programs totaling 2.5 billion dollars in 32 countries.
As they view results from our successful pilots, more governments are allocating their own budget resources to sustain and scale up successful programs.

The Republic of Congo, for example, is providing $100 million dollars from its domestic budget to scale up the program nationwide — that’s 80 percent of the total cost.

We’re also excited to see our partners, such as UNICEF, GAVI and the Global Fund, leveraging this approach to provide additional in-country financial support.

Results-based financing is helping us make progress on our promises at Muskoka and the promises of Every Woman, Every Child: More money for women’s and children’s health, and more women’s and children’s health for the money.

So with 580 days to go until the deadline for the Millennium Development Goals, it’s time for all of us to double down.

With an additional 510 million dollars in grant funding linked to IDA, we estimate that by 2020, we can save the lives of an additional 61,000 mothers and 1.1 million children, of which 56,000 are newborns.

With an additional 1 billion dollars in grant funding, we can make an exponential leap and by 2020, save the lives of 183,000 mothers and 3.3 million children, including 1.7 million newborns.

This more than doubles the pace of global death reductions.

I urge every development partner and donor in this room to join with us and follow Canada’s lead to help scale up investments in maternal and child health.

A second smart investment to improve maternal and child health is to build a well-functioning civil registration and vital statistics system. Prime Minister Harper, thank you for bringing much-needed attention to this issue.

To stop mothers and young children from dying, we first need to know who is dying, from what causes, and where.
:: Vital statistics systems are also a keystone of any country’s development infrastructure. Policymakers can’t plan and allocate resources effectively unless they have accurate data on the health and welfare of their citizens.
:: Vital statistics promote accountability by providing a baseline for measuring progress, and for better targeting of health and other development programs — like education and safety nets.
:: And vital statistics provide legal rights to families, for example, in conferring property.

Only 34 developing countries have high quality, easily accessible data on something as important as the causes of death for their citizens.
Two-thirds of all deaths globally are not counted at all.
In some countries, particularly in Africa, as many as 80 percent of deaths go unreported.
Part of the problem lies in outdated, inaccurate definitions. Take the example of birth registration. The current definition of registration “at birth” is children registered by age 5. Only 10 percent of births are registered in the first year. This means that most still births and neonatal deaths go unregistered. This means that those lives are not counted.

This is unacceptable – but it’s a problem that the global community can solve.
:: We have the technology. In 2014, no country should have to rely on passive, paper-based records systems.
:: We have the human resources. Health workers are present at vital events of birth and death, and we can empower them to record these events in real time.
:: We have the know-how. If we can attend every delivery, then we can register every maternal and child outcome.

Our vision is to register every single pregnancy and every single birth by 2030.

In partnership with Canada and many others, we’ve developed a plan to improve and scale up existing registration systems. Every country should have a 21st century, active, digital, and truly “vital” system.

These smart investments in results-oriented service delivery and vital statistics systems will help countries achieve the goal of universal health coverage.

More than one billion people lack access to health care, and about 100 million people fall into poverty every year from paying out-of-pocket costs for health care. Universal health coverage is the progressive pathway that will save lives, increase economic growth, and help millions of people lift themselves out of poverty.

Universal health coverage and saving women’s and children’s lives are mutually reinforcing goals.

Universal health coverage is about ensuring that everyone – women, men, and children – can access a package of essential health services. No one should fall into poverty or be kept in poverty to pay for the health care they need. Universal health coverage is about equity, and delivering on the social contract.

A growing number of countries at all income levels are pursuing universal health coverage. They are responding to their emerging health needs and disease burdens, closing gaps in access to quality care, and protecting their poorest and most vulnerable populations. As more countries move toward universal coverage, fewer mothers die in childbirth, and more babies are born healthy.

:: Peru has nearly doubled its health coverage from 37 percent to 65 percent of the population, which has helped lead to a significant reduction in maternal and child mortality.

:: Ghana has nearly quintupled its health coverage from 6 percent to 35 percent of the population. Now, 30 percent of insured poor women deliver their babies in a health facility with a skilled birth attendant, as compared to just 10 percent for uninsured households.

The December 2015 Millennium Development Goals deadline, and the emerging post-2015 development framework, present us with some critical choices.
We can continue to invest in a myriad of health programs that are not very well-coordinated and have limited impact — or, we can begin to consolidate and leverage our resources around the most equitable, effective, and efficient initiatives, backed by evidence.
The people in this room have done some extraordinary things. As a global health and development community, we have collectively mobilized once unthinkable resources over the last decade and saved hundreds of millions of lives.

Let’s leave this summit committed to deliver essential, quality health care to every woman, every child, every family, everyone, everywhere. Thank you very much.

Interpress Service, 30 May 2014
OP-ED: Why Ending Child Marriage in Africa Can No Longer Wait
By Julitta Onabanjo, Benoit Kalasa, and Mohamed Abdel-Ahad
Dr. Julitta Onabanjo is regional director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) East and Southern Africa Region. Benoit Kalasa is regional director of UNFPA West and Central Africa, and Mohamed Abdel-Ahad is the regional director of UNFPA North Africa and Arab States

JOHANNESBURG, May 28 2014 (IPS)
Excerpt
…The African continent has tolerated child marriage for too long, based on a host of ill-conceived justifications and arguments… Child marriage should not be allowed to continue. Not one day longer…

…Globally, one in three girls from low and middle income countries is married before the age of 18, and one in nine by age 15. It is estimated that every year, over 15.1 million girls will become brides, if this trend continues.

Of the 41 countries worldwide with a child marriage prevalence rate of 30 percent or more, 30 countries are located in Africa. The practice is most severe in West Africa, where two women out of five are married before age 18; and one woman out of six is married by the time she turns 15.

Several social, cultural, religious and traditional beliefs and norms are known to fuel the continuation of child marriage in Africa.

In addition, the economic dimension is a driving force of the practice. To many families living in poverty, child marriage is a source of income and therefore an economic survival strategy.

The impact of child marriage
Regardless of the contributing factors and justifications cited for the practice, child marriage has a severe and harmful impact on our girls, and on society at large. It compromises the girl child’s health, education and opportunities to realise her potential.

Many ‘child wives’ are exposed to repeated pregnancies and childbirth before they are physically and psychologically ready.

In Sudan, Awatif, now 24, was married off at age 14 while still in school. Against her will, she dropped out of school in the fifth grade and immediately became pregnant. “I went through days of obstructed labour at home; it was painful and I thought I would die. My family took me to the hospital for assistance. I survived but my son didn’t and I contracted obstetric fistula,” she says. As a consequence, her husband abandoned and divorced her.

United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) executive director Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin says that “no society can afford the lost opportunity, waste of talent or personal exploitation that child marriage causes.”
Child marriage is a human rights and public health issue, which cannot be left unchallenged. First and foremost, it is a violation of human rights instruments, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.

It is therefore an obligation of policy makers on the continent to protect the rights of the girl child that their governments have committed themselves to uphold. This includes putting an end to child marriage.
If the practice of child marriage is to be halted, action is needed at all levels to change harmful social norms and to empower girls. Specifically, governments, civil society, community leaders and families that are serious about ending child marriage should consider promulgating, enforcing and building community support for laws on the minimum age of marriage.

Ending child marriage would not only help protect girls’ rights but would go a long way towards reducing the prevalence of adolescent pregnancy. Zero tolerance of child marriage should be our goal. Enacting laws that ban child marriage is a good first step – but unless laws are enforced and communities support these laws, there will be little impact.

Great efforts yielding promising results are being undertaken across the continent to challenge the status quo of this harmful practice. We have witnessed good practices such as the Schools of Husbands in Niger and the Adolescent Girls Initiatives in many African countries.

In Mozambique, the initiative known as “Girls’ Forum” has provided a platform for girls to improve their decision-making powers; to increase their sense of empowerment; and to build their understanding regarding questions of marriage and sexual and reproductive health.

Education is not only the key to unlocking girls’ potential; but it also contributes to girls delaying marriage across the continent. Studies have established that girls with low levels of education are more likely to be married early, while those with secondary education are up to six times less likely to marry as children.

Compulsory education for all, especially girls, is therefore a key intervention for policy makers to put into practice.

The African Union and the End Child Marriage campaign
The continent has witnessed renewed political commitment to addressing the problem of child marriage by African Union Commission (AUC) Chairperson Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma. “We must do away with child marriage,” she says. “Girls who end up as brides at a tender age are coerced into having children while they are children themselves.” This commitment is being taken into practice through the launch of a new campaign to end child marriage in Africa.

The overall aims of the campaign are to:
:: end child marriage by supporting policy and action in the protection and promotion of human rights,
:: mobilise continental awareness of child marriage,
:: remove barriers to and bottlenecks in law enforcement,
:: determine the socio-economic impact of child marriage, and
:: increase the capacity of non-state actors to undertake evidence-based policy dialogue and advocacy.

Joining forces to commit to girls’ achieving their potential
UNFPA believes the AU campaign to end child marriage represents a turning point in the fight to end child marriage in Africa. It is time that we no longer tolerate children becoming brides. The time has come to commit to ensuring our girls are able to achieve their full potential.

The African continent has tolerated child marriage for too long, based on a host of ill-conceived justifications and arguments. But our young girls, who have borne the brunt of this detrimental practice to date, cannot wait to see it banished forever. Child marriage should not be allowed to continue. Not one day longer.

WHO: Sixty-seventh World Health Assembly [WHA]
[Editor’s Note: The Sixty-seventh World Health Assembly concluded on Saturday, 31 May. Key interviews, video, the WHA Journal and all documentation available here: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/2014/wha67/en/.

News release: World Health Assembly closes
Excerpt
24 May 2014 | GENEVA – The Sixty-seventh World Health Assembly closed today, after adopting more than 20 resolutions on public health issues of global importance.
“This has been an intense Health Assembly, with a record-breaking number of agenda items, documents and resolutions, and nearly 3,500 registered delegates,” said Dr Margaret Chan, WHO’s Director-General. “This is a reflection of the growing number of complexity of health issues, and your deep interest in addressing them.”

A number of the Health Assembly resolutions were approved today on the following issues.
:: Antimicrobial drug resistance
The delegates recognized their growing concern of antimicrobial resistance and urged governments to strengthen national action and international collaboration. This requires sharing information on the extent of resistance and the use of antibiotics in humans and animals. It also involves improving awareness among health providers and the public of the threat posed by resistance, the need for responsible use of antibiotics, and the importance of good hand hygiene and other measures to prevent infections.
The resolution urges Member States to strengthen drug management systems, to support research to extend the lifespan of existing drugs, and to encourage the development of new diagnostics and treatment options.
As requested in the resolution, WHO will develop a draft global action plan to combat antimicrobial resistance, including antibiotic resistance for presentation to the World Health Assembly for approval next year.

:: Implementation of the International Health Regulations (2005)
Yellow fever is a disease specified in the International Health Regulations (2005) for which countries may require proof of vaccination from travellers as a condition of entry under certain circumstances, and may take certain measures if an arriving traveller does not have this certificate in his possession.
The Health Assembly adopted revised provisions on yellow fever vaccination or revaccination under the International Health Regulations (2005). These include extending the validity of a certificate of vaccination against yellow fever from 10 years to the extent of the life of the vaccinated person. The revised provisions are based on the recommendations of the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on immunization following its scientific review and analysis of evidence.
Member States reaffirmed their strong and continuous commitment to the implementation of International Health Regulations (2005).

:: Public health impacts of exposure to mercury and mercury compounds: the role of WHO and ministries of public health in the implementation of the Minamata Convention
The World Health Assembly requested the WHO Secretariat provide expert advice to help health ministries implement the Minamata Convention on Mercury. Most mercury is released as a result of human activity, such as burning coal and waste and mining for mercury, gold and other metals. WHO considers mercury one of the top ten chemicals or groups of chemicals of major public health concern.
The 2013 Minamata Convention aims to “protect human health and the environment from anthropogenic emissions and releases of mercury and mercury compounds”. The legally binding convention will enter into force when 50 countries have ratified it. It encourages countries to identify and better protect people who are at particular risk from mercury and highlights the need to provide effective health services for everyone who has been affected by exposed to mercury.

:: Addressing the global challenge of violence, in particular against women and girls
Across the world, each year, nearly 1.4 million people lose their lives to violence. Women and girls experience specific forms of violence that are often hidden. Globally, 1 in 3 women experience physical and/or sexual violence at least once in her life. For every person who dies as a result of violence, many more are injured and suffer from a range of adverse physical and mental health outcomes.
Member States will work to strengthen the role of the health system in addressing violence. WHO will develop a global plan of action to strengthen the role of national health systems within a multi-sectoral response to address interpersonal violence, in particular against women and girls, and against children.

:: Follow up of the Recife Political Declaration on Human Resources for Health: renewed commitments towards universal health coverage
The Recife Political Declaration was formulated and adopted by participants of the Third Global Forum on Human Resources for Health, in November 2013. Rooted in the right to health approach, the Recife Declaration recognizes the centrality of human resources for health in the drive towards universal health coverage. It commits governments to creating the conditions for the inclusive development of a shared vision with other stakeholders and reaffirms the role of the WHO Global Code of Practice on the International Recruitment of Health Personnel as a guide for action to strengthen the health workforce and health systems.

:: Follow-up of the report of the Consultative Expert Working Group on Research and Development: Financing and Coordination
The Heath Assembly approved a resolution that significantly advances the quest for innovative, sustainable solutions for financing and coordinating health research and development (R&D) for diseases that disproportionately affect developing countries. The decision provides a firm go-ahead on the implementation of innovative health R&D demonstration projects.
By virtue of this decision, WHO will take the first steps to establish at the Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) a pooled fund for voluntary contributions towards R&D for diseases of the poor. WHO Member States have emphasised the importance of inclusive coordination of these new developments.

:: Access to essential medicines
WHO’s strategy to help countries improve access to essential medicines was approved. Key principles include selecting a limited range of medicines on the basis of the best evidence available, efficient procurement, affordable prices, effective distribution systems, and rational use. The WHO Essential medicines list was recognized as a valuable tool that enables countries to identify a core set of medicines which need to be available to provide quality medical care.

:: Regulatory system strengthening
Effective medicines regulation ensures that medicines and medical products are of the required quality, safety and efficacy; medicines are appropriately manufactured, stored, distributed and dispensed; illegal manufacturing and trade is controlled and prevented; health professionals and patients have the necessary information to enable them to use medicines rationally; promotion and advertising is regulated and fair; and access to medicines is not hindered by unjustified regulatory work.
In order to improve the regulation of medical products globally and ensure that medical products are of assured quality, more emphasis needs to be placed on regulatory strengthening, and promoting collaboration in regulatory systems.
The WHA mandated WHO, in cooperation with national regulators, to continue its important role globally in medicines regulation through establishing necessary norms and standards, supporting regulatory capacity-building and strengthening safety monitoring programmes. Through its Prequalification programme, WHO is requested to continue to ensures the quality, safety and efficacy of selected priority essential medicines, diagnostics and vaccines. A new development endorsed by Member States is the future progressive transition of prequalification to networks of strengthened regulatory authorities.

:: Health intervention and technology assessment in support of universal health coverage
Many countries currently lack the capacity to assess the merits of health technology. Health technology assessment (HTA) involves systematically evaluating the properties, effects, and/or impacts of different health technologies. Its main purpose is to inform technology-related policy-making in health care, and thus improve the uptake of cost-effective new technologies and prevent the uptake of technologies that are of doubtful value for the health system. Wasteful spending on medicines and other technologies has been identified as a major cause of inefficiencies in health service delivery.
Following the adoption of a resolution on HTA at the Health Assembly, WHO will support capacity-building for health technology assessment in countries. It will provide tools and guidance to prioritize health technologies and intensify networking and information exchange among countries to support priority setting.

:: Health in the post-2015 development agenda
Member States approved a resolution on health in the post-2015 development agenda, stressing the need for ongoing engagement in the process of setting the agenda. This includes a need to complete the unfinished work of the health Millennium Development Goals, newborn health, as well as an increased focus on noncommunicable diseases, mental health and neglected tropical diseases. The resolution also stresses the importance of universal health coverage and the need to strengthen health systems.
Accountability through regular assessment of progress by strengthening civil registration, vital statistics and health information systems are crucial. Member States emphasized the importance of having health at the core of the post-2015 development agenda.

:: Newborn health: draft action plan
The first-ever global plan to end preventable newborn deaths and stillbirths by 2035 calls for all countries to aim for fewer than 10 newborn deaths per 1000 live births and less than 10 stillbirths per 1000 total births by 2035.
Every year almost 3 million babies die in the first month of life and 2.6 million babies are stillborn (die in the last 3 months of pregnancy or during childbirth). Most of these deaths could be prevented by cost-effective interventions.
The Plan’s goals will require every country to invest in high-quality care before, during and after childbirth for every pregnant woman and newborn and highlights the urgent need to record all births and deaths.

Amref Health Africa [to 31 May 2014]

Amref Health Africa ‏@AMREFCanada
This frontline health worker is saving the lives of moms & babies in Uganda http://bit.ly/POrGqg #SavingLives pic.twitter.com/sXIWWaYfPF

Amref Health Africa @AMREFUSA • May 28
Through Amref Health Africa, in 2013: 75,408 women delivered babies in the presence of a skilled birth attendant #HealthWorkersCount

Aravind Eye Care System [to 31 May 2014]

Kodai Kondattam 2014
Aravind – Madurai, May 1-15
Janakiamma Child Care Centre along with the HR Department organized a two week summer camp for employees’ children. Resource persons were roped in to handle sessions like arts and crafts, aerobics, cooking, soft skills development and so on. Children were taken out on various occasions. Valedictory function of the camp was held on May 16. Mrs. Premalatha Paneerselvam, Senior Principal, Mahatma Schools and Ms. Kowsalya Sriniasan, Akshara School were the chief guests. A total of 48 children from 5years and above attended the camp.

BRAC [to 31 May 2014]

BRAC Dairy and its innovative efforts highlighted in an international academic thesis
29 May 2014, Dhaka. Yoni Blumberg, a student of Carleton College in USA, has recently completed a thesis that uses BRAC Dairy as a case in point to study and analyse social enterprise strategies and the resulting impacts. The thesis looks into the many strategies that social enterprises use to create social and economic change; Blumberg traces how BRAC Dairy, in particular, is helping small farmers in Bangladesh, using innovative methods in different levels of its operations to tackle poverty.

BRAC @BRACworld • May 29
An insight to how we evolved over the years as a name,an #organisation and as a #brand http://blog.brac.net/2014/05/branding-brac/ …

BRAC @BRACworld • May 26
Whether from well-off families or not, all #children have the right to a proper #nutrition http://blog.brac.net/2014/05/increase-in-income-does-not-always-improve-nutritional-status/ …

BRAC @BRACworld • May 25
Here is an account of how BRAC WASH monitors its programme efficacy #quality #information #system #QIS http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ilPgXKoCd8 …

BRAC @BRACworld • May 25
Eight ways to learn more about BRAC http://blog.brac.net/2014/05/eight-ways-to-learn-more-about-brac/ …

Casa Alianza [to 31 May 2014]
Covenant House [to 31 May 2014]

Covenant House Denounces Violence Against Children and Attack on Honduran Executive Director
Thursday, May 29, 2014 at 12:45 pm
On May 8th Covenant House (Casa Alianza) Executive Director Guadalupe Ruelas was attacked by Honduran Military Police shortly after he criticized government inaction in the face of hundreds of disappeared and murdered children. Covenant House denounces this violence and the attack on Guadalupe, as reported in this New York Times article…

Retweeted by Covenant House
Kevin Ryan @CovHousePrez • May 29
We at Casa Alianza/ @CovenantHouse will not be intimidated from our central work with homeless children of Honduras. http://www.latribuna.hn/2014/05/29/ratifican-a-ruelas/ …

ECPAT [to 31 May 2014]

ECPAT International @ECPAT • May 29
ECPAT Luxembourg joins other ECPAT groups in launching new platform that makes it easier to report child sex tourism. http://buff.ly/1ovOvhY

ECPAT International @ECPAT • May 26
ECPAT is holding its Eastern Europe & CIS Regional Consultation in sunny #Bulgaria

ECPAT-USA @ecpatusa • 10h
#NYC – Join us THIS MONDAY as we rally to demand a national response to youth homelessness! > http://ow.ly/xteb4

Handicap International [to 31 May 2014]

Handicap Int’l-US @HI_UnitedStates • May 28
Judith, 7, can now communicate with the world around her thanks to learning sign language from HI in #Bolivia

Handicap Int’l-US ‏@HI_UnitedStates
“The situation is terrible,” Handicap International mine expert Alma reports from #Bosnia. A few of her pictures: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152381703845675.1073741848.357889445674&type=1 …

Handicap Intl UK @HI_UK • May 30
Syrian aid efforts have lethally failed: joint letter in @guardian today signed by 12 NGOs including HI http://bit.ly/1tWfKC6 #Syrians

Heifer International [to 31 May 2014]

May 28, 2014
Elanco Announces Commitment to East Africa Dairy Development Project
GREENFIELD, IN
Elanco is celebrating World Hunger Day (May 28, 2014), by announcing a $500,000 commitment to Heifer International’s East Africa Dairy Development Project (EADD), continuing the company’s long-term partnership aimed at breaking the cycle of hunger for those most in need.

Heifer International @Heifer • May 28
See how Heifer farmers are adapting to help mitigate the effects of a changing climates on the @world_ark blog: http://hefr.in/1wobFsw

Retweeted by Heifer International
Pierre Ferrari @HeiferCEO • May 28
.@Elanco announces $500,000 commitment to @Heifer’s #EADD project on #WorldHungerDay http://oak.ctx.ly/r/14eh8

Retweeted by Heifer International
Liz Elango Bintliff @mayangelango • May 27
.@Heifer partnership w/ @NCBACLUSA on @USAID project: improving food sec & nutrition for fams in northeast Senegal

HelpAge International [to 31 May 2014]

HelpAge @helpage • May 30
We’re ensuring older people & those w/ disabilities are inc in emergencies with @CBMworldwide @LeonardCheshire @HI_UK http://bit.ly/1proAId

HelpAge @helpage • May 29
New blog from #Gaza RT @nfarra Age Demands Action on Health in #Gaza: Improving #healthcare for older people http://www.helpage.org/blogs/nader-alfarra-22567/age-demands-action-on-health-in-gaza-improving-healthcare-for-older-people-709/#.U4dLOkdT-P0.twitter …

Retweeted by HelpAge
Age International @Age_Int • May 29
Our partner @helpage reports on the ground from the #SouthSudan conflict: http://bit.ly/1oNtbC8

HelpAge @helpage • May 29
Our ADA 4 #Rights campaign planning is underway in #Ethiopia. ADA & World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is 15 June #WEAAD

Retweeted by HelpAge
Toby Porter @tobyhporter • May 28
This is the current @helpage self assessment against our Accountability Framework. Need many less reds going forward

International Rescue Committee [to 31 May 2014]

We must work to ensure that Syrians can get enough aid, wherever they are [Quoted]
Posted by The IRC on May 30, 2014
The IRC along with 11 other nongovernmental organizations signed a joint statement demanding a new approach in getting immediate humanitarian aid to the 10 million Syrians inside the country who are in need of help. more »

Malnutrition rampant in Nigeria amid ongoing armed conflict
Posted by The IRC on May 29, 2014
There is an increasing number of displaced people escaping the armed conflict in Nigeria. The International Rescue Committee is providing emergency health and nutritional support to 1,600 children under five and 225 pregnant and breastfeeding women in the northeastern Adamawa State of the country. more »

When keeping your family safe means leaving home: an Iraqi mother’s story
Posted by Emily Sernaker on May 28, 2014
In 2008, Asyar and her husband decided it was time to leave Iraq. One of their daughters had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and their neighborhood had been taken over by militants. Traumatized, the parents felt that leaving home was the best chance to keep their family safe. They fled to Jordan. more »
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IRC resumes work in Rakhine State, Myanmar
Posted by The IRC on May 27, 2014
The IRC has resumed health, water, sanitation and livelihoods programs in Rakhine State, Myanmar, that had been suspended for four weeks following attacks against international and U.N. agencies. more »

Enduring violence: updates from Central African Republic
Posted by The IRC on May 27, 2014
Ongoing instability across the Central African Republic has uprooted hundreds of thousands of people. The IRC has remained in the country throughout the current crisis to provide lifesaving assistance. Get aid worker updates. more »

Blog
Filling the evidence gap to keep girls safe from violence
Posted by Jeannie Annan on May 28th, 2014
To contribute to the gap in research about work works to keep girls safe in conflict-affected settings, the International Rescue Committee is currently launching six research studies to better inform programming for adolescent girls in humanitarian emergencies in Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Liberia and Pakistan. more »

Menstruation: Teach your humanitarian workers it’s not a dirty word
Posted by Emmanuel d’Harcourt on May 27th, 2014
For decades menstrual hygiene has been a topic to avoid, some might say a topic that has been neglected, by organizations and individuals who are charged with the responsibility of providing basic necessities to some of the world’s poorest and vulnerable girls and women. This includes those girls and women who are caught up in war or living in a refugee camp. more »

Intl Rescue Comm IRC @theIRC • May 30
#Syria crisis Interview of @DMiliband on @skynewsarabia: http://bit.ly/RLtPnv (#Arabic translation)

Intl Rescue Comm IRC @theIRC • May 30
READ: Letter from NGO CEOs on @guardian: We must work to ensure that #Syria’ns can get enough aid, wherever they are http://bit.ly/1iz3wZ5

Intl Rescue Comm IRC @theIRC • May 29
JUST IN: #Malnutrition rampant in #Nigeria amid ongoing armed conflict: http://bit.ly/1hBQMjX

Intl Rescue Comm IRC @theIRC • May 27
The IRC resumes our work in #Rakhine State, #Myanmar: http://bit.ly/Ry0flq

Intl Rescue Comm IRC @theIRC • May 27
IRC responds to thousands fleeing southern #Somalia: http://bit.ly/Ri4ZeU

MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières [to 31 May 2014]

Oral Cholera Vaccine Highly Effective During Outbreak in Guinea
May 28, 2014
Use of vaccine in Guinea demonstrates it can be used to help control and prevent deadly outbreaks.

Retweeted by MSF International
MSF UK @MSF_uk • May 29
We have treated 125 cholera patients in 3 centres in #SouthSudan & set up 2 rehydration points.MoH declare 800 cases pic.twitter.com/9jporsPPHf

MSF International @MSF • May 28
#MSF #cholera response continues to expand in Juba, #SouthSudan http://bit.ly/1mF5OKb

Operation Smile [to 31 May 2014]

Upcoming Mission Schedule
June 1 – 8 | Ulaanbator, Mongolia
June 2 – 6 | Hanoi, Vietnam
June 5 – 13 | Guadalajara, Mexico
June 5 – 11 | Aba, China
June 5 – 11 | Xingyi, China
June 6 – 16 | Beira, Mozambique
June 7 – 13 | Philippines Mega Mission
June 12 – 14 | Santa Cruz, Bolivia
June 12 – 17 | Amman, Jordan

Operation Smile @operationsmile • May 29
7 days. 6 sites.700 Children. One of the biggest medical missions we’ve ever run begins in the #Philippines next week http://ow.ly/xpmwG

Partners In Health [to 31 May 2014]

May 30, 2014
PBS features Partners In Health as an “agent for change” in Rwanda

May 30, 2014
Coffee with Dr. Enrique Valdespino
A Mexican doctor shares his hardships and hopes about working in global health. Read More ▸

May 27, 2014
Nurses Learn Critical Care Skills in New Training Program
The first of its kind in Haiti, a yearlong certification program will help enable University Hospital to open its intensive care unit. Read More ▸

Partners In Health @PIH • 4h
“We have the equipment in the ICU—we just need the hands to use it.” http://bit.ly/1tXzlSu

Partners In Health @PIH • 13h
“This is your hospital, this is what you deserve,” @PIH_Rwanda’s @KamanziPIH on Butaro Hospital via @NewsHour: http://bit.ly/RLifss

Partners In Health @PIH • May 26
“Patients should never suffer from avoidable structural deficiencies in health systems” http://bit.ly/1phgdMx

PATH [to 31 May 2014]

PATH @PATHtweets • May 30
The health of mothers and their young children took center stage at last week’s World Health Assembly. http://www.path.org/blog/2014/05/four-global-health-wins/ … #WHA67

PATH @PATHtweets • May 30
PATH accelerates innovation that transforms lives. Explore our online 2013 Annual Report: http://bit.ly/2013PATH

PATH @PATHtweets • May 30
Educating girls about menstruation helps increase self esteem, raise grades and raise wages. http://bit.ly/1jr37qR #MenstruationMatters

PATH @PATHtweets • May 26
PATH’s technology solutions leader @mairal is pushing the global health community to think outside the box: http://www.path.org/blog/2014/02/anurag-mairal/ …

SOS-Kinderdorf International [to 31 May 2014]

Children’s Villages @sos4children • 14h
Repost of one of our popular blog articles: can #drones be used for social good? http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/news/charity-blog/drones-for-social-good … #dronesforgood

Children’s Villages @sos4children • 19h
Find out how SOS gives children healthy and happy childhoods around the world http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/our-work/health

Children’s Villages @sos4children • May 28
Children in Syria dream of a safe home http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/news/syria-emergency-appeal-2014/syrian-children-dream-of-a-safe-home … #ChildrenofSyria

SOS Children USA @SOSChildrenUSA • 10h
Natural disasters are traumatic situations for children and families. See how we support them here: http://goo.gl/kcI8l6

SOS Children USA @SOSChildrenUSA • May 30
Through @SOSChildrenUSA, hundreds of schools open their doors to children in need. Learn more about what we do: http://goo.gl/LwyuEw

SOS Children USA @SOSChildrenUSA • May 30
When disaster strikes, we’re there to help. Since ’88 we’ve had 125 emergency relief programs in 60 countries http://goo.gl/kcI8l6

SOS Children USA @SOSChildrenUSA • May 23
How is @SOSChildrenUSA helping in the #Balkans following catastrophic flooding? Find out: http://goo.gl/IlOqXp

St. Christopher’s Hospice [to 31 May 2014]

Summer Concert and Exhibition on 2 June as part of London Creativity and Wellbeing Week
Published on Friday, 30 May 2014
St Christopher’s Community Choir and Band will perform at the hospice on Monday 2 June at 7pm as part of London Creativity and Wellbeing Week. The event is free to attend.
London Creativity and Wellbeing Week happened for the first time in 2012. The 2013 week saw over 80 events with nearly 10,000 participants right across London. The week has now become a crucial feature in the capital’…