New England Journal of Medicine
October 16, 2014 Vol. 371 No. 16
http://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

Ebola Virus Disease in West Africa — The First 9 Months of the Epidemic and Forward Projections
WHO Ebola Response Team
N Engl J Med 2014; 371:1481-1495October 16, 2014DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1411100
Abstract
Background
On March 23, 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) was notified of an outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Guinea. On August 8, the WHO declared the epidemic to be a “public health emergency of international concern.”
Full Text of Background…
Methods
By September 14, 2014, a total of 4507 probable and confirmed cases, including 2296 deaths from EVD (Zaire species) had been reported from five countries in West Africa — Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. We analyzed a detailed subset of data on 3343 confirmed and 667 probable Ebola cases collected in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone as of September 14.
Full Text of Methods…
Results
The majority of patients are 15 to 44 years of age (49.9% male), and we estimate that the case fatality rate is 70.8% (95% confidence interval [CI], 69 to 73) among persons with known clinical outcome of infection. The course of infection, including signs and symptoms, incubation period (11.4 days), and serial interval (15.3 days), is similar to that reported in previous outbreaks of EVD. On the basis of the initial periods of exponential growth, the estimated basic reproduction numbers (R0 ) are 1.71 (95% CI, 1.44 to 2.01) for Guinea, 1.83 (95% CI, 1.72 to 1.94) for Liberia, and 2.02 (95% CI, 1.79 to 2.26) for Sierra Leone. The estimated current reproduction numbers (R) are 1.81 (95% CI, 1.60 to 2.03) for Guinea, 1.51 (95% CI, 1.41 to 1.60) for Liberia, and 1.38 (95% CI, 1.27 to 1.51) for Sierra Leone; the corresponding doubling times are 15.7 days (95% CI, 12.9 to 20.3) for Guinea, 23.6 days (95% CI, 20.2 to 28.2) for Liberia, and 30.2 days (95% CI, 23.6 to 42.3) for Sierra Leone. Assuming no change in the control measures for this epidemic, by November 2, 2014, the cumulative reported numbers of confirmed and probable cases are predicted to be 5740 in Guinea, 9890 in Liberia, and 5000 in Sierra Leone, exceeding 20,000 in total.
Full Text of Results…
Conclusions
These data indicate that without drastic improvements in control measures, the numbers of cases of and deaths from EVD are expected to continue increasing from hundreds to thousands per week in the coming months.

PLOS Currents: Disasters
[Accessed 18 October 2014]
http://currents.plos.org/disasters/

Challenges for Resuming Normal Life After Earthquake: A Qualitative Study on Rural Areas of Iran
October 17, 2014 • Research article
Abstract
Background and objective:
Growing evidence is indicating that some of disaster affected people face challenges to resume normal life several months after an earthquake. However, there is no sufficient in-depth understanding of complex process of resuming normal life after an earthquake in Iran, as one of the most disaster-prone countries in the world, and in rural areas as a particular setting. This study aimed to explore challenges of return to normalcy in rural earthquake-stricken areas of Iran.
Methods:
The study was conducted using qualitative content analysis method (Graneheim approach). Twenty people from the earthquake-stricken areas and seven qualified experts were selected via purposeful sampling .Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and field notes from August 2013 to January 2014. Data collection continued to the point of data saturation (no new information was provided by interviewees). Data saturation supported the sample size. Data analysis was based on qualitative content analysis principles.
Results:
“Social uncertainty and confusion” was the most prominent challenge of return to the normal life after earthquake, which was categorized into six concepts of social vulnerability, lack of comprehensive rehabilitation plan, incomplete reconstruction, ignorance of local social capital, waste of assets, and psychological problems.
Conclusions:
Findings showed that social uncertainty and confusion occurs as a result of negligence of some important social aspects in process of returning to the normal life. This issue, in turn, can greatly interrupt the normal developmental processes. Understanding the challenges of life recovery after disasters will help policy makers consider social rehabilitation as a key factor in facilitation of return to normal life process after earthquakes.

PLoS Medicine
(Accessed 18 October2014)
http://www.plosmedicine.org/

Treatment of Infections in Young Infants in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Frontline Health Worker Diagnosis and Antibiotic Access
Anne CC Lee, Aruna Chandran, Hadley K. Herbert, Naoko Kozuki, Perry Markell, Rashed Shah, Harry Campbell, Igor Rudan, Abdullah H. Baqui
Research Article | published 14 Oct 2014 | PLOS Medicine 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001741
Abstract
Background
Inadequate illness recognition and access to antibiotics contribute to high case fatality from infections in young infants (<2 months) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We aimed to address three questions regarding access to treatment for young infant infections in LMICs: (1) Can frontline health workers accurately diagnose possible bacterial infection (pBI)?; (2) How available and affordable are antibiotics?; (3) How often are antibiotics procured without a prescription?
Methods and Findings
We searched PubMed, Embase, WHO/Health Action International (HAI), databases, service provision assessments (SPAs), Demographic and Health Surveys, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys, and grey literature with no date restriction until May 2014. Data were identified from 37 published studies, 46 HAI national surveys, and eight SPAs. For study question 1, meta-analysis showed that clinical sign-based algorithms predicted bacterial infection in young infants with high sensitivity (87%, 95% CI 82%–91%) and lower specificity (62%, 95% CI 48%–75%) (six studies, n = 14,254). Frontline health workers diagnosed pBI in young infants with an average sensitivity of 82% (95% CI 76%–88%) and specificity of 69% (95% CI 54%–83%) (eight studies, n = 11,857) compared to physicians. For question 2, first-line injectable agents (ampicillin, gentamicin, and penicillin) had low variable availability in first-level health facilities in Africa and South Asia. Oral amoxicillin and cotrimoxazole were widely available at low cost in most regions. For question 3, no studies on young infants were identified, however 25% of pediatric antibiotic purchases in LMICs were obtained without a prescription (11 studies, 95% CI 18%–34%), with lower rates among infants <1 year. Study limitations included potential selection bias and lack of neonatal-specific data.
Conclusions
Trained frontline health workers may screen for pBI in young infants with relatively high sensitivity and lower specificity. Availability of first-line injectable antibiotics appears low in many health facilities in Africa and Asia. Improved data and advocacy are needed to increase the availability and appropriate utilization of antibiotics for young infant infections in LMIC

Prehospital & Disaster Medicine
Volume 29 – Issue 05 – October 2014
https://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayIssue?jid=PDM&tab=currentissue

Special Report
Health Care Workers in Danger Zones: A Special Report on Safety and Security in a Changing Environment
Lynda J. Redwood-Campbella1 c1, Sharonya N. Sekhara2 and Christine R. Persauda2
a1 Department of Family Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
a2 Canadian Red Cross, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Abstract
Introduction Violence against humanitarian health care workers and facilities in situations of armed conflict is a serious humanitarian problem. Targeting health care workers and destroying or looting medical facilities directly or indirectly impacts the delivery of emergency and life-saving medical assistance, often at a time when it is most needed.
Problem Attacks may be intentional or unintentional and can take a range of forms from road blockades and check points which delay or block transport, to the direct targeting of hospitals, attacks against medical personnel, suppliers, patients, and armed entry into health facilities. Lack of access to vital health care services weakens the entire health system and exacerbates existing vulnerabilities, particularly among communities of women, children, the elderly, and the disabled, or anyone else in need of urgent or chronic care. Health care workers, especially local workers, are often the target.
Methods This report reviews the work being spearheaded by the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement on the Health Care in Danger initiative, which aims to strengthen the protections for health care workers and facilities in armed conflicts and ensure safe access for patients. This includes a review of internal reports generated from the expert workshops on a number of topics as well as a number of public sources documenting innovative coping mechanisms adopted by National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The work of other organizations is also briefly examined. This is followed by a review of security mechanisms within the humanitarian sector to ensure the safety and security of health care personnel operating in armed conflicts.
Results From the existing literature, a number of gaps have been identified with current security frameworks that need to be addressed to improve the safety of health care workers and ensure the protection and access of vulnerable populations requiring assistance. A way forward for policy, research, and practice is proposed for consideration.
Conclusion While there is work being done to improve conditions for health care personnel and patients, there need to be concerted actions to stigmatize attacks against workers, facilities, and patients to protect the neutrality of the medical mission.

Comprehensive Review
Child Disaster Mental Health Interventions: Therapy Components
Betty Pfefferbauma1 c1, Jennifer L. Sweetona2, Pascal Nitiémaa1, Mary A. Noffsingera3, Vandana Varmaa1, Summer D. Nelsona4 and Elana Newmana4
a1 Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma USA
a2 Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma USA
a3 Courtroom Sciences, Inc., Irving, Texas USA
a4 Department of Psychology, Tulsa Institute of Trauma, Adversity, and Injustice, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma USA
Abstract
Children face innumerable challenges following exposure to disasters. To address trauma sequelae, researchers and clinicians have developed a variety of mental health interventions. While the overall effectiveness of multiple interventions has been examined, few studies have focused on the individual components of these interventions. As a preliminary step to advancing intervention development and research, this literature review identifies and describes nine common components that comprise child disaster mental health interventions. This review concluded that future research should clearly define the constituent components included in available interventions. This will require that future studies dismantle interventions to examine the effectiveness of specific components and identify common therapeutic elements. Issues related to populations studied (eg, disaster exposure, demographic and cultural influences) and to intervention delivery (eg, timing and optimal sequencing of components) also warrant attention.

Original Research
Making Disaster Care Count: Consensus Formulation of Measures of Effectiveness for Natural Disaster Acute Phase Medical Response
Rajesh K. Daftarya1a2 c1, Andrea T. Cruza1, Erik J. Reavesa3, Frederick M. Burklea4, Michael D. Christiana5a6a7, Daniel B. Fagbuyia2, Andrew L. Garretta8, G. Bobby Kapura9 and Paul E. Sirbaugha1a10
a1 Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Section of Emergency Medicine, Houston, Texas USA
a2 The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine, Washington, D.C. USA
a3 US Naval Medical Research Unit No. 6, Lima, Peru
a4 Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard School of Public Health, Cambridge, Massachusetts USA
a5 Critical Care & Infectious Diseases Mount Sinai Hospital & University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario Canada
a6 Royal Canadian Air Force, National Defence, Canada
a7 Faculty of Medicine and Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Ontario Canada
a8 Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Preparedness and Response, Washington, DC USA
a9 Baylor College of Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Houston, Texas USA
a10 City of Houston, Emergency Medical Services, Texas USA
Abstract
Introduction
No standard exists for provision of care following catastrophic natural disasters. Host nations, funders, and overseeing agencies need a method to identify the most effective interventions when allocating finite resources. Measures of effectiveness are real-time indicators that can be used to link early action with downstream impact.
Hypothesis
Group consensus methods can be used to develop measures of effectiveness detailing the major functions of post natural disaster acute phase medical response.
Methods
A review of peer-reviewed disaster response publications (2001-2011) identified potential measures describing domestic and international medical response. A steering committee comprised of six persons with publications pertaining to disaster response, and those serving in leadership capacity for a disaster response organization, was assembled. The committee determined which measures identified in the literature review had the best potential to gauge effectiveness during post-disaster acute-phase medical response. Using a modified Delphi technique, a second, larger group (Expert Panel) evaluated these measures and novel measures suggested (or “free-texted”) by participants for importance, validity, usability, and feasibility. After three iterations, the highest rated measures were selected.
Results
The literature review identified 397 measures. The steering committee approved 116 (29.2%) of these measures for advancement to the Delphi process. In Round 1, 25 (22%) measures attained >75% approval and, accompanied by 77 free-text measures, graduated to Round 2. There, 56 (50%) measures achieved >75% approval. In Round 3, 37 (66%) measures achieved median scores of 4 or higher (on a 5-point ordinal scale). These selected measures describe major aspects of disaster response, including: Evaluation, Treatment, Disposition, Public Health, and Team Logistics. Of participants from the Expert Panel, 24/39 (63%) completed all rounds. Thirty-three percent of these experts represented international agencies; 42% represented US government agencies.
Conclusion
Experts identified response measures that reflect major functions of an acute medical response. Measures of effectiveness facilitate real-time assessment of performance and can signal where practices should be improved to better aid community preparedness and response. These measures can promote unification of medical assistance, allow for comparison of responses, and bring accountability to post-disaster acute-phase medical care. This is the first consensus-developed reporting tool constructed using objective measures to describe the functions of acute phase disaster medical response. It should be evaluated by agencies providing medical response during the next major natural disaster.

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2014
[Announcement – Full text]
Oslo, 10 October 2014
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014 is to be awarded to Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzay for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education. Children must go to school and not be financially exploited. In the poor countries of the world, 60% of the present population is under 25 years of age. It is a prerequisite for peaceful global development that the rights of children and young people be respected. In conflict-ridden areas in particular, the violation of children leads to the continuation of violence from generation to generation.

Showing great personal courage, Kailash Satyarthi, maintaining Gandhi’s tradition, has headed various forms of protests and demonstrations, all peaceful, focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain. He has also contributed to the development of important international conventions on children’s rights.

Despite her youth, Malala Yousafzay has already fought for several years for the right of girls to education, and has shown by example that children and young people, too, can contribute to improving their own situations. This she has done under the most dangerous circumstances. Through her heroic struggle she has become a leading spokesperson for girls’ rights to education.

The Nobel Committee regards it as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism. Many other individuals and institutions in the international community have also contributed. It has been calculated that there are 168 million child labourers around the world today. In 2000 the figure was 78 million higher. The world has come closer to the goal of eliminating child labour.

The struggle against suppression and for the rights of children and adolescents contributes to the realization of the “fraternity between nations” that Alfred Nobel mentions in his will as one of the criteria for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Report: Because I am a Girl: The State of the World’s Girls 2014 – Pathways to Power: Creating Sustainable Change for Adolescent Girls
Plan International
October 2014 ::: 202 pages
Full report pdf: http://plan-international.org/files/global/publications/campaigns/biaag-full-report-2014-english.pdf

This is the eighth in the annual ‘Because I am a Girl’ report series, published by Plan, which assesses the current state of the world’s girls. While women and children are recognised in policy and planning, girls’ needs and rights are often ignored. The reports provide evidence, including the voices of girls themselves, as to why they need to be treated differently from boys and adult women. They also use information from primary research, in particular a small study set up in 2006 following 142 girls from nine countries. Past reports have covered education, conflict, economic empowerment, cities and technology, adolescent girls and
disasters and how boys and young men can support gender equality.

[Excerpt]
Girls’ lives – a brief review in numbers p.18
Changes for the better
:: More girls are going to primary school – In 2000 there were only 92 girls in school for every 100 boys; by 2011, this had increased to 97 girls for every 100 boys.21,22

:: 51 per cent of women above the age of 15 are participating in the labour force (in comparison to 77 per cent of men). This varies considerably from country to country – from as low as 22 per cent in the Middle East and North Africa to roughly 65 per cent in East Asia and the Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa.23

:: 125 countries currently have constitutional, electoral or political party quotas to improve women’s participation (as of March 2014).24

:: A raft of legislation is in place to support women’s rights at both international and national levels. For example, the number of states with specific legislation to combat domestic violence increased to 76 by 2014.25

:: In Africa and the Middle East, 25 countries have prohibited Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) by law or constitutional decree.26 In 29 developing countries with a history of practising FGM – including Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone – 25 now have laws or decrees aimed at targeting those who perpetrate the practice.

What still needs to change
:: While the Millennium Development Goals have been successful in getting more girls into primary education, many countries will still not have reached gender parity. It is projected that 75 per cent of countries will have achieved parity in primary education by 2015, but only 56 per cent in lower secondary education.27 There are 65 million girls out of school, nearly one in five adolescent girls.28, 29

:: There is no country in the world where women and men have equal opportunities, equal pay or equal distribution of assets.30

:: Globally, women make up only 21.9 per cent of parliamentarians.31 In February 2014, there were 19 female world leaders in power.32

:: On average, women hold only 15 per cent of land titles; 86 out of 121 countries still have discriminatory inheritance laws or practices.33, 34

:: Across the world, over a third of women will experience gender-based violence from an intimate partner.35

:: Son preference continues to prevail. In many countries, more boys than girls are born and more survive. In China, figures published by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that in 2011, there were 118 boys born for every 100 girls – one of the highest imbalances ever recorded in a country.36

:: One in five women still has an unmet need for family planning.37

:: Domestic work remains largely the provenance of women and girls, often on top of full-time paid work.38

:: One in three girls in the developing world will be married by her 18th birthday.39 If nothing is done to stop current trends, more than 140 million girls will be married as children by 2020. That is 14 million every year or nearly 39,000 girls married every day.40

:: Complications in pregnancy and childbirth are a leading cause of mortality for girls aged 15 to 19 in developing countries.41 Infant deaths are 50 per cent higher among babies born to mothers under 20 than among those born to women in their twenties.42

Migration and Remittances: Recent Developments and Outlook – Special Topic: Forced Migration
Migration and Development Brief 23
World Bank October 6, 2014 :: 29
pdf: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/334934-1288990760745/MigrationandDevelopmentBrief23.pdf
Remittances to developing countries to grow by 5% this year

Key Messages
:: Remittances to developing countries are projected to grow by 5.0 percent to reach US$435 billion in 2014 (accelerating from the 3.4 percent expansion of 2013), and rise further by 4.4 percent to US$454 billion in 2015. In 2013, remittances were more than three times larger than ODA and, excluding China, significantly exceeded foreign direct investment flows to developing countries. Growth of remittances in 2014 is being led by three regions: East Asia and the Pacific, South Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

:: The global average cost of sending remittances continued its downward trend in the third quarter of 2014, falling to 7.9 percent of the value sent, compared to 8.9 percent a year earlier. Competition and the expansion of mobile-phone and internet-based technologies hold much potential to continue driving down fees. Risk-based approaches to the application of anti-money laundering regulations to remittance operators and international banks hosting their bank accounts will be important to ensuring that compliance does not result in undue costs, which could slow the fall in remittance costs and leave substantial flows underground.

:: Forced migration due to conflict is at its highest level since World War II, affecting more than 51 million people. In addition, forced migration driven by natural disasters affects another 22 million people, bringing the total to at least 73 million. Forced displacement is typically viewed as a humanitarian issue, but given that it has impacts on growth, employment, and public spending for countries of both origin and destination, it is also a major development issue.

:: Nine out of ten refugees were being hosted in developing countries at the end of 2013, with Pakistan and Iran the largest of these hosts. Many refugees and internally displaced people are living in protracted situations of displacement; in 2013, an estimated two-thirds of the world’s refugees had been in exile for more than five years, and half of them were children.

2014 Aid Transparency Index (ATI)
Released on 10 October 2014 at: http://ati.publishwhatyoufund.org/
[Excerpt from “Results” summary]
“The results follow the trends observed in previous years. A lead group of organisations are making significant and continuous improvements to the information they publish on their current aid activities – and many others have taken steps towards improving their publication in 2014 – but the majority have not made significant progress and continue to lag behind….

[Very good]
1.UNDP
2. UK, DFID
3. U.S., MCC
4. GAVI
5. AsDB
6. Sweden, MFA-Sida
7. World Bank, IDA

… some high performing organisations from the 2013 ATI are performing even better in 2014. This includes the African Development Bank; the Asian Development Bank; Canada; three EC agencies – the Directorates General for Enlargement and for Development Cooperation, and the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments; the Global Fund; the Inter-American Development Bank; Sweden; UNICEF; and the World Bank’s International Development Association. Big improvements have also been made by Finland; the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development; the Gates Foundation; the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (U.S.); Spain and Switzerland– all have published information on their current activities to IATI, leapfrogging others that have not made significant changes to the amount of information they publish or its accessibility.

Policy Paper: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Humanitarian Response
OCHA POLICY AND STUDIES SERIES June 2014 | 010
Occasional Policy Paper :: 20 pages
Full report pdf: https://docs.unocha.org/sites/dms/Documents/Unmanned%20Aerial%20Vehicles%20in%20Humanitarian%20Response%20OCHA%20July%202014.pdf

KEY MESSAGES:
:: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), also known as remotely piloted aircraft or “drones” are small aircraft that fly by remote control or autonomously. Although previously associated with the military, UAVs are increasingly performing civilian tasks as the technology becomes more com¬mon – 57 countries and 270 companies were producing UAVs in 2013. In the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) forecast that some 7,500 commercial small UAVs could be flying in the U.S. within five years.
:: Humanitarian organizations have started to use UAVs, including in Haiti and the Philippines, for data collection and information tasks that include real time information and situation mon¬itoring, public information and advocacy, search and rescue, and mapping.
:: The most likely humanitarian application in the area of delivery and logistics would be delivery of small medical supplies, such as vaccines.
:: The use of UAVs raises serious practical and ethical issues that humanitarian organizations must address through transparency, community engagement, and guidelines for privacy and data security.
:: Developing safeguards and guidance for the use of UAVs in conflict settings, whether strictly for humanitarian purposes or for protection and human rights work, will be a significant chal¬lenge. The humanitarian system should therefore focus on uses in natural disasters and early recovery settings.
:: As more peacekeeping and military actors acquire UAVs, humanitarians will need to have clear guidance and common positions on when it is appropriate to use those capacities.
:: To tap into the growing interest in UAVs, particularly in technical communities, humanitarian organizations should engage in networks that promote good practices and guidance, and that can serve as a source of surge capacity.
:: Despite their potential to enhance humanitarian operations, more research and evidence is needed to identify the comparative advantages of using UAVs. More research is needed on in¬tegrating aerial observation and data collection into needs and damage assessments, search and rescue, and other humanitarian functions.

Report: Global Biodiversity Outlook 4: A mid-term assessment of progress towards the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020
CBD October 2014 :: 157 pages
Full report pdf: http://www.cbd.int/gbo/gbo4/publication/gbo4-en.pdf

Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO) is the flagship publication of the Convention on Biological Diversity. It is a periodic report that summarizes the latest data on the status and trends of biodiversity and draws conclusions relevant to the further implementation of the Convention. The fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook is being officially launched on the opening day of the Twelfth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 12) in Pyeongchang, Korea from 6-17 October 2014.
[Excerpts from Report; Editor’s text bolding]

Background
Published almost at the halfway point of the 2011–2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, this fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-4) provides a timely report: on progress
towards meeting the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets and potential actions to accelerate that progress; on prospects for achieving the 2050 Vision on ‘Living in Harmony with Nature’; and on the importance of biodiversity in meeting broader goals for sustainable human development during this century.

Key messages
There has been significant progress towards meeting some components of the majority of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Some target components, such as conserving at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas, are on track to be met.

However, in most cases this progress will not be sufficient to achieve the targets set for 2020, and additional action is required to keep the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 on course….

…Plausible pathways exist for achieving the 2050 vision for an end to biodiversity loss, in conjunction with key human development goals, limiting climate change to two degrees Celsius warming and combating desertification and land degradation. However, reaching these joint objectives requires changes in society including much more efficient use of land, water, energy and materials, rethinking our consumption habits and in particular major transformations of food systems.

Analysis of the major primary sectors indicates that drivers linked to agriculture account for 70 per cent of the projected loss of terrestrial biodiversity. Addressing trends in food systems is therefore crucial in determining whether the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 will succeed. Solutions for achieving sustainable farming and food systems include sustainable productivity increases by restoring ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes, reducing waste and losses in supply chains, and addressing shifts in consumption patterns…

EBOLA/EVD [to 11 October 2014]

WHO Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) – web site
:: Ebola response roadmap – Situation report – 10 October 2014
Excerpt
A total of 8399 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) have been reported in seven affected countries (Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Spain, and the United States of America) up to the end of 8 October. There have been 4033 deaths. Following the WHO Ebola Response Roadmap structure1, country reports fall into two categories: 1) those with widespread and intense transmission (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone); and 2), those with an initial case or cases, or with localized transmission (Nigeria, Senegal, Spain, and the United States of America). An overview of the situation in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, where a separate, unrelated outbreak of EVD is occurring, is also provided (see Annex 1)….

.

FAO
:: FAO launches new initiative to tackle growing food security threat (08 October 2014)
8 October 2014, Rome/Dakar – FAO today launched a new programme to urgently assist 90 000 vulnerable households in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone whose food supplies and livelihoods are threatened by the disruptive effect the Ebola epidemic is having on rural economies, agricultural activities and markets.
The Regional Response Programme for West Africa will scale-up the work FAO is currently doing with governments, United Nations partners and local networks of agriculture, veterinary and forestry workers, to help stop the spread of the disease, meet immediate and long-term food and nutrition security needs and build resilience.
FAO is urgently calling for $30 million to support activities linked to the programme over the next 12 months. Programme activities are organized around four key objectives:
– contribute to saving lives by stopping the spread of the disease through social mobilization,
training and awareness raising;
– boost incomes and agricultural production to safeguard livelihoods;
– build resilience of communities to disease threats; and
– strengthen coordination for improved response.

.

UNMEER (UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response)
http://www.un.org/ebolaresponse/index.shtml
External Situation Reports
:: 10 October 2014
Media Releases
:: Secretary-General appoints Marcel Rudasingwa of Rwanda as Ebola Crisis Manager for Guinea, Peter Jan Graaff of the Netherlands as Ebola Crisis Manager for Liberia and Amadu Kamara of the United States as Ebola Crisis Manager for Sierra Leone (09 October 2014)

7 October 2014
GA/AB/4119
Budget Committee Approves $50 Million for United Nations Ebola Response Mission, Reviews Assessment Scale to Calculate Financial Contributions of Member States
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today approved by consensus a draft resolution to provide nearly $50 million for the United Nations operations to control the Ebola outbreak.

.

CDC/MMWR Watch [to 11 October 2014]
http://www.cdc.gov/media/index.html
: Enhanced Ebola Screening to Start at Five U.S. Airports and New Tracking Program for all People Entering U.S. from Ebola-affected Countries – Press Release
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
New layers of screening at airports that receive more than 94% of West African Travelers.
:: Questions and Answers on Experimental Treatments and Vaccines for Ebola

.

USAID [to 11 October 2014]
http://www.usaid.gov/
:: USAID Announces Grand Challenge to Fight Ebola
October 7, 2014
Call for ideas opens today; focus on solutions in protective gear and frontline tools
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah today launched the Fighting Ebola: A Grand Challenge for Development with a call to innovators around the world to submit ideas focused on improving the tools used by frontline healthcare workers in the fight against Ebola in West Africa. The initial focus of the Challenge, as announced by President Obama on Sept. 26, is to generate pioneering solutions to improve the personal protective equipment (PPE) and tools used by healthcare workers battling Ebola. Shah detailed the initiative today at the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting in Seattle, Wash.

.

World Bank
:: Transcript of Remarks at the Event: Impact of the Ebola Crisis: A Perspective from the Countries
The World Bank convened a special event focused on the impact of the Ebola Crisis. This transcript captures comments by World Bank President Jim Kim as host, President CONDÉ of Guinea; President Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia; President Koroma of Sierra Leone, UNSG Ban Ki-moon, and many others including IMF, WHO, CDC, UNICEF, USAID, and leaders from a range of counties providing support.

:: World Bank Group President Calls for New Global Pandemic Emergency Facility
October 10, 2014
WASHINGTON, October 10, 2014—In the wake of a “late, inadequate and slow” global response to the Ebola outbreak, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim today called for the creation of a new pandemic emergency facility that would rapidly respond to future outbreaks by delivering money to countries in crisis.
Speaking before the Annual Meetings plenary, a meeting of the governors of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, Kim said he would like to develop the proposals for a financial instrument with the United Nations, the IMF and regional development banks.
He said even as the focus should now be intensely on doing everything possible to stop Ebola, planning must also begin for the next pandemic, which “could spread much more quickly, kill even more people and potentially devastate the global economy”.
“The world has an IMF to coordinate and work with central banks and ministries to respond to financial crises,” he said. “When it comes to health emergencies, however, our institutional toolbox is empty: There’s no such center of knowledge and skill for response and coordination.”
He said the Bank Group’s financial teams have proposed several solutions, including the pandemic emergency facility. “The device would pre-package a response, establishing contingent funding agreements with donors and receipt mechanisms for possible recipients. So when a global health emergency is declared, financial support would be readily available and flow quickly to support an immediate response”…

:: Ebola: New World Bank Group Study Forecasts Billions in Economic Loss if Epidemic Lasts Longer, Spreads in West Africa
WASHINGTON, October 8, 2014–With the latest death toll from Ebola now at 3,439 in the three worst-affected countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, a new economic impact assessment from the World Bank Group says that if the epidemic was to significantly infect people in neighboring countries, some of which have much larger economies, the two-year regional financial impact could reach US$32.6 billion by the end of 2015.The new World Bank Group report notes, “as it is far from certain that the epidemic will be fully contained by December 2014 and in light of the considerable uncertainty about its future trajectory, two alternative scenarios are used to estimate the medium-term (2015) impact of the epidemic, extending to the end of calendar year 2015.” A “Low Ebola” scenario corresponds to rapid containment within the three most severely affected countries, while “High Ebola” corresponds to slower containment in the three countries, with broader regional contagion.
October 8, 2014

USAID [to 11 October 2014]
http://www.usaid.gov/

USAID Announces Initial Funding of $29 Million for Girls’ Economic Empowerment
October 9, 2014
Today the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced the SPRING initiative, a partnership aiming to accelerate economic empowerment for girls. The project, with initial funding of $29 million, will help businesses bring products to market that enable girls to learn, earn, invest and save. The announcement commemorates International Day of the Girl, celebrated each year on October 11 to promote the rights of girls and address the unique challenges they face.

USAID and UNICEF Partner to End Gender-based Violence in Schools
October 8, 2014
Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced it will partner with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) to support the newly formed Global Partners’ Working Group on School-related Gender-based Violence. Through this $400,000, two-year grant, USAID will work with UNICEF to combat school-related gender-based violence at all levels. By working to defeat this barrier to girls’ education, the program will enable more girls to contribute to their families and societies, a critical step toward ending extreme poverty.

USAID Announces Grand Challenge to Fight Ebola
October 7, 2014
Call for ideas opens today; focus on solutions in protective gear and frontline tools
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah today launched the Fighting Ebola: A Grand Challenge for Development with a call to innovators around the world to submit ideas focused on improving the tools used by frontline healthcare workers in the fight against Ebola in West Africa. The initial focus of the Challenge, as announced by President Obama on Sept. 26, is to generate pioneering solutions to improve the personal protective equipment (PPE) and tools used by healthcare workers battling Ebola. Shah detailed the initiative today at the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting in Seattle, Wash.

USAID Partners with Six Universities to Support Cutting Edge Graduate Research in Developing Countries
October 6, 2014
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today more than $3 million in new fellowships to support graduate students at six leading U.S. universities. Through the U.S. Global Development Lab’s Expand the Research and Innovation (RI) Fellowship Program, USAID and Arizona State University, Rutgers University, The University of Notre Dame, University of California-Berkeley, University of Chicago, and the University of California-Davis will work to support cutting edge science and technology research that addresses development challenges.

IMF [to 11 October 2014]
http://www.imf.org/external/index.htm

The IMF at 70: Making the Right Choices—Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
By Christine Lagarde
Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
The IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings
Washington, D.C. October 10, 2014
Excerpt
… Seventy years after Bretton Woods, the international community stands at another fork in the road. The tried-and-true modes of cooperation seem to be fraying around the edges. The sustainability of the global economic engine itself is increasingly being questioned.

Can it really deliver the jobs, the incomes, the better living standards that people aspire to? There are three key collective choices to be made:

First, how do we achieve the growth and jobs needed to advance prosperity and ensure social harmony? I would call this the choice between acceleration and stagnation.

Second, how do we make this interconnected world a more inclusive, safer place for all of us to thrive? This is the choice between stability and fragility.

Third, how do we strengthen cooperation and multilateralism, instead of isolationism and insularity? This is the choice between solidarity and seclusion….

…This new reality demands a new response—but not a new philosophy. It requires us to update, adapt, and deepen our modes of global cooperation. It requires using the wonders of technology for the betterment of humanity. It requires what I have a called a “new multilateralism”…

…What does this mean in practical terms? For a start, it means a re-commitment to the values of open trade and investment. It means resisting the lure of “beggar-thy-neighbor” economics. It means placing the global good above individual self-interest.

There are three areas where progress is vital:
:: First, in the financial sector: we need cooperation to come to an agreement on the cross-border resolution of megabanks.
:: Second, we know that tax competition especially hurts low-income countries as they strive to mobilize badly-needed revenue. The international community needs to go further in making it more difficult to shift taxes from one country to another simply for profit.
:: Third, on external imbalances: we know that behind every current account deficit lies a current account surplus. Countries on both sides must take responsibility for balance and stability.
Renewed solidarity also calls for global action to turn the tide of climate change. 2015 is shaping up to be a make-or-break year. If we miss this chance, then we are failing the world’s poorest people, the generations to come, and the planet.

So we must not fail. The new multilateralism must prevail. And the IMF has a pivotal role to play….

World Bank [to 11 October 2014]
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/all

Speech by World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim: “Tackling the Most Difficult Problems: Infrastructure, Ebola and Climate Change”
World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim
IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings 2014
Washington, D.C., United States
October 10, 2014

A Toolkit for Making Everyone Count in Sub-Saharan Africa
Digital identity (Digital ID) is a catalyst for development and progress, particularly for low- and middle- income countries. According to a recent World Bank Group publication titled Digital Identity Toolkit: A Guide for Stakeholders in Africa, Digital ID is not only a key enabler for service delivery to the poorest, but also helps grow a country’s economy and social development. In a high-level event last year, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim characterized India’s digital IDs as a poverty-killer and a game-changer.
A government’s ability to deliver important services to its people depends on its ability to uniquely identify them. An official identity is central to everything from health care and voting to social welfare and transport.
Download the Toolkit: In English: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/06/20272197
October 9, 2014

Transcript of Remarks at the Event: Impact of the Ebola Crisis: A Perspective from the Countries
October 9, 2014
The World Bank convened a special event focused on the impact of the Ebola Crisis. This transcript captures comments by World Bank President Jim Kim as host and:
:: President CONDÉ of Guinea; President Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia; President Koroma of Sierra Leone
:: IMF President Christine Lagarde
:: UNSG Ban Ki-moon
:: President Donald Kaberuka of the African Development Bank
:: CDC Director Tom Frieden
:: Finance Minister of Nigeria Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
:: Kristalina Georgieva, Member, European Union Commission
:: Bruce Aylward, World Health Organization
:: Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan, Cote d’Ivoire
:: Ragiv Shah, USAID
:: David Olson, Medicins sans Frontieres
:: Mark Suzman, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
:: Geeta Rao Gupta, UNICEF; President of ECOWAS; the Minister of Foreign Affairs from Norway, and Chris Stone from the Open Society Foundation….

Measurement Is Fundamental For Ending Extreme Poverty, But Must Be Done Better, Says World Bank Report
October 9, 2014
WASHINGTON, October 9, 2014 – Data and measurement are vital to achieve the World Bank Group’s twin goals of ending poverty by 2030 and promoting shared prosperity, but data systems at the country level need to be strengthened and data should be collected more frequently to better inform national policy and to help international partners identify gaps and prioritize actions, says a new World Bank report launched today.
The report, ‘Policy Research Report 2014: A Measured Approach to Ending Poverty and Boosting Shared Prosperity: Concepts, Data, and the Twin Goals’, makes an urgent call for better and more timely collection of comparable household survey data, which provide information on people’s consumption or income. The report observes that data and measurement are pivotal to the assessment of the Bank Group’s twin goals, and, thereby, their achievement.

World Bank Group Launches New Global Infrastructure Facility
Move paves way for institutional investors to help fill infrastructure gaps in developing world: US$1 trillion a year in extra investment needed through 2020.WASHINGTON, October 9, 2014— The heads of some of the world’s largest asset management and private equity firms, pension and insurance funds, and commercial banks are today joining multilateral development institutions and donor nations to work as partners in a new Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF) that has the potential to unlock billions of dollars for infrastructure in the developing world. World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said the presence of a broad range of institutional investors at the signing to launch the GIF sent a powerful message, with the most recent data showing that private infrastructure investment in emerging markets and developing economies dropped from US$186 billion in 2012 to $150 billion last year. “We have several trillions of dollars in assets represented today looking for long-term…
October 9, 2014

Working Paper: The economic impact of the 2014 Ebola epidemic : short and medium term estimates for West Africa (English)
World Bank, 2014 Official PDF, 71 pages

IRCT [to 11 October 2014]

News
Members call for international reaction to human rights violations and torture by Islamic State (IS) militants
08 October 2014
The European IRCT members call on the international community to raise its voice against torture, gross violations of human rights and serious violations of humanitarian law committed by Islamic State (IS) militants.

GAVI [to 11 October 2014]
http://www.gavialliance.org/library/news/press-releases/

Gavi retains high ranking in leading transparency index
Geneva 8 October 2014 – A leading aid transparency group has for the second year running ranked Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance as a leading organisation for openness and accountability.
Publish What You Fund’s 2014 Aid Transparency Index (ATI) placed Gavi 4th out of 68 organisations, including UN agencies and donor governments, working on international development. Gavi’s ranking puts it in the top category of transparent organisations alongside the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which top-scored with 91%, and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) who both, like Gavi, scored above 85%…

Start Network [Consortium of British Humanitarian Agencies] [to 11 October 2014]
http://www.start-network.org/news-blog/#.U9U_O7FR98E

October 6, 2014
Project Case Study
Using video to engage kids in the fight against cholera in Mayo-Tsanaga, Cameroon
Where there is poor access to clean water and sanitation, cholera can spread through communities like wildfire. Lack of toilets and poor management of sewage leads to the contamination of water sources, spreading the disease. Changes in hygiene and sanitation behaviour are required to stop the disease in its tracks, and messages must reach every member in society, with even the smallest child engaged as an agent for change. This month, Plan staff discovered how effective video can be in engaging girls and boys, men and women to tackle diseases like cholera.