OXFAM [to 10 January 2015]
http://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases
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Increases in Perceived Seriousness of Poverty and Homelessness: Global Poll
Germany and Spain amongst countries with most significant increases
LONDON, 8 JAN 2015 – Germany and Spain have made the most dramatic increases in perceived seriousness of poverty and homelessness according to a GlobeScan poll of 24,000 citizens across 24 countries. This global poll shows the abiding strength of people’s concerns about poverty and their perceptions of economic unfairness.

Poverty and homelessness continue as top-tier concerns with majorities in 15 of the 24 countries polled seeing these as a very serious problem (an average of over 80 percent see it at least as somewhat serious). These concerns are at the same high level as crime and violence, unemployment and the rising cost of food and energy – all of which are seen as more serious than “economic problems and uncertainty” and nine other issues tested.

In 12 of the 24 countries polled, the perceived seriousness of poverty and homelessness has either increased or remained stable at a high level since the question was last fielded in 2012. The most significant increases in perceived seriousness over the last two years are found in Europe, notably Germany where it has increased dramatically by 20 per cent (from 24% to 44%) and in Spain with an increase of 10 per cent (from 76% to 86%).

Relative to other challenges tested, poverty and homelessness is today one of the most serious issues globally, being seen most seriously in Spain, Nigeria, Chile, France and Peru.

Winnie Byanyima, Executive Director, Oxfam International said: “This poll is powerful evidence that, all over the world, the public clamour to tackle inequality and poverty is growing and hardening by the day. Our political and business leaders will ignore this at their peril.”

At the same time, a significant 43 percent see “economic inequality” as a very serious problem (with an average of 80 percent rating it at least somewhat serious).

This is consistent with previous polling. In a 2012 survey of 22 countries conducted by GlobeScan for the BBC World Service, fully 61 per cent of citizens worldwide felt that economic benefits and burdens have not been shared fairly in their country, with over a quarter (27%) concluding they had been shared “not at all fairly” and only 7 per cent “very fairly”.

GlobeScan Foundation president Doug Miller commented, “The current media focus on the growing gap between rich and poor has been deeply felt by citizens the world over since we first asked about it in 2008. In a number of countries, the strong sense of unfairness threatens to undermine the basic social contract that has kept both rich and poor working towards common ends.”

According to the latest poll, citizens look primarily to government to show leadership on addressing issues of economic and social justice, with 59 per cent selecting government when asked who should lead on this, compared to only 13 per cent for large companies, 6 per cent for trade unions. Another 12 per cent say “all of them” should be collectively responsible.

Developing countries place the strongest emphasis on government leadership, particularly in Nigeria (73%), Chile (70%) and Indonesia (70%).
However in some countries citizens have stronger expectations of leadership on the part of large companies, most notably in the USA (28%), India (27%), South Korea (21%) and France (19%).

[No link to actual research documentation was evident on the respective websites posting the above]

Partners In Health [to 10 January 2015]
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Ophelia Dahl: Haiti 5 Years after the Earthquake
January 09, 2015
Video: 03.54

PIH Welcomes Dr. Gary Gottlieb
January 09, 2015
This week Partners In Health Co-founders Dr. Paul Farmer and Ophelia Dahl penned an opinion piece in The Boston Globe about the recent announcement that Dr. Gary Gottlieb will be taking the helm of PIH later this year. Farmer and Dahl, who say Dr. Gottlieb’s transition “has to be seen as one of the great boons to global health in these frightening times,” note that Gottlieb will be tasked with leading PIH’s Ebola response in West Africa and will bring his decades of experience building health systems to PIH sites around the world…

Plan International [to 10 January 2015]
http://plan-international.org/about-plan/resources/media-centre

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Continued investment in Haiti essential to break cycle of poverty and disaster vulnerability
– As country marks 5-year anniversary of Haiti earthquake
9 January 2014, Port-au-Prince, Haiti:
Continued investment, especially in children and young people, is needed in Haiti, 5 years after the deadly earthquake reduced it to rubble, says child rights and humanitarian organisation Plan International.
On 12 January, 2010, the poorest country in the western hemisphere was struck with a 7.0 magnitude earthquake near its capital Port-au-Prince, affecting 3.5 million people, killing an estimated 220,000 people and destroying or damaging 4,000 schools*.

Five years on, the landscape is very different.

Now, most of the estimated 19 million cubic metres of rubble generated by the earthquake is gone. Over 1 million people – some 10% of the entire population of Haiti – made homeless by the earthquake have been rehoused after living in camps since the earthquake.

Roads, especially in Port-au-Prince, have been repaired and many paved for the first time. Houses damaged by the earthquake have been rebuilt and small businesses have multiplied. Several international standard hotels and large supermarkets have also been constructed.

Plan was at the forefront of the emergency response, rebuilding schools and setting up child-friendly spaces, to ensure children were able to access psychosocial support in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake…

Tostan [to 10 January 2015]
January 9, 2015

Fistula Camps in Southern Senegal Provide Medical and Social Support for Women and Their Communities
Following the successful launch of the Zero Fistula Project and the first repair surgery camp held back in September—where 14 women were successfully treated and 20 received consultations–two more camps were organized at the end of December in the regions of Kolda-Sedhiou and Tambacounda-Kedougou in Southern Senegal. A total of 30 women underwent surgery for obstetric fistula:in Kolda-Sedhiou, 36 women received consultations and 25 received repair surgery, while in Tambacounda-Kedougou, seven women received consultations and five received repair surgery.

Before the start of the camps, partners put emphasis on raising awareness about fistula using radio. Field staff appealed to health specialists and religious leaders to help mobilize communities and to discuss the partnership with Amref and the Hospital in Kolda and Dakar. In the five days leading up to the surgery, the women having traveled from different areas were received by the regional Tostan office in Kolda, who used their resources to facilitate a place for them to stay.

Also prior to the camps, several awareness-raising activities, such as intervillage meetings (IVM) and workshops were organized for community members and local authorities. In the Kolda-Sedhiou region, two IVM’s took place on October 31st and December 23rd with 10 villages present and 240 participants, and two additional workshops in November with a midwife. In Tambacounda-Kedougou, two workshops with 86 participants were held in November with the attendance of the health commission of the Community Management Committee (CMC) of Dougue, as well as a health prefect. These workshops taught participants how to identify fistula…

Global Fund [to 10 January 2015]
http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/mediacenter/

Press releases
Zambia and Global Fund Sign $234 Million in New Grants
09 January 2015
LUSAKA, Zambia – The Government of the Republic of Zambia, the Churches Health Association of Zambia, and the Global Fund today reaffirmed their partnership, signing four new grants worth US$234 million to fight HIV, TB and malaria in Zambia.

The financial resources provided through the Global Fund come from many donors, represented today by the European Union, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. Beyond finances, the grant agreements embody solidarity with the people of Zambia, supporting health initiatives through partnership with UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNDP, UNFPA, WFP and WHO, (RED), ONE and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and others.

The HIV/TB grants expand availability of anti-retroviral medication for people living with both HIV and tuberculosis from 80 percent in 2013 to a target of 90 percent by 2017. Zambia will also intensify TB case detection among key populations, children, prisoners and other groups identified by Zambia’s TB survey, and enhance HIV/TB integration.
The malaria grants aim to sustain universal coverage of treatment and increase household use of mosquito nets from 49 percent in 2012 to 85 percent by 2017. The number of malaria cases and deaths is expected to halve in 2017 compared with 2013. The grants also strengthen community and health systems…

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

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JANUARY 07, 2015
New Collection by More Than 30 World-Renowned Artists Illustrates the Global Impact of Vaccines
The Art of Saving a Life Project Features the Work of Angélique Kidjo, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, GMB Akash, Sophie Blackall, Thomas Ganter, Vik Muniz, Alexia Sinclair and Others, and Debuts at Critical Moment for Global Vaccine Advocacy .

Kellogg Foundation
http://www.wkkf.org/news-and-media#pp=10&p=1&f1=news

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All Indian Health Service Birthing Hospitals Achieve Baby-Friendly Designation
Jan. 8, 2015
Three years ago, First Lady Michelle Obama launched Let’s Move! in Indian Country, with a bold vision to make every Indian Health Service (IHS) birthing hospital in the United States Baby-Friendly, meaning the hospital provides optimal support for breastfeeding. In December, IHS announced the realization of this goal, an accomplishment that will benefit more than 4,500 Native American mothers and their children each year.

“We congratulate Indian Health Service on this incredible achievement to ensure more Native American mothers and babies have the opportunity to breastfeed and experience breastfeeding’s benefits,” says Carla D. Thompson, vice president of program strategy at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. “IHS has set a new standard of care for Indian Country, and will help reduce persistent inequities and improve the health and well-being of Native American mothers and children.”

Native American mothers have the second lowest breastfeeding rates in the nation, and Native American children face a serious health epidemic, with skyrocketing rates of obesity and diabetes. Breastfeeding can change this, as it decreases obesity and diabetes in children, and protects mothers from a myriad of diseases, like breast and ovarian cancers and hypertension…

MacArthur Foundation
http://www.macfound.org/

A New Era of Immigration Federalism
Published January 9, 2015
A report from the Center for Migration Studies of New York analyzes the increasingly dynamic interaction among states, localities, and the federal government in the formulation and implementation of immigration policy. The report reviews immigration policy developments over the last 20 years that have led to a patchwork of policies, determined by a mix of local, state, and federal directives rather than a single federal policy set in Washington, D.C. The paper contends that we are now in an era of immigration federalism characterized by increasingly broad distribution of powers across all levels of government and wide variations in immigration regimes and practices

Enforcing Human Rights in Latin America
Published January 9, 2015
A brief from FUNDAR, recipient of the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions, explores three cases in which international courts have made pioneering rulings ordering governments to allocate resources and implement policies that seek to enforce and protect human rights. The cases are from Argentina, Colombia, and Mexico, where the judiciary made ruled to restore and enforce the right to education, to an adequate policy for internally displaced people, and to health services, respectively. The brief emphasizes that judicial reviews are transforming justice processes in Latin America and highlights the role of judges as agents of social change and the importance of organized coalitions in providing legal support to victims.

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
January 2015; 92 (1)
http://www.ajtmh.org/content/current

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Editorial
Expanding the Toolbox in Pursuit of a Strain Transcendent Malaria Vaccine
Anne E.P. Frosch and Chandy C. John
Am J Trop Med Hyg 2015 92:1-2; Published online November 24, 2014, doi:10.4269/ajtmh.14-0662
[No abstract]

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Environmental Surveillance for Toxigenic Vibrio cholerae in Surface Waters of Haiti
Am J Trop Med Hyg 2015 92:118-125; Published online November 10, 2014, doi:10.4269/ajtmh.13-0601
Amy M. Kahler, Bradd J. Haley, Arlene Chen, Bonnie J. Mull, Cheryl L. Tarr, Maryann Turnsek, Lee S. Katz, Michael S. Humphrys, Gordana Derado, Nicole Freeman, Jacques Boncy, Rita R. Colwell, Anwar Huq, and Vincent R. Hill
Abstract
Epidemic cholera was reported in Haiti in 2010, with no information available on the occurrence or geographic distribution of toxigenic Vibrio cholerae in Haitian waters. In a series of field visits conducted in Haiti between 2011 and 2013, water and plankton samples were collected at 19 sites. Vibrio cholerae was detected using culture, polymerase chain reaction, and direct viable count methods (DFA-DVC). Cholera toxin genes were detected by polymerase chain reaction in broth enrichments of samples collected in all visits except March 2012. Toxigenic V. cholerae was isolated from river water in 2011 and 2013. Whole genome sequencing revealed that these isolates were a match to the outbreak strain. The DFA-DVC tests were positive for V. cholerae O1 in plankton samples collected from multiple sites. Results of this survey show that toxigenic V. cholerae could be recovered from surface waters in Haiti more than 2 years after the onset of the epidemic.

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The Development and Implementation of a Competency-Based Curriculum for Training in Global Health Research
Thanh G. N. Ton, Sophia P. Gladding, Joseph R. Zunt, Chandy John, Vivek R. Nerurkar, Cheryl A. Moyer, Nicole Hobbs, Molly McCoy and Joseph C. Kolars*
Author Affiliations
Departments of Neurology and Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Department of Medicine (Infectious Disease), University of Washington, Seattle, Washington; Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology and Pharmacology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii; Global Research, Education and Collaboration in Health (REACH) and Departments of Learning Health Sciences and Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Abstract
The Fogarty International Center (FIC) Global Health Fellows Program provides trainees with the opportunity to develop research skills through a mentored research experience, increase their content expertise, and better understand trends in global health research, funding organizations, and pathways to generate support. The Northern Pacific Global Health Fellows Research and Training Consortium, which hosts one of the FIC Global Health Programs, sought to enhance research training by developing, implementing, and evaluating a competency-based curriculum that uses a modular, asynchronous, web-based format. The curriculum has 8 core competencies, 36 learning objectives, and 58 assignments. Nineteen trainees completed their 11-month fellowship, engaged in the curriculum, and provided pre- and post-fellowship self-assessments. Self-assessed scores significantly improved for all competencies. Trainees identified the curriculum as one of the strengths of the program. This competency-based curriculum represents a first step toward creating a framework of global health research competencies on which further efforts could be based.

British Medical Journal
10 January 2015 (vol 350, issue 7990)
http://www.bmj.com/content/350/7990

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Editorials
Two or three doses of human papillomavirus vaccine?
Julia Brotherton, medical director
Author affiliations
BMJ 2015; 350 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g7778 (Published 07 January 2015) Cite this as: BMJ 2015;350:g7778
Switching to two doses looks feasible, but only with careful monitoring
Human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines have the potential to prevent the considerable morbidity and mortality caused by oncogenic HPV types. In the eight years since the vaccines were first licensed, we have seen remarkable reductions in genital warts, HPV infections, and pre-cancerous cervical lesions in vaccinated populations.1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 However, achieving high coverage with three doses of vaccine is challenging in many populations, and the cost of the vaccine has kept it out of reach for many countries. In a linked paper (doi:10.1136/bmj.g7584), Jit and colleagues explore, through modelling, the potential cost effectiveness of a two dose HPV vaccination schedule.9
Both the bivalent and quadrivalent HPV vaccines were initially registered for use as three dose courses given over six months, using the model of subunit vaccines for which multiple doses are needed to generate a sufficient immune response. However, HPV vaccines are notably immunogenic, producing very high and durable antibody responses, and the virus-like particle structure of the vaccines, with their repetitive antigen display, may be stimulating immunity that is more akin to the response generated by viral infections or live vaccines.10 …

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Research
Comparison of two dose and three dose human papillomavirus vaccine schedules: cost effectiveness analysis based on transmission model
Mark Jit, mathematical modeller and health economist12, Marc Brisson, associate professor of mathematical epidemiology and health economics345, Jean-François Laprise, mathematical modeller3, Yoon Hong Choi, mathematical modeller16
Author affiliations
BMJ 2015; 350 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g7584 (Published 07 January 2015) Cite this as: BMJ 2015;350:g7584
Abstract
Objective
To investigate the incremental cost effectiveness of two dose human papillomavirus vaccination and of additionally giving a third dose.
Design
Cost effectiveness study based on a transmission dynamic model of human papillomavirus vaccination. Two dose schedules for bivalent or quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccines were assumed to provide 10, 20, or 30 years’ vaccine type protection and cross protection or lifelong vaccine type protection without cross protection. Three dose schedules were assumed to give lifelong vaccine type and cross protection.
Setting
United Kingdom.
Population
Males and females aged 12-74 years.
Interventions
No, two, or three doses of human papillomavirus vaccine given routinely to 12 year old girls, with an initial catch-up campaign to 18 years.
Main outcome measure
Costs (from the healthcare provider’s perspective), health related utilities, and incremental cost effectiveness ratios.
Results
Giving at least two doses of vaccine seems to be highly cost effective across the entire range of scenarios considered at the quadrivalent vaccine list price of £86.50 (€109.23; $136.00) per dose. If two doses give only 10 years’ protection but adding a third dose extends this to lifetime protection, then the third dose also seems to be cost effective at £86.50 per dose (median incremental cost effectiveness ratio £17 000, interquartile range £11 700-£25 800). If two doses protect for more than 20 years, then the third dose will have to be priced substantially lower (median threshold price £31, interquartile range £28-£35) to be cost effective. Results are similar for a bivalent vaccine priced at £80.50 per dose and when the same scenarios are explored by parameterising a Canadian model (HPV-ADVISE) with economic data from the United Kingdom.
Conclusions
Two dose human papillomavirus vaccine schedules are likely to be the most cost effective option provided protection lasts for at least 20 years. As the precise duration of two dose schedules may not be known for decades, cohorts given two doses should be closely monitored

Conflict and Health
[Accessed 10 January 2015]
http://www.conflictandhealth.com/
Case study
Implementing people-centred health systems governance in 3 provinces and 11 districts of Afghanistan: a case study
Anwari Z, Shukla M, Maseed BA, Wardak GF, Sardar S, Matin J, Rashed GS, Hamedi SA et al. Conflict and Health 2015, 9:2 (7 January 2015)

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Case study
Lessons learnt from coordinating emergency health response during humanitarian crises: a case study of implementation of the health cluster in northern Uganda
Olu O, Usman A, Woldetsadik S, Chamla D and Walker O Conflict and Health 2015, 9:1 (7 January 2015)
Abstract (provisional)
Background
Between the late 1980s and 2000s, Northern Uganda experienced over twenty years of armed conflict between the Government of Uganda and Lord’s Resistance Army. The resulting humanitarian crisis led to displacement of a large percentage of the population and disruption of the health care system of the area. To better coordinate the emergency health response to the crisis, the humanitarian cluster approach was rolled out in Uganda in October 2005. The health, nutrition and HIV/AIDS cluster became fully operational at the national level and in all the conflict affected districts of Acholi and Lango in April 2006. It was phased out in 2011 following the return of the internally displaced persons to their original homelands.
Conclusions
The implementation of the health cluster approach in the northern Uganda and other humanitarian crises in Africa highlights a few issues which are important for strengthening health coordination in similar settings. While health clusters are often welcome during humanitarian crises because they have the possibility to improve health coordination, their potential to create an additional layer of bureaucracy into already complex and bureaucratic humanitarian response architecture is a real concern. Although anecdotal evidence has showed that implementation of the humanitarian reforms and the roll out of the cluster approach did improve humanitarian response in northern Uganda; it is critical to establish a mechanism for measuring the direct impact of health clusters on improving health outcomes, and in reducing morbidity and mortality during humanitarian crisis. Successful implementation of health clusters requires availability of other components of the humanitarian reforms such as predictable funding, strong humanitarian coordination system and strong partnerships. Importantly, successful health clusters require political commitment of national humanitarian and government stakeholders.
Recommendations:
Although leaving health coordination entirely to governments (in crises where they exist) may result in political interference and ineffectiveness of the aid response efforts, the role of government in health coordination cannot be overemphasized. Health clusters must respond to the rapidly changing humanitarian environment and the changing needs of populations affected by humanitarian crises as they evolve from emergency towards transition, early recovery and development.

Food Policy
Volume 51, In Progress (February 2015)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03069192
Measuring and understanding the drivers of agricultural innovation: Evidence from Ireland
Original Research Article
Pages 1-8
Doris Läpple, Alan Renwick, Fiona Thorne
Abstract
Despite the well-known importance of innovation to productivity growth in the agri-food sector, very few studies have attempted to measure farm-level innovation. This article contributes to the literature by developing an agricultural innovation index that goes beyond measuring innovation through adopted technologies. Based on this index, drivers and barriers of innovation are assessed. The findings reveal that innovation efforts differ between farm systems. Moreover, farm size and intensity, access to credit and agricultural education foster innovation, while increasing age and working off-farm hinder innovation. The paper concludes with policy recommendations to facilitate innovation in the agri-food sector.

Innovation grants to smallholder farmers: Revisiting the key assumptions in the impact pathways
Original Research Article
Pages 9-23
Giel Ton, Laurens Klerkx, Karin de Grip, Marie-Luise Rau
Abstract
Grant funds specifically targeted to smallholder farmers to facilitate innovation are a promising agricultural policy instrument. They stimulate smallholders to experiment with improved practices, and to engage with research, extension and business development services providers. However, evidence on impact and effectiveness of these grants is scarce. Partly, because attribution of changes in practices and performance to the grant alone is challenging, and the grant is often invested in innovation processes that benefitted from other support in the past. We discuss three modalities: vouchers, business development matching grants and farmer-driven innovation support funds. Our review points to an important and transversal outcome area of innovation grant systems: the creation of human and social capital to sustain creative thinking and innovative practices. Harmonising measurement on these outcomes could enhance the usefulness and comparability of impact studies and facilitate benchmarking of different policy options for smallholder innovation.

IDRiM Journal
Vol 4, No 2 (2014)
http://idrimjournal.com/index.php/idrim/issue/view/12

Decision-Making, Policy Choices and Community Rebuilding after the Tohoku Disaster
Junko Mochizuki
Abstract
The long-term reconstruction following the 2011 tsunami disaster has required extensive deliberation at all levels of government that is now redefining and redrawing the future of the region. Based on semi-structured interviews conducted with municipal government officials and community leaders in the cities of Miyako and Kesennuma in January 2013, this study identifies the ways in which local communities have defined, prioritized and adopted a set of objectives and measures for long-term reconstruction, and how these will likely to affect the disaster risk and community rebuilding in the coming years. Particular attention is paid to the debate surrounding tsunami defense measures, including the rebuilding of sea walls, the relocation of communities, and other land-use adjustments, and how multi-layered governance plays out in balancing the need for swift recovery, optimal resource allocation, and future disaster risk reduction. Since the 2011 Great Tohoku Earthquake, the national recovery policy has stressed the need to build ‘tsunami-resilient’ communities, envisioning the construction of multi-buffer tsunami defense systems characterized by coastal land-use restrictions based on nationally determined guidelines of relatively frequent to extreme rare tsunamis. While this hands-on approach by the national government has contributed to streamlining the reconstruction processes, limited opportunities for citizen participation have contributed to tensions among stakeholders, calling into question the community ownership of decision-making following a disaster.

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Disaster Risk and Effect of Informal Insurance on Human Capital Formation in Rural Areas of Developing Countries
Shiyu ZHANG, Muneta YOKOMATSU
Abstract
”Disaster and poverty” has become one of the main topics of global development for decades. Nowadays, in the rural areas of many developing countries, farmers’ fate is still decided by natural conditions. They have little savings and little chance to finance from the banks. Obviously, they are extremely vulnerable to the natural disasters like droughts, floods, typhoons and earthquakes. Many methodologies dealing with poverties in developing countries have been investigated from a variety of aspects. However, few of these researches focus on human capital. Recognizing the importance of human capital in agricultural activity, this paper develops a methodology to analyze the human capital formation under disaster risk in rural areas of developing countries. Taking intergenerational externalities into consideration, this paper builds a three-period overlapping generations model. It is assumed that after the occurrence of a disaster, farmers are forced to leave rural areas if they cannot get enough food from their harvest to survive. In the rural areas where no insurance is provided by financial sector, farmers try to keep staying in their village in various ways of what we call informal insurance. In order to figure out the effect of these informal insurance mechanism on the formation of human capital as well as emigration from rural areas, Quasi-Credit contracts and saving of livestock are considered in the latter part of the paper. Findings in this paper show that farmers are exposed to the risk of emigration without informal insurance and the existence of a vicious circle between low human capital and little human capital investment is confirmed. Moreover, Quasi-Credit contract could prevent large-scale emigration but might bring down the incentive to invest in human capital at the same time. However, within a certain range, saving of livestock might be effective to reduce emigration and raise the human capital investment as well.

Infectious Diseases of Poverty
[Accessed 10 January 2015]
http://www.idpjournal.com/content

Letter to the Editor
Are surveillance response systems enough to effectively combat and contain the Ebola outbreak?
Viroj Wiwanitkit, Ernest Tambo, Emmanuel Chidiebere Ugwu, Jeane Yonkeu Ngogang and Xiao-Nong Zhou
Infectious Diseases of Poverty 2015, 4:7 doi:10.1186/2049-9957-4-7
Published: 9 January 2015
Abstract (provisional)
The epidemic of the Ebola virus infection in West Africa in 2014 has become a worldwide concern. Due to the nature of the disease, which has an extremely high mortality potential, this outbreak has received much attention from researchers and public health workers. An article entitled “Need of surveillance response systems to combat Ebola outbreaks and other emerging infectious diseases in African countries,” published in the journal Infectious Diseases of Poverty in August 2014, concluded that a good surveillance system to monitor disease transmission dynamics is essential and needs to be implemented to combat the outbreak. Issues regarding the limitation of the passive surveillance system have been raised by Professor Viroj Wiwanitkit, who emphasizes the need for an active disease detection system such as mass screening in this letter to editor. The different function between passive and active surveillance system in combating the disease outbreak has been agreed upon by Ernest Tambo et al. There have also been discussions between Wiwanitkit and Tambo et al. on the following issues: (i) the extreme resource limitations in outbreak areas, (ii) new technology to improve the available systems. Further recommendations echoed in this letter to editor by Wiwanitkit, who outlined the research priorities on the development of appropriate combined disease monitoring systems and good policy to allocate available tools and technology in resource-limited settings for epidemic scenarios. The journal’s editor, Professor Xiao-Nong Zhou, has therefore collated all parts of these discussions between authors in this letter to editor paper, in order to further promote research on a combined active and passive system to combat the present extending Ebola outbreak.

International Health
Volume 7 Issue 1 January 2015
http://inthealth.oxfordjournals.org/content/7/1.toc

EDITORIAL
Chikungunya: here today, where tomorrow?
Stephen Higgs and Dana L. Vanlandingham
Until 2005, chikungunya virus (CHIKV) was a relatively little-studied pathogen restricted to parts of Africa and Asia. Epidemics were sporadic and separated by years of quiescence. In late 2004, the East Central South African genotype of CHIKV moved from Kenya onto the Indian Ocean island of Comoros. The global onslaught of CHIKV had begun. In November of 2005, viral isolates were identified with, what might normally be regarded as an insignificant, single alanine to valine mutation at position 226 of the envelope E1 gene.1 This simple mutation had a remarkable effect; making the virus approximately 100 times more infectious to the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, and it was this species that was transmitting the virus rather than the usual vector, Aedes aegypti.2 Subsequent ‘second-step’ mutations further enhanced the ability of the virus to infect and/or disseminate from the midgut to the salivary glands in Ae. albopictus.3 However, these viruses can still be transmitted by Ae. aegypti. Within a year of the Indian Ocean lineage emerging, over 250 000 people had been infected. An epidemic in Asia began within months and has infected several million people in India and other Asian countries. Chikungunya infections occurred in many countries as a result of people travelling from areas with active transmission. The presence of tiger mosquito vector has been critical to enable localized CHIKV outbreaks in Italy and France. This species continues to invade new territory…

Human rabies deaths in Africa: breaking the cycle of indifference
Betty Dodeta,*, Mathurin C. Tejiokemb, Abdou-Rahman Aguemonc and Hervé Bourhyd
Author Affiliations
aAfroREB coordinator, Dodet Bioscience, 6B rue de Verdun, 69300 Caluire et Cuire, France
bEpidemiology and Public Health Service, Centre Pasteur du Cameroun, Yaoundé, Cameroon
cFaculté des Sciences de la Santé, 01 BP 188, Cotonou, Bénin
dInstitut Pasteur, Unité Dynamique des lyssavirus et adaptation à l’hôte, WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Rabies, Paris, France
Received July 22, 2014.
Revision received September 3, 2014.
Accepted September 3, 2014.
Abstract
The current outbreak of Ebola virus disease has mobilized the international community against this deadly disease. However, rabies, another deadly disease, is greatly affecting the African continent, with an estimated 25 000 deaths every year. And yet, the disease can be prevented by a vaccine, if necessary with immunoglobulin, even when administered after exposure to the rabies virus. Rabies victims die because of neglect and ignorance, because they are not aware of these life-saving biologicals, or because they cannot access them or do not have the money to pay for them. Breaking the cycle of indifference of rabies deaths in humans in Africa should be a priority of governments, international organizations and all stakeholders involved.

High coverage of vitamin A supplementation and measles vaccination during an integrated Maternal and Child Health Week in Sierra Leone
Fatmata F. Sesaya,*, Mary H. Hodgesa, Habib I. Kamaraa, Mohamed Turaya, Adam Wolfeb, Thomas T. Sambac, Aminata S. Koromad, Wogba Kamarae, Amadou Fallf, Pamela Mitulaf, Ishata Contehf, Nuhu Makshag and Amara Jambaih
Author Affiliations
aHelen Keller International, PO Box 369, Freetown, Sierra Leone
bColumbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY USA
cChild Health and Expanded Program on Immunization, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Freetown, Sierra Leone
dNutrition Program, Ministry of Health and Sanitation Sierra Leone, Youyi Building Brookfields, Freetown Sierra Leone
eNational HIV/AIDS Secretariat, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Kingharman Road Freetown, Sierra Leone
fWorld Health Organization, Country Office, Sierra Leone and Inter Country Support Team for West Africa (IST-WA)
gUnited Nations Children’s Fund, Country Office, Sierra Leone
hDirectorate of Disease Prevention and Control, Ministry of Health and Sanitation, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Abstract
Background
In May 2012, the twice-yearly Maternal and Child Health Week (MCHW) integrated vitamin A supplementation (VAS) and supplementary measles vaccination to reach all children 6–59 months in Sierra Leone. Following the MCHW, a post event coverage survey was conducted to validate VAS coverage and assess adverse events following immunization.
Methods
Using the WHO Expanded Program on Immunization sampling methodology, 30 clusters were randomly selected using population proportionate to size sampling. Fourteen caregivers of children 6–59 months were interviewed per cluster for precision of ±5%. Responses were collected via mobile phones using EpiSurveyor.
Results
Overall VAS and measles coverage was 91.9% and 91.6%, respectively, with no significant differences by age group, sex, religion or occupation. Major reasons given for not receiving VAS and measles vaccination were not knowing about the MCHW or being out of the area. Significantly more mild adverse events (fever, pain at injection site) were reported via the post event coverage survey (29.1%) than MCHW (0.01%) (p<0.0001).
Conclusion
The MCHW reached >90% of children in Sierra Leone with equitable coverage. Increased reporting of mild adverse events during the survey may be attributed to delayed onset after measles vaccination and/or direct inquiry from enumerators. Even mild adverse events following immunization requires strengthened reporting during and after vaccination campaigns.

JAMA
January 6, 2015, Vol 313, No. 1
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/issue.aspx

Viewpoint | January 6, 2015
The President’s National Security Agenda – Curtailing Ebola, Safeguarding the Future
FREE
Lawrence O. Gostin, JD1; Henry A. Waxman, JD2; William Foege, MD, MPH3
[+] Author Affiliations
JAMA. 2015;313(1):27-28. doi:10.1001/jama.2014.16572.
[Excerpt]
The Ebola epidemic is projected to affect tens of thousands in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea, with immense economic and social costs. Even in the United States, where only 1 patient with Ebola virus disease has died, the disease has spurred public fear, tested the readiness of the public health system, and led to measures such as enhanced border screening and state quarantines. The lesson of Ebola is clear: strong, resilient health systems are needed in Africa to curtail the outbreak at its source and in the United States to ameliorate risks and reassure the public.

The United States has led the global response to Ebola, devoting significant financial and human resources, deploying military troops, and sponsoring a groundbreaking United Nations Security Council resolution. Although there is some evidence that the spread of the disease is slowing in Liberia, the response of the United States is still not complete. Health systems in West Africa have been overwhelmed, and the US domestic public health system was not initially prepared, with inadequate training of and protection for health workers and inconsistent exercise of public health powers. This should not be a surprise given the severe budget cuts of recent years, including a 10% reduction in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2013 budget1 and the loss of more than 50 000 state public health professionals.2

President Obama is trying to address these challenges. On November 5, 2014, he submitted a $6.2 billion emergency supplemental funding request to Congress to improve domestic and global health capacities in 3 critical areas: a surge of resources for containment and treatment in West Africa; enhanced prevention and detection of, and response to, Ebola entering the United States; and, perhaps most important, buttressing health systems to respond rapidly and flexibly to all hazards in the future.3 Epidemics will occur in the future. It is urgent that Congress support his request…

JAMA Pediatrics
January 2015, Vol 169, No. 1
http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/issue.aspx

Viewpoint | January 2015
Advancing Children’s Rights and Ensuring the Well-being of Children
Jonathan Todres, JD1
[+] Author Affiliations
JAMA Pediatr. 2015;169(1):5-6. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2014.2470.
[Excerpt]
On November 20, 2014, the global community will celebrate the 25th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most comprehensive international legal instrument on children’s rights. The Convention is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history, ratified by 194 countries. Only the United States, Somalia, and South Sudan have not ratified it. The United States signed the Convention in 1995 but, almost 20 years later, the United States has taken no further action (a treaty becomes legally binding only following ratification). Yet, numerous US children continue to experience various harms. Because physicians witness many children’s rights issues, pediatricians are well-positioned to inform policymakers on challenges children confront and the value of ensuring the rights of all children…

Journal of Infectious Diseases
Volume 211 Issue 3 February 1, 2015
http://jid.oxfordjournals.org/content/current

EDITORIAL COMMENTARY
Delayed BCG Vaccination—Time to Take a Shot
Alexander W. Kay1 and Catherine A. Blish2,3
Author Affiliations
1Department of Pediatrics
2Department of Medicine
3Stanford Immunology, Stanford University School of Medicine, California
(See the major article by Toukam Tchakoute et al on pages 338–46.)
[Excerpt]
The BCG vaccine is often derided for the lack of efficacy in preventing Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and pulmonary disease in adults. However, BCG vaccine remains a highly effective and cost-efficient intervention to prevent tuberculous meningitis and miliary tuberculosis in infants, reducing the incidence of these life-threatening and debilitating infections by approximately 75% [1, 2]. In addition, BCG vaccine coverage rates typically exceed those of other vaccines because it can be administered at birth as a single vaccination [3].

However, this strength of the BCG vaccination strategy has become a liability because of the risks of administering BCG vaccine to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)–infected infants. The HIV diagnosis is typically not made until the second or third month of life in resource-limited settings, and BCG vaccination in this population results in unacceptably high rates of disseminated BCG disease of 417–992 cases per 100,000 vaccinations, with a mortality of approximately 75% [4–6]. To put this in perspective, this rate of disseminated BCG disease exceeds the rate of disseminated disease due to M. tuberculosis in the same South African population of HIV-infected infants, which is estimated to be 241 cases per 100,000 [7]. In light of this significant risk for the vaccine to cause harm, the World Health Organization (WHO) now identifies known HIV infection in infants, or HIV exposure and symptoms concerning for HIV, as contraindications to BCG vaccination [8, 9]. The rationale for this recommendation is augmented by the unknown clinical efficacy of BCG vaccination in HIV-infected infants and the immunologic data suggesting that BCG given at birth is unlikely to be efficacious in this population [10]….

The Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics
Winter 2014 Volume 42, Issue 4 Pages 408–602
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jlme.2014.42.issue-4/issuetoc
Special Issue: SYMPOSIUM: The Buying and Selling of Health Care

Global Emergency Legal Responses to the 2014 Ebola Outbreak: Public Health and the Law (pages 595–601)
James G. Hodge Jr., Leila Barraza, Gregory Measer and Asha Agrawal
Article first published online: 6 JAN 2015 | DOI: 10.1111/jlme.12179
[No abstract]

Journal of Medical Ethics
January 2015, Volume 41, Issue 1
http://jme.bmj.com/content/current
JME40: Good medical ethics

Paper
The impossibility of informed consent?
Kenneth Boyd
Received 1 September 2014
Revised 26 September 2014
Accepted 23 October 2014
Abstract
The problematic nature of informed consent to medical treatment and research, and its relation to autonomy, trust and clinical practice, has been addressed on many occasions and from a variety of ethical perspectives in the pages of the Journal of Medical Ethics. This paper gives an account of how discussion of these issues has developed and changed, by describing a number of significant contributions to these debates which provide examples of ‘doing good medical ethics’ over the 40 years of the Journal’s publication.