EBOLA/EVD [to 29 November 2014]
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC); “Threat to international peace and security” (UN Security Council)
WHO: Ebola Virus Disease (EVD)
Situation report – ‘WHO Roadmap’
Editor’s Note: We do not find the regular weekly report posted. However, UNMEER reports that WHO, as of 23 November, projects a total of 15,935 cases have been confirmed in Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Spain and the United States and two previously affected countries of Nigeria and Senegal, with 5,689 reported deaths.

Bolstering UN support to the Ebola outbreak
24 November 2014 — Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General, visited an Ebola treatment centre in Bamako, Mali. She met with President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, Prime Minister Moussa Mara, and other government leaders to discuss Mali’s ongoing Ebola outbreak response and ways UN organizations could increase their support. The support of the UN and other partners will enhance Mali’s capability to contain transmission from across the border, and respond robustly to any future importation.
Read the feature story

WHO: Ebola situation assessments
:: Mali confirms 2 new cases of Ebola virus disease
25 November 2014

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UNMEER [UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response] @UNMEER #EbolaResponse
UNMEER’s website is aggregating and presenting content from various sources including its own External Situation Reports, press releases, statements and what it titles “developments.” We present a composite below from the week ending 29 November 2014.

UNMEER site: Press Releases
The world is on the side of those who are involved in this fight’ against Ebola – UN envoy
[Media release excerpt; Editor’s text bolding]
28 November 2014 – The top United Nations officials leading the fight against Ebola have made an appeal for people who possess skills that are “quite rare” to join the global effort, such as those who can provide patient care, undertake contact tracing and analyze how the outbreak is evolving in remote areas of the virus-affected countries, saying that “deploying more people to the districts is our highest priority.”
“These skills are quite rare in our world today because there are not thousands and thousands of people who are really experienced in Ebola and its management,” Dr. David Nabarro, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Envoy on Ebola, said in an interview with the Department of Public Information at the headquarters of the UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER) in Accra, Ghana…
…Dr. Nabarro gave the interview together with UNMEER chief Anthony Banbury, in the lead-up to the 1 December target set by the mission, which aims to try to get 70 per cent of the cases isolated and treated, and 70 per cent of the deceased safely buried within 60 days from the beginning of October to 1 December.
According to the UN World Health Organization (WHO), a total of 15,935 cases have been confirmed in Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Spain and the United States and two previously affected countries of Nigeria and Senegal as of 23 November, with 5,689 reported deaths.
Both Dr. Nabarro and Mr. Banbury said progress so far has been uneven but that they were very pleased by what has been achieved in some parts of the affected countries.
“Tremendous progress has been achieved in some areas,” Mr. Banbury said. “That’s thanks to the hard work of the communities themselves but also very much the responders, the national and international responders.”
“Where we’ve been able to put the elements of the response in place, we’ve seen dramatic improvements in the situation,” he said. “So we’re very heartened by that. It shows the strategy works.”
“Unfortunately,” he went on to say, “We’ve not been able to put the elements of the response in place everywhere, and where it’s lacking, we see the significant or very bad situation in many of these communities, and that’s got to be the focus of our efforts going forward: spreading out our geographic response.”
Specifically, Dr. Nabarro said: “We’ve seen these incredible and promising results from Liberia. We’ve seen very good results from parts of Sierra Leone. But there are other parts of Sierra Leone and parts of Guinea where the numbers of cases continue to accelerate day by day.”…

Ebola: December 1 target for response may not be met in some areas of West Africa, UN reports
25 November 2014 – The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) said today that while Ebola response targets for December 1 in West Africa may be reached in many places, they may not be met in some areas, and confirmed two new cases in Mali amid ramped up efforts to reduce the likelihood that additional cases will be imported from neighbouring Guinea….
In response to a question at the UN press briefing in Geneva, WHO Spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said the December 1 targets for treatment and burials and set by his organization in its response to Ebola would likely be reached in many places, but not in others.
UNMEER head Anthony Banbury had said in media interviews that the mission is already exceeding its 1 December targets in some areas, but that it is almost certain the targets will not be reached in all areas.
The targets are the so-called “70-70-60 plan” which aims to try to get 70 per cent of the cases isolated and treated, and 70 per cent of the deceased safely buried within 60 days from the beginning of October to 1 December…
UNMEER External Situation Reports
UNMEER External Situation Reports are issued daily (excepting Saturday) with content organized under these headings:
– Highlights
– Key Political and Economic Developments
– Human Rights
– Response Efforts and Health
– Logistics
– Outreach and Education
– Resource Mobilisation
– Essential Services
– Upcoming Events
The “Week in Review” will present highly-selected elements of interest from these reports. The full daily report is available as a pdf using the link provided by the report date.

28 November 2014 | UNMEER External Situation Report
Key Points
:: The first human trial of an experimental vaccine has produced promising results.
:: Some traditional leaders in Liberia remain reluctant to participate in response efforts.
:: A total of 15,935 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) have been reported in 8 countries. There have been 5,689 reported deaths.
Key Political and Economic Developments
1. WHO needs reform to prevent a recurrence of crises such as West Africa’s Ebola outbreak, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on 27 November. Rudd is leading a two-year study to suggest ways to improve the effectiveness of the UN system and other global bodies, which are often deadlocked by disagreements between states or hamstrung by their internal bureaucracy. Rudd said he was seeking practical recommendations to improve the system’s effectiveness, adding he thought WHO suffered from a “systemic problem” in the way power was shared between its central organization and regional branches. “If you do not want this sort of thing to repeat itself then a substantive reform would lie in sufficiently empowering WHO globally to act globally on threats to global public health,” Rudd said in Geneva after briefing diplomats.
Response Efforts and Health
4. On Tuesday 25 November a national consultation took place in Monrovia about the payment of wages to EVD response workers. The meeting was co-chaired by UNDP and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare. The main challenge that emerged from the meeting was the absence of any centralised government list of response workers. County visits will be held in the coming days, with the goal of gathering all the information needed to develop a centralized, national database of response workers. A similar consultation was held in Guinea on 26 November, and there it was also agreed that a database of response workers would be set up so all payments can be tracked.
6. UNICEF, along with county health teams, key partners and local communities, is setting up 15 Community Care Centers (CCCs) in EVD hotspots in Liberia. In these CCCs patients can be safely isolated and rapidly treated close to the community. First of its kind, the newly-opened Jene Wonde Rapid Response Center includes triage to separate patients based on the severity of their symptoms, medication to control the symptoms and infection prevention measures such as a strict separation of spaces, personal protective equipment, safe waste disposal and hygiene and sanitation supplies.
Resource Mobilisation
15. The OCHA Ebola Virus Outbreak Overview of Needs and Requirements, now totaling US$ 1.5 billion, has been funded for $ 860 million, which is around 57 percent of the total ask.
16. The Ebola Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund currently has US$ 71.9 million in commitments. In total $ 121 million has been pledged.

27 November 2014 | UNMEER External Situation Report
Key Political and Economic Developments
1. Guinean president Alpha Condé said on Wednesday the use of force could be justified in battling the EVD outbreak in his country. “There are still people who think Ebola is fiction,” Condé told a press conference. “We have an agenda which is to finish with Ebola as soon as possible and in Guinea this is possible,” he added. “If people don’t want to be treated we will use force because we won’t allow the illness to spread despite all our efforts.” The spread of EVD in Guinea has been accompanied by fear and paranoia among some villagers who feel the government and the international community cannot be trusted.
2. The outbreak in Sierra Leone, which has been surging in recent weeks, may have reached its peak and could be on the verge of slowing down, Sierra Leone’s information minister said Wednesday. Speaking on the nearing completion of two British-built treatment centers, minister Alpha Kanu said: “We believe that now that those treatment centers are ready, the transmission of new cases will start reducing. We are at the plateau of the curve and very soon we will have a downward trend, once we have somewhere to take people.” The minister also pleaded for the US to assist in Sierra Leone, and announced that the country would repeat its shutdown of September, when people across the country had to remain at home while medical teams went door to door.
Human Rights
4. In Sierra Leone, UNDP funded and advised the Office of National Security in rolling out new Standard Operational Procedures (SOPs) for 2,000 security forces working at checkpoints and quarantined neighborhoods across the country. Military and police are being trained on how to respect human rights and communicate with courtesy, and have committed to engaging with community leaders in all checkpoints and quarantined areas. The SOPs were developed in close consultation with the Sierra Leone armed forces, police, Ministry of Health and Human Rights Commission. The government of Sierra Leone is using quarantines and checkpoints to halt the spread of EVD, but the methods used have led to tensions between security forces and civilians.
Response Efforts and Health
7. WHO reported Wednesday that Guinea isolates more than 70% of all reported cases of EVD, and has more than 80% of required safe burial teams. Progress has apparently been slower in parts of Liberia and Sierra Leone, although continuing challenges in data collection and analysis preclude firm conclusions across the board. On those countries, WHO reports that the goal of isolating 70% of patients has regrettably not yet been reached in either, although data on isolation is up to 3 weeks out of date. Every EVD-affected district in the three intense-transmission countries has access to a laboratory for case confirmation within 24 hours. WHO also reported that in all three countries more than 80% of contacts associated with known EVD cases are traced, though the low mean number of contacts per case suggests that contact tracing is still a challenge in areas of intense transmission.
8. South Korea announced an agreement with Britain to evacuate South Korean medical workers who may get infected with EVD while working at a British-run ETU in Sierra Leone. Seoul will send 10 medical workers next month to work at the new ETU in Goderich, outside Freetown. Under the agreement, an EU-operated plane will fly any infected South Korean medical worker to an EU hospital for treatment, as if they were an EU citizen. Australia has a similar agreement with Britain.

26 November 2014 | UNMEER External Situation Report
Key Political and Economic Developments
1. Burial workers in the Sierra Leonean city of Kenema have dumped bodies in public after going on strike. The workers reportedly left 15 bodies abandoned at the city’s main hospital, including two at the main entrance. The workers have now been sacked for treating the corpses in a “very, very inhumane” way, an official said.
2. On 24 November, the Liberian finance minister announced a recovery package to tackle the wider impact of EVD in Liberia. The package includes US$ 60 million for the restoration of essential health services, $ 30 million for education, and $ 35 million for food security.
Response Efforts and Health
5. Traditional practices remain a significant obstacle in countering the epidemic, especially in relation to burial practices. UNMEER Field Crisis Managers (FCMs) in Liberia reported several instances of non-compliance related to burial permits, as well as violent reactions towards burial teams. Despite the intensification of social awareness campaigns in Bomi and Grand Capemount counties, contact tracing and reporting remain problematic.
Essential Services
15. At a meeting of the Food Crises Prevention and Management Network (PREGEC), held in Dakar from 18 to 20 November 2014, a special session was dedicated to the impact of EVD on food and nutrition security. FAO, WFP, UNICEF and partners presented a study of the three most affected countries, which showed a decrease of agricultural production and demand, disruption of the functioning of markets, a deterioration of livelihoods, a decline in the purchasing power of households, and a risk of degradation of the nutrition situation due to more difficult access to food and basic social services.

25 November 2014 | UNMEER External Situation Report
Key Political and Economic Developments
1. UNMEER SRSG Anthony Banbury has stated in an interview with Newsweek that the mission is already exceeding its 1 December targets in some areas. He added, though, that it is almost certain the targets will not be reached in all areas. The target was to have 70 percent of patients under treatment and 70 percent of victims buried safely. That target has been achieved in some areas, Banbury said, citing progress in Liberia. But he added that the mission will almost certainly fall short in other areas. In both those cases, the mission will adjust to what the circumstances are on the ground. Of greatest concern are rural parts of Sierra Leone, as well as Makeni in the centre and Port Loko in the northwest. Additional efforts by the international community remain needed.
2. Mali has confirmed a new case of EVD, bringing the number of confirmed cases in the country to eight. The patient has been placed in a treatment center. Six of Mali’s eight patients have died. The other confirmed case has also been isolated and is receiving treatment. Officials are monitoring 271 people in a bid to contain the disease.
Human Rights
5. According to WHO, in Kourémalé (Siguiri prefecture, Guinea), a village on the Guinea-Mali border, members of the local community have threatened teams of contact tracers who arrived to follow up on recent EVD cases traced to the unsafe burial of the local imam who died of EVD in late October. Whereas the Mali side of the border today has a functioning isolation/treatment centre, active surveillance in place and no community resistance, there is no such center on the Guinean side. The latter also has only limited surveillance and is experiencing serious community resistance.
6. According to OHCHR, people in Koropara sub-prefecture (Nzérékoré prefecture) threatened to chase away the sub-prefect and health workers after three patients were transferred to Guéckédou ETC and died thereafter. Families of the victims accuse the local authorities of selling their relatives to the Red Cross. Lack of feedback related to the fate of patients at the ETC is one the causes. Red Cross teams in Nzérékoré said they would not operate in Koropara until a sustainable solution is found for security reasons.
Response Efforts and Health
7. The government of Liberia has completed acquisition of a plot of land to be used as a national cemetery. This is a critical step towards a safe burials system that doesn’t require the highly unpopular practice of cremation. A survey showed that throughout October, most of the bodies handled by burial teams came from ETUs (85%). 14.7% came from communities and 0.3% were found abandoned. The survey also indicated that secret burials are on the decline.
8. In Guinea, EVD is spreading in the north up to the border with Mali, an area with no functioning EVD treatment centres or transit centres. The prefecture of Siguiri has seen a resurgence of cases, many of which are related to the unsafe burial at the end of October of a local imam infected with EVD. There is also active transmission in the areas of Kankan and Kouroussa. Meanwhile, the newly opened 40-bed Ebola Treatment Centre (ETC) in Macenta, Guinea, had already surpassed its capacity, with 22 confirmed cases and 19 suspected cases. The ETC in Guéckédou has also had to turn away patients in recent days due to capacity constraints.
9. UNMEER Guinea reports that community reticence in many areas remains the main obstacle to contact tracing. Reticence is often due to communities being disappointed with the EVD response, for instance because of lacking ambulance services or support to the families (often due to logistic and funding shortcomings). In addition, national contact tracing staff is often not paid or paid very little which creates a lack of incentive.
Logistics
14. The first inter-agency airlift, supported by the Logistics Emergency Team and facilitated by the Logistics Cluster, from Germany’s Cologne Bonn airport to Monrovia is set to depart tomorrow. The flight will transport over 560m3 of cargo (including two vehicles) on behalf of eight organisations.

24 November 2014 | UNMEER External Situation Report
Key Political and Economic Developments
4. On the occasion of the opening of the Kakata ETU, local counterparts emphasized to UNMEER that the EVD response has entered into the second phase, which they described as “hunting the virus”. The officials also mentioned the need to expedite the payment for EVD health workers, as key government personnel are taking jobs with NGOs. Case denial at the family level for fear of quarantine and stigma reportedly also remains present in several communities.
Outreach and Education
16. Following the death in Bamako of an imam from Guinea, UNDP and UNICEF have helped organize a gathering of 35 muslim leaders and local officials in Kankan, Eastern Guinea, where they were trained on how to protect themselves and vowed to encourage people to join the fight against EVD.
17. The NGO International SOS has released a mobile app designed to help share its medical and travel information on EVD. The free app is available on iOS and Android devices. It provides online, instant access to key sections from International SOS’ dedicated EVD website, including maps of the affected areas and the latest updates on the outbreak.
Essential Services
18. EVD has crippled the provision of treatment and care to people living with HIV/AIDS in Liberia, according to health workers and patients. There are an estimated 30,000 people living with HIV in Liberia, according to UNAIDS. Before the EVD outbreak, more than 70 per cent of them had access treatment via 144 HIV/AIDS care centers across the country. But now, due to a shortage of health workers and fear about EVD transmission, more than 60 per cent of these facilities have closed. The National AIDS Control Program (NACP) is now going door to door in Montserrado county to deliver antiretroviral drugs each week or else refer people to mobile treatment centers to fill prescriptions.

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UNDP: Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) Outbreak and Price Dynamics in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone
Ebola, through its impact on prices, is reducing people’s purchasing power and is increasing their vulnerability
UNDP Africa Policy Note, Vol. 1, No. 4, 9 November 2014 12 pages
…Stemming the tide of EVD on future prices is doable. Some of the strategic interventions to achieve this include:
:: In Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, price shocks increase the vulnerability of the poor and
the marginalized communities, especially rural areas experiencing the outbreak. This calls for
a well-targeted social protection for people and communities heavily affected by price hikes.
:: The closure of borders reduces the supply of imported commodities that could compensate
for the shortfall in domestic production. Countries should desist from closing their borders to
avert the inflationary impact of such actions on the epicentre countries.
:: The Governments of these three countries should strategically support local farmers to
prepare for the next planting season to avoid food shortages in 2015 and beyond. This
includes the provision of improved seedlings, fertilizers and finances. It is also important to
address all impediments that make locally produced rice more expensive than imported rice.
:: The ministries of finance and central banks of these countries should effectively coordinate
fiscal and monetary policies to ensure that exchange rates and domestic borrowing do not
distort the price system.
:: Given that EVD affected the planting seasons of these countries, the international
community should scale up support for the provision of food and related items to cushion the
effect of food shortages and the associated price hikes.

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World Bank [to 29 November 2014]
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/all
World Bank Group to support Cote d’Ivoire’s Health Systems Strengthening and Ebola Preparedness
WASHINGTON, November 25, 2014- The World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a $US70 million International Development Association (IDA)* credit to help Cote d’Ivoire improve deployment and quality of health services in selected regions, with a focus on maternal, newborn and child health and nutrition services.Today’s financing will support the Health Systems Strengthening and Ebola Preparedness project and part of the funds ($10.0 million) is aimed at promoting Cote d’Ivoire’s pro-active measures to prevent the spread of Ebola.Recent political and social crises have taken a heavy toll on the country’s health system. During 2002-2010, most of the health centers were closed in the central and northern part of the country (over 52% of health centers nationally), and only Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) facilities remained open…

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health ::
Holistic Development :: Sustainable Resilience
__________________________________________________
Week ending 22 November 2014

This weekly digest is intended to aggregate and distill key content from a broad spectrum of practice domains and organization types including key agencies/IGOs, NGOs, governments, academic and research institutions, consortiums and collaborations, foundations, and commercial organizations. We also monitor a spectrum of peer-reviewed journals and general media channels. The Sentinel’s geographic scope is global/regional but selected country-level content is included. We recognize that this spectrum/scope yields an indicative and not an exhaustive product. Comments and suggestions should be directed to:

David R. Curry
Editor &
Founding Managing Director
GE2P2 – Center for Governance, Evidence, Ethics, Policy, Practice
david.r.curry@ge2p2center.net

pdf verion: The Sentinel_ week ending 22 November 2014

blog edition: comprised of the 35+ entries posted below on 23 November 2014

25 years of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Joint statement by Plan International and partners
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child: Stepping up the global effort to advance the rights of every child. This statement is issued jointly by Plan International, UNICEF, Child Rights Connect, ChildFund Alliance, the NGO Committee on UNICEF, Save the Children, SOS Children’s Villages and World Vision.
20 November 2014 [Full text]

When the international community adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child 25 years ago, we made this commitment to the world’s children: that we would do everything in our power to promote and protect their rights.

The commitment was not only to some children, but to all children. It was not only to advance some of their rights, but all their rights – including their right to survive and to thrive, to grow and to learn, to have their voices heard and heeded, and to be protected from discrimination and violence in all its manifestations.

It was a commitment to be honored not only in times of peace and prosperity, but also, and especially, in times of conflict, crisis, and catastrophe.

The commitment to realise the rights of all children was grounded in the conviction that it was both the right thing to do and the strategic thing to do. For by advancing the rights of children today, we help them become adults who will be able to assume responsibility for future generations – in turn, helping build a more prosperous, peaceful, and just world.

From this commitment and conviction, a global movement was born. With the Convention as its framework and foundation, and the best interests of children as its focus, it has brought together organisations and individuals, activists and governments, the private sector and private donors, religious and cultural leaders, communities and families, individuals and children themselves. Visionaries and pragmatists alike – including Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi, the 2 child rights champions who share this year’s Nobel Peace Prize – they have helped change the world.

Progress across the world
25 years since the Convention was adopted, progress is apparent in every region of the world. Infant mortality rates have declined, while school enrollment has risen. Today, the world is winning the battle against extreme poverty; and more than 2.1 billion people now have access to improved drinking water sources and sanitation facilities.
What once was a shared value – making sure children are cared for – is now a legal obligation to act always in the best interests of children, considering child rights in every context and holding ourselves accountable for advancing those rights for every child. Where once eyes took no notice or turned away when violence scarred or took the life of a child, now voices are raised around the world to demand an end to violence against children whenever and wherever it occurs.

Celebrating this 25th anniversary today, we are inspired by the children who are growing up healthy, strong, and ready to realise the aspirations of the Convention. At the same moment, we are engaged in global discussions on a new development agenda for the post-2015 years. These discussions are driven by a recognition of how much more must be done to reduce the inequities that endanger children today and threaten their hopes for the future.

Millions left out and behind
For even as we celebrate the progress, we cannot ignore the millions of children, in every country of the world, who are being left out and left behind. Trafficked, forced into early marriage, exploited, abducted, terrorised; having babies when they are still children; dying in pregnancies and childbirths; unregistered and unvaccinated; without access to health services, adequate nutrition, and learning opportunities; discriminated against because of their gender or their religion, their ethnicity or disabilities, their color or their sexuality; living in poverty; living without parental care; living on society’s margins. Their capabilities diminished and their choices limited. Their rights to survival, protection, freedom and identity violated.

We simply cannot – and will not leave these children behind. Because of what is at stake – the lives and futures of the world’s children, and thus, the future of the world – we must find new ways to reach the children we have not yet reached.

There is hope to be found and nurtured, we are certain, in the human spirit that crosses and defies all divisions in its search for transformation. This is the spirit that speaks to us as we recommit our efforts to make the world a just and better place for all children.

The world has not stood still these past 25 years. There is new science to inform our interventions and our programmes. New technologies that offer new opportunities for young people to know their world. Other innovations that change how we communicate and at what speed. A new accountability to children and young people and new expectations for transparency by governments and civil society.

New challenges
But there are also new challenges – from the impact of climate change, to the ravages of conflict and crises, to the effects of population growth.

It is time for the international community to recommit itself to the immutable rights enshrined in the Convention of the Rights of the Child – and to act, with urgency, to advance those rights, for every child.
Moving forward, we will challenge ourselves in country by country, city by city, village by village, to do even more for children through sustained political commitment, strategic investments, and actions that match our words.

Thus our celebration on this anniversary day is a call – to those who have already done so much and those who have yet to join the cause: to speed up our efforts and expand our sphere of influence and our circle of activists. It is, most urgently, a call for innovation in what we do, how we do it, with whom and how quickly – so that, soon, all children everywhere will finally and fully enjoy their innate and inalienable rights.

UN Refugee Agency calls on States to end the immigration detention of children on the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
20 November 2014
Press Release, 20 November 2014

It’s 25 years since the international community adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), a major treaty setting out the rights of all children. With its 194 accessions, the CRC is the most widely ratified human rights treaty of all time. Among its provisions, Article 22 requires States to provide special protection for refugee children. Yet thousands of children are being detained by immigration authorities worldwide, with damaging effects on their health and wellbeing. UNHCR calls for an end to this harmful practice and for an ethic of care, not enforcement, to guide all interactions with asylum-seeking and refugee children.

“Children who arrive in another country in search of international protection are extremely vulnerable and have specific needs. We should treat them first and foremost as children, not as illegal aliens”, said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres. Even if they are detained together with their families, “this detention has a devastating effect on the physical, emotional and psychological development of these children,” he said.

Recent studies have indicated that detained children frequently suffer from developmental delays and emotional problems, including insomnia, appetite loss and behavioral difficulties.

But as the number of people forcibly uprooted rises, so the detention of children for immigration related purposes remains all too common. Although it is difficult to obtain precise figures, UNHCR estimates that thousands of children are in detention for this reason worldwide every day.

In all too many countries, children may face months in detention, often together with adult strangers in substandard conditions.

“The practice of putting children in immigration detention is in violation of the CRC in many respects and it should be stopped,” he said.

As part of its Global Strategy – Beyond Detention, launched in Geneva in June this year, the UN Refugee Agency has made ending the detention of asylum-seeking children a corporate priority
On the 25th anniversary of the CRC, UNHCR renews its call to governments to end the detention of children and to explore child-appropriate alternative care arrangements, welcoming the steps taken by a number of governments to do so…

Countries vow to combat malnutrition through firm policies and actions
Second International Conference on Nutrition, Rome
Ministers and top officials from over 170 countries endorse political Declaration and Framework for Action to tackle hunger and obesity
19 November 2014, Rome – In a major step towards eradicating malnutrition worldwide, over 170 countries today made a number of concrete commitments and adopted a series of recommendations on policies and investments aimed at ensuring that all people have access to healthier and more sustainable diets.

Ministers and senior officials responsible for health, food or agriculture and other aspects of nutrition adopted the Rome Declaration on Nutrition, and a Framework for Action, which set out recommendations for policies and programmes to address nutrition across multiple sectors. The move came at the opening, in Rome, of the Second International Conference on Nutrition (ICN2), organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Rome Declaration on Nutrition enshrines the right of everyone to have access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food, and commits governments to preventing malnutrition in all its forms, including hunger, micronutrient deficiencies and obesity.

The Framework for Action recognizes that governments have the primary role and responsibility for addressing nutrition issues and challenges, in dialogue with a wide range of stakeholders-including civil society, the private sector and affected communities. Building on the Declaration’s commitments, goals and targets, the Framework sets out 60 recommended actions that governments may incorporate into their national nutrition, health, agriculture, education, development and investment plans and consider when negotiating international agreements to achieve better nutrition for all.

Rome Declaration on Nutrition
Second International Conference on Nutrition Rome, 19-21 November 2014
pdf: 6 pages http://www.fao.org/3/a-ml542e.pdf
Excerpts
1. We, Ministers and Representatives of the Members of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), assembled at the Second International Conference on Nutrition in Rome from 19 to 21 November 2014, jointly organized by FAO and WHO, to address the multiple challenges of malnutrition in all its forms and identify opportunities for tackling them in the next decades…

3. Reaffirming the right of everyone to have access to safe, sufficient, and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger consistent with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and other relevant United Nations instruments.
4. Acknowledge that malnutrition, in all its forms, including undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, overweight and obesity, not only affects people’s health and wellbeing by impacting negatively on human physical and cognitive development, compromising the immune system, increasing susceptibility to communicable and noncommunicable diseases, restricting the attainment of human potential and reducing productivity, but also poses a high burden in the form of negative social and economic consequences to individuals, families, communities and States….

Commitment to action
15. We commit to:
a) eradicate hunger and prevent all forms of malnutrition worldwide, particularly undernourishment, stunting, wasting, underweight and overweight in children under five years of age; and anaemia in women and children among other micronutrient deficiencies; as well as reverse the rising trends in overweight and obesity and reduce the burden of diet-related noncommunicable diseases in all age groups;
b) increase investments for effective interventions and actions to improve people’s diets and nutrition, including in emergency situations;
c) enhance sustainable food systems by developing coherent public policies from production to consumption and across relevant sectors to provide year-round access to food that meets people’s nutrition needs and promote safe and diversified healthy diets;
d) raise the profile of nutrition within relevant national strategies, policies, actions plans and programmes, and align national resources accordingly;
e) improve nutrition by strengthening human and institutional capacities to address all forms of malnutrition through, inter alia, relevant scientific and socio-economic research and development, innovation and transfer of appropriate technologies on mutually agreed terms and conditions;
f) strengthen and facilitate contributions and action by all stakeholders to improve nutrition and promote collaboration within and across countries, including North-South cooperation, as well as South-South and triangular cooperation;
g) develop policies, programmes and initiatives for ensuring healthy diets throughout the life course, starting from the early stages of life to adulthood, including of people with special nutritional needs, before and during pregnancy, in particular during the first 1,000 days, promoting, protecting and supporting exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months and continued breastfeeding until two years of age and beyond with appropriate complementary feeding, healthy eating by families, and at school during childhood, as well as other specialized feeding;
h) empower people and create an enabling environment for making informed choices about food products for healthy dietary practices and appropriate infant and young child feeding practices through improved health and nutrition information and education;
i) implement the commitments of this Declaration through the Framework for Action which will also contribute to ensuring accountability and monitoring progress in global nutrition targets;
j) give due consideration to integrating the vision and commitments of this Declaration into the post-2015 development agenda process including a possible related global goal.

16. We call on FAO and WHO, in collaboration with other United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, as well as other international organizations, to support national governments, upon request, in developing, strengthening and implementing their policies, programmes and plans to address the multiple challenges of malnutrition.

17. We recommend to the United Nations General Assembly to endorse the Rome Declaration on Nutrition, as well as the Framework for Action which provides a set of voluntary policy options and strategies for use by governments, as appropriate, and to consider declaring a Decade of Action on Nutrition from 2016 to 2025 within existing structures and available resources.

State of World Population 2014
The Power of 1.8 Billion: Adolescents, youth and the transformation of the future
UNFPA
November 2014 :: 136 pages
ISBN: 978-0-89714-972-3
Download PDF: English – Français – Español

[Excerpt: Introductory message from Irem Tümer, contributing editor]
Calls for investments in young people have increased dramatically in recent years. Meanwhile, more and more countries agree that policies that help young people fulfil their potential can also help drive economic development. This year’s The State of World Population is significant because it frames investments in youth not solely as responding to the needs of young people but also as an imperative for sustainable development. The perspective and data that are being presented in this report can be a very valuable asset for the advocacy and programming of youth-led organizations and youth activists.

[Excerpt from UNFPA Media release]
…“Today’s record 1.8 billion young people present an enormous opportunity to transform the future,” says UNFPA Executive Director, Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin. “Young people are the innovators, creators, builders and leaders of the future. But they can transform the future only if they have skills, health, decision-making, and real choices in life,” he adds.

With the right policies and investments in human capital, countries can empower young people to drive economic and social development and boost per-capita incomes, the new UNFPA report states.
The UNFPA Executive Director urges countries in pursuit of a demographic dividend to ensure the gains result in growth that benefits everyone.

“It is too easy to talk about the demographic dividend in terms of money, savings and economic growth, which have so far excluded many,” Dr. Osotimehin says. “The demographic dividend must be harnessed to achieve inclusive growth and offer opportunities and well-being for all.”

In the 1950s and 1960s, several East Asian economies invested heavily in young people’s capabilities and in expanding their access to voluntary family planning, enabling individuals to start families later and have fewer children. The result was unprecedented economic growth. The Republic of Korea, for example, saw its per-capita gross domestic product grow about 2,200 per cent between 1950 and 2008.

Nine in ten of the world’s young people today live in less developed countries. Because of lagging social services, these countries face greater obstacles to leveraging the advantages that can result from engaging a youthful, productive workforce.

The UNFPA report shows that demographic shifts taking place in about 60 countries are opening a window for a demographic dividend. The size of the dividend depends largely on how those countries invest in young people to realize their full potential.

If sub-Saharan African countries repeated the East Asian experience by making the right investments in young people, enabling them to participate in decisions that affect their lives and adopting policies to bolster economic growth, the region as a whole could realize a demographic dividend amounting to as much as $500 billion a year, for 30 years.

A demographic dividend of this magnitude has the potential to lift hundreds of millions of people out of poverty and raise living standards and catapult economies forward, the report states. Critical youth investments needed to reap a demographic dividend are those that protect rights, including reproductive rights, improve health, including sexual and reproductive health, and provide skills and knowledge to build young people’s capabilities and agency. These investments can also accelerate fertility declines, which can in turn accelerate the demographic transition.

UNDP, Foundation Center, and RPA Partner with Leading Foundations to Engage Philanthropic Sector in Post-2015 Global Development Process
“Post-2015 Partnership Platform for Philanthropy” Created to Transform Collaboration and Impact
20 Nov 2014

Nairobi and New York – As the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) come to a close and the global aid community embarks on the post-2015 development agenda, opportunities abound to introduce innovation and insight into the way we address the world’s most pressing issues. Against this backdrop, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Foundation Center, and a committee of leading foundations guided by Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors (RPA) have launched a new initiative to facilitate stronger philanthropic input into the changing global development landscape.

The project, known as the Post-2015 Partnership Platform for Philanthropy, will enable philanthropy to understand better the opportunities for engaging in global development goal processes, and help governments and the UN system understand the value philanthropy can bring in driving greater impact for people.

The project aims to help funders have a voice in the post-2015 development agenda, playing a more active role in both planning discussions and the implementation. In doing so, the philanthropic field can serve as a strategic partner in these broader global processes.

Another key objective of the project will be to develop country-level platforms that help inform and identify opportunities for collaboration. Planning workshops in various countries will kick start this process by facilitating the exchange of knowledge and laying the foundation for future engagement in the post-2015 agenda. The first workshop takes place on November 21 in Kenya, with representatives from philanthropic institutions, government, civil society organizations, and other regional and local networks. Additional pilot projects will roll out in Colombia, followed by Ghana, Indonesia, and Cambodia.

“Philanthropy is uniquely positioned to help convene multiple stakeholders and to amplify the voice and action of its civil society grantee partners in shaping and achieving the development targets within each country,” said Steven M. Hilton, chairman, president, and CEO of the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation.

This initiative will also deliver a new web portal called http://www.SDGfunders.org that makes data on philanthropic investments more accessible, in order to help funders track progress, find partners, and tell their stories.
“The SDGfunders.org website will combine Foundation Center’s expertise in the philanthropic sector, data, and technology with the passion and insights of funders dedicated to making a difference,” said Bradford K. Smith, president of Foundation Center. “The post-2015 development landscape looks much brighter when funders and other partners have the knowledge tools they need to be strategic and collaborative.”

Throughout the project, guidance and input will be provided by leaders from foundation and philanthropy support organizations comprising a Collaboration Committee, which currently includes the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Ford Foundation, The MasterCard Foundation, and WINGS.

Viewpoint: Private sector can help Africa to take responsibility for its development
It is welcome news that African business leaders, spurred by the Ebola crisis, are to assist in tackling the continent’s challenges
Calestous Juma
The Guardian, 21 November 2014
[Full text]

The decision of African business leaders to join the fight against Ebola brings new assets and capabilities to the task. But it also underscores the limits of the traditional development model, whereby African governments have outsourced their sovereign duty to protect their citizens to international organisations.

The growing complexity of Africa’s challenges can hardly be addressed through reliance on the heroic expeditions of foreign volunteers. The outbreak shows that the response demands a level of coordination that can be effectively performed only where there are competent domestic institutions.

This is not to say that international volunteers are not needed. It simply means that their contributions will be more effective where there is local capacity to undertake sovereign duties such as providing security, protecting borders, ensuring food security and safeguarding human health.

Since independence, African countries have outsourced these functions to international organisations. As argued by Amy Sharples in her authoritative book, The Birth of Development, international organisations were created to make the best use of external assistance to improve the welfare of the poor. But their good intentions may have lulled African countries into abdicating some of their key sovereign duties.

The first failure of the outsourcing model was in agriculture. For decades, African countries relied on food aid to respond to famines. Africa is now focusing on feeding itself and using agriculture as a driver for economic development. The turning point was the adoption, in 2003, of the comprehensive Africa agricultural development programme.

The limits of the outsourcing model are evident in the case of Ebola. The admittedly inept handling of the Ebola crisis by the World Health Organisation was a clear sign that international agencies could not provide a substitute for African action. Further, the UN said it did not have the funds to respond to the crisis.

In response, the African Union (AU) called upon African businesses, which have so far committed $37.4m (£23.9m) to equip, train and deploy 2,000 health workers in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.

The participation of the private sector has a number of novel features. First, Africa is taking a long-term view of the crisis, including post-outbreak reconstruction. In a statement reflecting this outlook, the AU said: “While the global response to the crisis has increased in recent weeks, there is still a critical need for additional competencies to care for the infected, strengthen local health systems and prevent the disease from spreading.”
Second, the private sector insists on working through the AU as the continent’s main political body created by governments. This provides the basis for coordinated approaches, which are missing from chaotic international voluntary activities.

Third, private-sector contributions have been accompanied by critical assessments of the political, managerial and analytical capabilities needed to respond effectively to the crisis.

Fourth, one of the most important observations from the roundtable was the importance of mobilising health workers through AU member states, some of which have had prior experience in dealing with Ebola and other infectious diseases, such as polio. This not only helps to strengthen state capacity but also allows the continent to identify gaps in states’ ability to respond.

Such an approach is likely to lead to long-term institution-building. This is in contrast with the short-term emergency approaches that often undermine local institutions and are hardly sustained after the crisis is over.
Business leaders are not just donating money. They are also bringing to the task the operational capabilities they utilise in their own daily business activities. It is the focus on competence and accountability that African public institutions often lack.

Fifth, the private sector also showed considerable interest in harnessing scientific and technical knowledge in academic and research institutions. One of the pledges made at the November meeting was to support the creation of an infectious research centre. This pledge provides opportunities to engage African scientists and researchers in addressing Africa’s health challenges.

Finally, the private sector has extensive infrastructure and logistical capabilities, which will be harnessed to support the fight against Ebola. This ranges from planes to transport and health workers to mobile telephone platforms for making the best use of individual donations as well as disseminating health information.

The self-interest of African businesses cannot be ignored. The Ebola outbreak has occurred at a time of great economic promise for Africa. The continent has been growing at a faster rate than the world average, and has emerged as a significant destination for foreign direct investment.

Businesses are concerned about the safety of their workers. Their interests are therefore aligned with the responsibility of states to protect the health of their citizens.

The Ebola outbreak is a catastrophe for the affected countries. But it is inspiring novel interactions between government, industry and academia to find solutions to the continent’s challenges. It is causing a rebirth of African development that will entail bringing considerable creativity and innovation to the building of robust healthcare systems.

Report: Fast-Track – Ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030
UNAIDS
November 2014 :: 40 pages Download PDF
Overview
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS announced that taking a Fast-Track approach over the next five years will allow the world to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030. The new UNAIDS report outlines, that by taking the Fast-Track approach nearly 28 million new HIV infections and 21 million AIDS-related deaths would be averted by 2030. “We have bent the trajectory of the epidemic,” said Michel Sidibé, Executive Director of UNAIDS. “Now we have five years to break it for good or risk the epidemic rebounding out of control.”

The new set of targets that would need to be reached by 2020 include achieving 90-90-90: 90% of people living with HIV knowing their HIV status; 90% of people who know their HIV-positive status on treatment; and 90% of people on treatment with suppressed viral loads.

UNAIDS estimates that by June 2014, some 13.6 million people had access to antiretroviral therapy, a huge step towards ensuring that 15 million people have access by 2015, but still a long way off the 90-90-90 targets. Particular efforts are needed to close the treatment gap for children

Other targets include reducing the annual number of new HIV infections by more than 75%, to 500000 in 2020, and achieving zero discrimination. The targets are firmly based on an approach to leaving no one behind that is grounded in human rights and, if achieved, would significantly improve global health outcomes.

Emergencies Scorecard
UN OCHA: L3 Emergencies [at 22 November 2014]
The UN and its humanitarian partners are currently responding to four ‘L3’ emergencies. This is the UN classification for the most severe, large-scale humanitarian crises.
:: Iraq: – The surge in violence between armed groups and government forces has displaced an estimated 1.8 million people across Iraq and left hundreds of thousands of people in need of assistance.
OCHA Iraq>>
:: Syria – 10.8 million people, nearly half the population, are in need of humanitarian assistance. An estimated 6.45 million people have been displaced inside the country.
OCHA Syria>>
:: CAR Central African Repubic – The violence that erupted in December 2013 has displaced hundreds of thousands of people and left 2.5 million in urgent need of assistance.
OCHA CAR>>
:: South Sudan – About 1.4 million people are internally displaced as the result of fighting that began in December 2013. 3.8 million people need humanitarian assistance.
OCHA South Sudan>>

WHO: Public Health Emergencies of International Concern (PHEIC) [at 22 November 2014]
:: Ebola/EVD
:: Polio

WHO: Grade 3 and Grade 2 emergencies [at 22 November 2014]
:: WHO Grade 3 emergencies
– Central African Republic
– Guinea
– Iraq
– Liberia
– Nigeria
– Sierra Leone
– South Sudan
– The Syrian Arab Republic
:: WHO Grade 2 emergencies
– Democratic Republic of the Congo
– Guinea
– Mali
– occupied Palestinian territories
– Philippines
– Ukraine

USAID [to 22 November 2014]
http://www.usaid.gov/

USAID Announces $125 million in New Financing to Support Clean Cookstoves and Cooking Fuels
November 21, 2014
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today its intention to make available $125 million in new private sector financing for manufacturers and distributors of clean cookstoves and cooking fuels through two loan guarantee facilities. The announcement, made at the Cookstoves Future Summit hosted by the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, was part of a larger U.S. Government pledge of support of up to $200 million for clean cookstoves and fuels over the next five years.

World Bank [to 22 November 2014]
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/all

Statement by Jim Yong Kim, President, World Bank Group Following the United Nations’ Chief Executives Board Meeting on Ebola
Date: November 21, 2014

New Partnership to Help Bring Clean Cooking to 100 Million Households by 2020
NEW YORK CITY, November 21, 2014 – A major new partnership between the World Bank Group and the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves will work to spur a transition to clean cooking for 100 million households, which still use inefficient cookstoves and solid fuels for cooking.The new, five-year Efficient Clean Cooking and Heating Partnership was announced today at the Cookstoves Future Summit in New York – a gathering of leaders from across the international community focused on new efforts to speed up the adoption of clean cooking and end household air pollution from traditional cooking, which takes 4.3 million lives a year in developing countries. The partnership will support in-country programs undertaken by both the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves (the Alliance) and the World Bank Group, and will be managed by the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP).“This new initiative builds on years of learning and experience by the World Bank Group…
Date: November 21, 2014

Nearly Half of Liberia’s Workforce No Longer Working since Start of Ebola Crisis
Negative Economic Impacts of Virus Seen Throughout the Country, with Serious Consequences for the Poor and Vulnerable
WASHINGTON, November 19, 2014— Ebola has substantially impacted all sectors of employment in the Liberian economy, in both affected and non-affected counties, according to the most recent round of mobile phone surveys conducted by the World Bank Group in partnership with the Liberian Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services and the Gallup Organization. In all, nearly half of those working in Liberia when the Ebola outbreak began are no longer working as of early November 2014.“ Even those living in the most remote communities in Liberia, where Ebola has not been detected, are suffering the economic side effects of this terrible disease,” said Ana Revenga, Senior Director of the Poverty Global Practice at the World Bank Group..
Date: November 19, 2014

World Bank Group Approves US$285 Million Grant for Ongoing Ebola Crisis Response
November 18, 2014
WASHINGTON, November 18, 2014—The World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors today approved a US$285 million grant to finance Ebola-containment efforts underway in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, as well as to help communities in the three countries cope with the socioeconomic impact of the crisis and rebuild and strengthen essential health services. The grant is part of the nearly US$1 billion previously announced by the World Bank Group for the countries hardest hit by the Ebola crisis.
The grant provides additional financing to the Ebola Emergency Response Project approved by the WBG’s Board on September 16, 2014, including US$72 million for Guinea, US$115 million for Liberia and US$98 million for Sierra Leone, the three countries most-affected by Ebola.
Today’s announcement brings the total financing approved so far from the World Bank Group’s International Development Association (IDA)* Crisis Response Window (CRW) for the Ebola response to US$390 million. The CRW is designed to help low-income IDA countries recover from severe disasters and crises…

Amref Health Africa [to 22 November 2014]
Amref Health Africa International Health Conference, November 24-26, 2014, Nairobi, Kenya
Published: 14 May 2014 Denis
From November 24-26, Amref Health Africa will be holding its first international conference themed ‘From Evidence to Action: Lasting Health Change for Africa’ at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi, Kenya.

Aravind Eye Care System [to 22 November 2014]

Enhancing Eye Care Delivery in the Underserved Regions
LAICO, October 31- November 1
It is estimated that in India over six million cataract surgeries are done annually, resulting in a Cataract Surgical Rate (CSR)of about 5,000. While such a CSR rate is very impressive, especially amongst the developing countries, we have to recognize that about half of the states and districts would be performing less than this average, with some of the districts with very low performance. A more serious implication of this is the fact that the people in those districts, for no fault of theirs are denied the eye care that they need. The time has come to act again to address the disparity in services across districts. The workshop “Serving the Underserved Regions through District Planning 2.0” deliberated on the ground realities and practical challenges faced by underserved districts and develop an appropriate intervention model that could be deployed for enhancing eye care delivery in the states of Assam, Tripura, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and Karnataka. The participants included major eye care providers from these states, representatives from Ministry of Health, senior representatives from the National Program for the Control of Blindness (NPCB), Govt. of India and various States as well as haeds of INGOs and representatives from V2020. The workshop sponsored by Centre for Innovation in Public Systems (CIPS), Sightsavers, V2020 India and Seva Foundation, USA.

As part of the workshop, Dr. Jayanti S Ravi, a senior IAS officer and Labour Commissioner, Govt. of Gujarat shared her thoughts on Dr. G. Venkataswamy, the founder of Aravind Eye Hospitals, through a blended genre of music and stories. The programme held at Aravind’s research institute was truly profound and it gave an opportunity to reflect on Dr. V in a totally philosophical manner.

International Rescue Committee [to 22 November 2014]
20 Nov 2014
IRC Supports President Obama Decision on Temporary Relief for Certain Undocumented Immigrants

20 Nov 2014
Positive Parenting Programs Reduce Violence in the Lives of Crisis-Affected Children
– New research shows supporting parents and primary caregivers effective in keeping children safe in post-conflict and displacement situations
– IRC recommends increase in funding for evidence-based parenting programs and research to prevent violence against children in contexts of crisis
– IRC calls on governments, multilateral institutions to reinforce or make explicit commitments to parenting programs as a means of preventing violence against children in humanitarian and development plans

ICRC – International Committee of the Red Cross [to 22 November 2014]
http://www.icrc.org/eng/resources/index.jsp

Chad: Displaced people from the Central African Republic living in precarious conditions
The ICRC, in close cooperation with the Red Cross of Chad, has distributed essential items to over 5,000 displaced people …
19-11-2014 | News release

Western Balkans: After 15 years, more than 1,600 people still missing in Kosovo
The working group on persons unaccounted for in connection with events in Kosovo between 1998 and 1999 held its 38th session in…
18-11-2014 | News release

Central African Republic: Civilians still suffering the effects of the conflict
Tensions mounted in Bangui again last weekend when demonstrations by armed men blocked roads, bringing traffic in the capital to a…
17-11-2014 | News release

MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières [to 22 November 2014]
Democratic Republic of Congo: Intervention for the Ebola Outbreak Comes to an End
November 17, 2014
BOENDE, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO/BARCELONA—The Ebola outbreak that began in August in the north of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is now under control, with no new cases detected after the last confirmed infection on October 4 in the town of Boende, Equateur province, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said today.

MSF has withdrawn its teams from the affected area after deploying about 70 staff members in response to the outbreak, which is separate from the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. However, MSF staff members continue to monitor the area, after working for weeks to enhance the capacity of local authorities to respond to any eventuality. According to the World Health Organization, the outbreak in DRC infected 66 people, 49 of whom died.

“At MSF, we try our best to ensure an effective and forceful response in the event of a new outbreak,” said José Mas, coordinator of MSF’s intervention. “In Congo, we have worked with local authorities to maintain an operational treatment center in Equateur. We have also made a donation of medicines and equipment for water and sanitation, and the staff is the same that has worked during this last outbreak, so they are properly trained.”

Closing an Ebola intervention includes two phases. There is a first period of 21 days after the last confirmed case, during which people who had been in contact with the patient are traced. That is followed by a second 21-day buffer period to ensure no additional cases arise. An Ebola outbreak is typically considered over after 42 days without a case…

Mercy Corps [to 22 November 2014]
http://www.mercycorps.org/press-room/releases

Mercy Corps tallies costs, benefits of electronic cash transfers in humanitarian crises
DR Congo, November 17, 2014
Global humanitarian agency first to compare cost-efficiency of different e-cash transfer methods in same emergency aid program

A new study by the global humanitarian agency Mercy Corps examines the relative time and cost required to deliver cash assistance in an emergency setting. “Cheaper, Faster, Better?” is the first study to directly compare the cost-effectiveness of different electronic cash delivery approaches within the same program.

“Cash provides a reliable way for families in crisis to buy what they need, when they need it,” says Sara Murray, electronic cash transfer program manager for Mercy Corps. “Thanks to advances in technology, there are more ways to deliver cash safely and effectively, but it’s crucial to select the right method for a given environment.”

The study was conducted in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), which has faced years of ongoing conflict, resulting in millions of people being displaced from their homes. More than 70 percent of the DRC’s population lives below the poverty line. Funded through a grant from MasterCard, the nine-month study evaluated three cash-transfer methods: physical cash, electronic vouchers (e-vouchers) and mobile money.

While e-vouchers were the most expensive to deploy, given the upfront hardware investment, they proved the fastest and most reliable delivery method. In contrast, mobile money proved highly problematic, taking three times longer to set up than e-vouchers and physical cash distributions. Moreover, the unreliability of the service provider and the dearth of cash-out locations in rural areas posed additional challenges…

Global Fund Watch [to 22 November 2014]
:: Global Fund Board Considers Strategy, Governance, Ethics
21 November 2014
MONTREUX, Switzerland – The Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria convened a week-long gathering including a retreat on strategy, governance and ethics, followed by extensive constituency meetings and a formal meeting attended by 20 Board members and nearly 200 delegates and observers from all over the world.
The Board meets twice a year to exercise its responsibility of monitoring and oversight, and to make decisions that guide nearly US$4 billion of funding each year for programs in more than 140 countries that are accelerating the end of HIV, TB and malaria as epidemics.

At the meeting, Board members consistently stressed the importance of focusing on gender, human rights and strengthening health and community systems – each of them critical factors in achieving impact against HIV, TB and malaria. Board members also cited the Ebola outbreak as an instance of global concern where joint action by partners and health systems strengthening is essential.

This year, the Global Fund began full implementation of a new funding model that is designed to better serve people affected by HIV, TB and malaria by improving the process of devising grants with flexible timing, better alignment with national strategies and active engagement with implementers and partners.

The Board reviewed several aspects of the new approach to funding. More than 100 concept notes have already been submitted for the 2014-2016 allocation period. Many eligible countries are still developing concept notes and expect to submit them in the coming months…

BMGF (Gates Foundation)
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases

NOVEMBER 18, 2014
Gates Foundation Announces Support to Ebola-Affected Countries To Accelerate the Evaluation of Potential Treatments
SEATTLE (November 18, 2014) – The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced that it will be supporting efforts in Guinea and other Ebola-affected countries to scale up the production and evaluation of convalescent plasma and other convalescent blood products as potential therapies for people infected with the Ebola virus. Various drug candidates will also be evaluated, including the experimental antiviral drug brincidofovir.

The foundation has committed $5.7 million to launch the effort, and specific trial designs and locations will be confirmed in coordination with national health authorities and the World Health Organization.
“We are committed to working with Ebola-affected countries to rapidly identify and scale up potential lifesaving treatments for Ebola,” said Dr. Papa Salif Sow, a senior program officer and infectious diseases expert with the foundation’s Global Health Program. “The Gates Foundation is focusing its R&D investments on treatments, diagnostics, and vaccines that we believe could be quickly produced and delivered to those who need them if they demonstrate efficacy in stopping the disease.”

[The press release lists 27 partners involved in the efforts including companies, foundations, and academic and research centers.]