Start Network [to 11 April 2015]
http://www.start-network.org/news-blog/#.U9U_O7FR98E
[Consortium of British Humanitarian Agencies]

.
Second Start Fund activation for Yemen provides £295K for displaced communities
April 7, 2015
Posted by Tegan Rogers in News.

The Start Fund has awarded £294,720 to Action Against Hunger and International Medical Corps to respond to conflict and displacement in Yemen. This is the second Start Fund allocation for the ongoing conflict in Yemen, which has been classed as a forgotten emergency by ECHO, appearing in its forgotten crisis assessment (FCA) index every year for the past six years.

International Medical Corps raised the alert one week ago, following the recent escalation of violence in the country. The alert note described how “this complex crisis, though long standing, suddenly deteriorated at the onset of Saudi airstrikes.” It went on to describe how there is a critical lack of support for those affected by the conflict, because many NGO staff operating in the area have been evacuated, access has been restricted, and supplied are limited.

The briefing note produced by ACAPS following the alert explains the impact of the recent deterioration…

People In Aid [to 11 April 2015]
http://www.peopleinaid.org/

.
Take part in the People Count 2015 survey
You are invited to take part in the People Count 2015 survey that enables organisations to compare data on key HR and workforce metrics with their peers.
Read the full story (9 April 2015)

New case study: Female mine deactivating teams in Laos provide a different perspective on women in the workplace
This is the final article in our month-long series highlighting gender issues and women in leadership that began on International Women’s Day, March 8. In this case study, the Mines Advisory Group (MAG) illustrates the context and conditions in which female mine deactivation teams work, and the challenges they face in the most bombed country in the world, Laos.
Read the full story (8 April 2015)

How to unleash the human potential of your people to drive organisational effectiveness
We are currently in The Human Age, a volatile and fast-changing new era that puts unprecedented value on human potential as the driver of business success. This is the view shared by ManpowerGroup, guest author in our research report, The State of HR 2014: A Question of Impact. Human talent is now the catalyst for economic, political and social change, as well as the source of inspiration, transformation, innovation and new developments according to ManpowerGroup. The Human Age also poses great challenges to businesses and leaders. The following is a short summary of the article, which can be accessed in full from the State of HR report.
Read the full story (7 April 2015)

BMGF (Gates Foundation) [to 11 April 2015]
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases

.
APRIL 09, 2015
New Chief Human Resources OfficerJoins Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
SEATTLE (April 9, 2015) – The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced that Steven Rice will join as Chief Human Resources Officer. Rice joins the foundation from Juniper Networks, where he most recently served as Executive Vice President of Human Resources.

Ford Foundation [to 11 April 2015]
http://www.fordfoundation.org/newsroom
.
7 April 2015:
Foundation Launches Effort to Advance Arts, Culture, and Social Justice in the 21st Century
Building on the foundation’s legacy of commitment to the arts, the distinguished visiting fellows will explore the power of culture.

The Ford Foundation today announced a new effort centered on the roles art and culture play in illuminating and addressing urgent issues of equity, opportunity, and justice in the U.S. and around the globe. The yearlong exploration, The Art of Change, which builds on the foundation’s decades-long commitment to advancing freedom of expression, reaffirms the central importance of creativity and cultural expression to healthy societies at a time when they are increasingly under threat.

“Changes in the world around us demand, more than ever, that we recognize and celebrate art, creativity, and freedom of expression as the revolutionary forces they are,” said Darren Walker, president of Ford Foundation. “Widening inequality, growing extremism, evolving technology, and volatile markets render art—and its unique role in effecting social change—more important, not less, for societies today.”

Over the next 12 months, the Ford Foundation will bring together leading thinkers, artists, cultural leaders, and activists from around the world for a series of provocative conversations to better understand the interplay of art, creativity, equality, and justice. The initiative will help determine how the foundation can most effectively advance the arts—and by, extension, drive social change—in an increasingly diverse and evolving world…

.

7 April 2015:
The Art of Change: Meet Our Visiting Fellows
Drawn from around the world, each visiting fellow is renowned in their field for their resolute focus on themes of arts and equity.

BMC Infectious Diseases
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcinfectdis/content
(Accessed 11 April 2015)
.
Research article
Virologic and immunologic failure, drug resistance and mortality during the first 24 months postpartum among HIV-infected women initiated on antiretroviral therapy for life in the Mitra plus Study, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Matilda Ngarina, Charles Kilewo, Katarina Karlsson, Said Aboud, Annika Karlsson, Gaetano Marrone, Germana Leyna, Anna Ekström, Gunnel Biberfeld BMC Infectious Diseases 2015, 15:175 (8 April 2015)

Food Security
Volume 7, Issue 2, April 2015
http://link.springer.com/journal/12571/7/2/page/1

.
Feeding More than 9 Billion by 2050: Challenges and Opportunities
.
Editorial
Feeding more than 9 billion by 2050: challenges and opportunities
Richard Strange
This issue of Food Security contains papers (with one exception), which arose out of a workshop sponsored by the OECD Co-operative Research Programme on Biological Resource Management for Sustainable Agricultural Systems. I am indebted to the three guest editors whose photographs and biographies appear below for their invaluable help in preparing the papers for publication.

.
Original Paper
Towards food security by 2050
R. Quentin Grafton, Carsten Daugbjerg, M. Ejaz Qureshi Pages 179-183

.
Original Paper
The challenges of sustainably feeding a growing planet
Thomas W. Hertel Pages 185-198

.
Original Paper
The debate over sustainable intensification
H. Charles J. Godfray Pages 199-208

.
Original Paper
Food and water gaps to 2050: preliminary results from the global food and water system (GFWS) platform
R. Quentin Grafton, John Williams, Qiang Jiang Pages 209-220

.
Original Paper
Sustainable food production: constraints, challenges and choices by 2050
Fiona C. McKenzie, John Williams Pages 221-233

.
Original Paper
Sustainable intensification: overcoming land and water constraints on food production
Colin J. Chartres, Andrew Noble Pages 235-245

.
Original Paper
Water productivity and food security: considering more carefully the farm-level perspective
Dennis Wichelns Pages 247-260

.
Original Paper
Feeding 9 billion by 2050 – Putting fish back on the menu
Christophe Béné, Manuel Barange, Rohana Subasinghe, Per Pinstrup-Andersen… Pages 261-274

.
Original Paper
The role of international trade in managing food security risks from climate change
Uris Lantz C. Baldos, Thomas W. Hertel Pages 275-290

.
Original Paper
Food and biosecurity: livestock production and towards a world free of foot-and-mouth disease
Tom Kompas, Hoa Thi Minh Nguyen, Pham Van Ha Pages 291-302

.
Original Paper
The coffee rust crises in Colombia and Central America (2008–2013): impacts, plausible causes and proposed solutions
Jacques Avelino, Marco Cristancho, Selena Georgiou, Pablo Imbach… Pages 303-321

.
Original Paper
Oil prices, biofuels production and food security: past trends and future challenges
Hang To, R. Quentin Grafton Pages 323-336

.
Original Paper
Tracking phosphorus security: indicators of phosphorus vulnerability in the global food system
Dana Cordell, Stuart White Pages 337-350

.
Original Paper
Input constraints to food production: the impact of soil degradation
R. J. Rickson, L. K. Deeks, A. Graves, J. A. H. Harris, M. G. Kibblewhite… Pages 351-364

.
Original Paper
The role of technology transfer to improve fertiliser use efficiency
Miles Grafton, Ian Yule Pages 365-373

.
Original Paper
Genomic breeding for food, environment and livelihoods
John Rivers, Norman Warthmann, Barry J. Pogson, Justin O. Borevitz Pages 375-382

.
Original Paper
Food security and trade: reconciling discourses in the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Trade Organization
Arild Aurvåg Farsund, Carsten Daugbjerg, Oluf Langhelle Pages 383-391

.
Original Paper
Public policies for improving food and nutrition security at different scales
M. Ejaz Qureshi, John Dixon, Mellissa Wood Pages 393-403

Health Affairs
April 2015; Volume 34, Issue 4
http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/current

.
Cost & Quality Of Cancer Care
A New Priority For Low-Income Countries: Fighting Cancer
Joanne Silberner1
Abstract
For decades, infectious diseases were seen as the biggest health threat in the developing world. That’s beginning to change.

Infectious Diseases of Poverty
http://www.idpjournal.com/content
[Accessed 11 April 2015]

.
Scoping Review
Ebola, the killer virus
Haider Ghazanfar1*, Fizza Orooj1, Muhammad Ahmed Abdullah1 and Ali Ghazanfar2
Author Affiliations
Infectious Diseases of Poverty 2015, 4:15 doi:10.1186/s40249-015-0048-y
Published: 8 April 2015
Abstract
Ebola virus disease (EVD) has mostly affected economically deprived countries as limited resources adversely affect a country’s infrastructure and administration. Probing into the factors that led to the widespread outbreak, setting forth plans to counter EVD cases in developing countries, and devising definitive measures to limit the spread of the disease are essential steps that must be immediately taken. In this review we summarize the pathogenesis of EVD and the factors that led to its spread. We also highlight interventions employed by certain countries that have successfully limited the epidemic, and add a few preventive measures after studying the current data. According to the available data, barriers to prevent and control the disease in affected countries include irresolute and disorganized health systems, substandard sanitary conditions, poor personal hygiene practices, and false beliefs and stigma related to EVD. The public health sector along with the respective chief authorities in developing countries must devise strategies, keeping the available resources in mind, to deal with the outbreak before it occurs. As a first step, communities should be educated on EVD’s symptoms, history, mode of transmission, and methods of protection, including the importance of personal hygiene practices, via seminars, newspapers, and other social media. A popular opinion leader (POL) giving this information would further help to remove the misconception about the nature of the disease and indirectly improve the quality of life of affected patients and their families.

International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ecology
Volume 22, Issue 3, 2015
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tsdw20/current#.VSj2SpMw1hX

.
Deforestation of montane cloud forest in the Central Highlands of Guatemala: contributing factors and implications for sustainability in Q’eqchi’ communities
DOI:10.1080/13504509.2014.998738
I. Popeab*, D. Bowenc, J. Harbora, G. Shaod, L. Zanottie & G. Burniskeb
pages 201-212
Abstract
Cloud forest in the Central Highlands of Guatemala provides important ecosystem services for the Q’eqchi’ Maya but has been disappearing at an increasing rate in recent decades. This research documents changes in cloud forest cover, explores some contributing factors to deforestation, and considers forest preservation and food security implications for Q’eqchi’ communities. We used a transdisciplinary framework that synthesized remote sensing/GIS analysis of land cover change, focus group dialogs, and surveys. Expansion of subsistence agriculture is a key proximate cause of cloud forest removal, followed by extraction of fuelwood and larger-scale logging operations. Predisposing environmental factors such as rugged topography, steep slopes, and poor soils contribute to low agricultural productivity that contributes to increased conversion of forest to agricultural land. The key underlying driving forces for deforestation locally are population growth and subdivision of land. Population growth is increasing the demand for agricultural land and, as a result, the Q’eqchi’ clear the forest to meet the need for increased food production. Furthermore, population growth is driving subdivision of land, decreasing fallow periods, and putting additional strain on poor soils, all of which exacerbate land degradation. Given the increase in population in the region, food production must be improved on existing agricultural land to avoid the need to put more land into production to meet food requirements. Thus, efforts to sustainably increase agricultural productivity are fundamental to efforts to conserve the cloud forest and to safeguard essential ecosystem services.

.
Role of ecotourism in environmental conservation and socioeconomic development in Annapurna conservation area, Nepal
DOI:10.1080/13504509.2015.1005721
Anup K.C.a*, Kedar Rijalb & Ramesh Prasad Sapkotaa
pages 251-258
Abstract
Ecotourism as a component of the green economy is one of the fastest growing segments of the tourism industry, and focuses on environmental conservation, socioeconomic development and capitalist development. With an objective to identify and quantify impacts of ecotourism on environmental conservation, social and cultural heritage preservation, economic development and enhancement of livelihoods, this study was carried out in the Ghandruk Village Development Committee of Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. Two hundred and forty two households were interviewed, followed by three focus group discussions and five key informant interviews. It can be observed that socioeconomic variables had a positive effect on tourism participation with the exception of age and landholding status having a negative effect. Ecotourism helps in environmental conservation and socioeconomic development. It also helps in increasing employment and entrepreneurship at a local level. Income and expenditure of local people had increased because of ecotourism. Participation in ecotourism, the education level, an increase in productive human capital and an increase in income had enhanced people’s livelihoods. So, awareness and education programmes related to tourism, and strategies to increase the length of stay of visitors would be recommended.

JAMA Pediatrics
April 2015, Vol 169, No. 4
http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/issue.aspx

.
Viewpoint | April 2015
Program Science—A Framework for Improving Global Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health
Maryanne Crockett, MD, MPH, FRCPC, DTM&H1; Lisa Avery, MD, MIH, FRCPC2; James Blanchard, MD, MPH, PhD3
Author Affiliations
JAMA Pediatr. 2015;169(4):305-306. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2015.9.
Extract
In 2000, leaders from 189 countries set forth Millennium Development Goals, 2 of which focused on significant reductions in child mortality and maternal mortality by 2015. Despite substantial progress toward these goals, many countries are lagging, with increasing disparity among countries with differing resources. There is a strong consensus that much of this mortality could be prevented through the effective implementation of known evidence-based interventions.1- 3 In particular, there is evidence that the greatest effect on mortality occurs when efforts are initially focused on the most vulnerable individuals.4 Therefore, the main challenges in reducing mortality relate to how best to improve the availability, quality, and use of these critical interventions, especially for those who most need them. Meeting this challenge will require a better understanding of the distribution and configuration of health services, factors that are associated with enhancing and maintaining the quality of services, and the factors that promote and prevent use of these services along the continuum of care.5 In this regard, academic institutions can and should contribute much more effectively to generate and translate scientific knowledge that will result in better programs to improve maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH). To fulfill this important academic mission, “science must leave the ivory tower and enter the agora,” as Gibbons urged 17 years ago.

.
Editorial | April 2015
The Know, Do, and Quality Gaps in International Maternal and Child Health Care Interventions
James M. Tielsch, PhD1
Author Affiliations
JAMA Pediatr. 2015;169(4):313-314. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2014.3741.
Extract
Tremendous progress has been made in reducing the mortality rates for young children, especially in low- and middle-income countries, with annual deaths down from 12.6 million in 1990 to 6.3 million in 2013.1 Although it is unlikely that number 4 (reduce child mortality) of the Millennium Development Goals set by the United Nations in 20012 will be achieved by the deadline this year, an even more ambitious goal for the elimination of preventable deaths among newborns and children younger than 5 years by 2030 is likely to be set by the United Nations General Assembly in the fall of 2015.3 Discussions about these laudable goals often center on claims such as, “we know what works, we just need to do it.” In fact, estimates of coverage of proven interventions for child survival are significantly lower than needed to maximize the effects, with the most important coverage gaps seen in the areas of family planning, interventions for newborns, and case management of childhood diseases, such as diarrhea, pneumonia, and malaria.4 This is often referred to as the know-do gap. In this issue, Mohanan et al5 provide a distressing description of this gap related to the diagnosis and treatment of diarrhea and pneumonia by health care practitioners in Bihar, India.

.
The Know-Do Gap in Quality of Health Care for Childhood Diarrhea and Pneumonia in Rural India
Manoj Mohanan, PhD; Marcos Vera-Hernández, PhD; Veena Das, PhD; Soledad Giardili, MA; Jeremy D. Goldhaber-Fiebert, PhD; Tracy L. Rabin, MD; Sunil S. Raj, MD; Jeremy I. Schwartz, MD; Aparna Seth, MBA
Includes: Supplemental Content
Editorial: International Maternal and Child Health Care Gaps; James M. Tielsch, PhD

Journal of the Royal Society – Interface
06 May 2015; volume 12, issue 106
http://rsif.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/current

.
A review of back-calculation techniques and their potential to inform mitigation strategies with application to non-transmissible acute infectious diseases
Joseph R. Egan, Ian M. Hall
J. R. Soc. Interface 2015 12 20150096; DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2015.0096. Published 8 April 2015
Abstract
Back-calculation is a process whereby generally unobservable features of an event leading to a disease outbreak can be inferred either in real-time or shortly after the end of the outbreak. These features might include the time when persons were exposed and the source of the outbreak. Such inferences are important as they can help to guide the targeting of mitigation strategies and to evaluate the potential effectiveness of such strategies. This article reviews the process of back-calculation with a particular emphasis on more recent applications concerning deliberate and naturally occurring aerosolized releases. The techniques can be broadly split into two themes: the simpler temporal models and the more sophisticated spatio-temporal models. The former require input data in the form of cases’ symptom onset times, whereas the latter require additional spatial information such as the cases’ home and work locations. A key aspect in the back-calculation process is the incubation period distribution, which forms the initial topic for consideration. Links between atmospheric dispersion modelling, within-host dynamics and back-calculation are outlined in detail. An example of how back-calculation can inform mitigation strategies completes the review by providing improved estimates of the duration of antibiotic prophylaxis that would be required in the response to an inhalational anthrax outbreak.

The Lancet
Apr 11, 2015 Volume 385 Number 9976 p1365-1476
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

.
Editorial
Achieving respectful care for women and babies
The Lancet
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60701-2
Summary
April 11 is the International Day for Maternal Health and Rights, which aims to encourage rights-based, respectful care of women during pregnancy and childbirth. The day was launched last year by the Center for Health and Gender Equity, and co-sponsored by a consortium of maternal health organisations, including Women Deliver and the International Planned Parenthood Federation. These organisations are calling on governments, international institutions, and the global community to officially recognise the day and promote and support this issue.

.
Comment
Making sense of health estimates
Irene Agyepong, Tumani Corrah, Yan Guo, Bruce Hollingsworth, Michael Klag, Kim Longfield, Maria de Fatima Marinho de Souza, Peter Piot, JVR Prasada Rao, John-Arne Røttingen, Peter Smith, Marc Sprenger, Trevor Sutton, Sarah Curran, Edmond SW Ng, on behalf of the Independent Advisory Committee to the Global Burden of Disease
Published Online: 18 March 2015
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60024-1
Summary
Epidemiological data provide the metrics from which burdens attributable to different diseases and conditions causing ill health can be estimated. Comprehensive, consistent, and coherent health estimates, together with information about any associated uncertainties, are indispensable for decision making by governments, non-governmental organisations, practitioners, and national and international funders in helping to gauge and track the changing demands and challenges presented by poor health. Estimates of disease burden are an essential platform for public health policy and priority setting, and for evaluating intervention programmes.

.
Articles
Severe Ebola virus disease with vascular leakage and multiorgan failure: treatment of a patient in intensive care
Timo Wolf, MD, Gerrit Kann, Prof Stephan Becker, MD, Christoph Stephan, MD, Hans-Reinhardt Brodt, MD, Philipp de Leuw, MD, Thomas Grünewald, MD, Thomas Vogl, MD, Prof Volkhard A J Kempf, MD, Prof Oliver T Keppler, MD, Prof Kai Zacharowski, MD
Published Online: 18 December 2014
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)62384-9
Supplementary video
Zacharovsky and colleagues demonstrate infection control procedures for Ebola. Audio/Video – Download File (43.75 MB)
Summary
Background
In the current epidemic of Ebola virus disease in western Africa, many aid workers have become infected. Some of these aid workers have been transferred to specialised hospitals in Europe and the USA for intensified treatment, providing the potential for unique insight into the clinical course of Ebola virus disease under optimised supportive measures in isolation units.
Methods
A 38-year-old male doctor who had contracted an Ebola virus infection in Sierra Leone was airlifted to University Hospital Frankfurt, Germany, on day 5 after disease onset. Within 72 h of admission to the hospital’s high-level isolation unit, the patient developed signs of severe multiorgan failure, including lungs, kidneys, and gastrointestinal tract. In addition to clinical parameters, the diagnostic work-up included radiography, ultrasound, pulse contour cardiac output technology, and microbiological and clinical chemistry analyses. Respiratory failure with pulmonary oedema and biophysical evidence of vascular leak syndrome needed mechanical ventilation. The patient received a 3 day treatment course with FX06 (MChE-F4Pharma, Vienna, Austria), a fibrin-derived peptide under clinical development for vascular leak syndrome. After FX06 administration and concurrent detection of Ebola-virus-specific antibodies and a fall in viral load, vascular leak syndrome and respiratory parameters substantially improved. We gave broad-spectrum empiric antimicrobial therapy and the patient needed intermittent renal replacement therapy. The patient fully recovered.
Findings
This case report shows the feasibility of delivery of successful intensive care therapy to patients with Ebola virus disease under biosafety level 4 conditions.
Interpretation
The effective treatment of vascular leakage and multiorgan failure by combination of ventilatory support, antibiotic treatment, and renal replacement therapy can sustain a patient with severe Ebola virus disease until virological remission. FX06 could potentially be a valuable agent in contribution to supportive therapy.
Funding
University Hospital of Frankfurt.

New England Journal of Medicine
April 9, 2015 Vol. 372 No. 15
http://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

.
Perspective
The Next Epidemic — Lessons from Ebola
Bill Gates
N Engl J Med 2015; 372:1381-1384 April 9, 2015 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1502918
Extract
Perhaps the only good news from the tragic Ebola epidemic in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia is that it may serve as a wake-up call: we must prepare for future epidemics of diseases that may spread more effectively than Ebola. There is a significant chance that an epidemic of a substantially more infectious disease will occur sometime in the next 20 years; after all, we saw major epidemics during the 20th century, including the Spanish influenza epidemic of 1918–1919 and the ongoing pandemic of human immunodeficiency virus. In fact, of all the things that could kill more than 10 million people around the world, the most likely is an epidemic stemming from either natural causes or bioterrorism…

…A Global Call to Action
Despite efforts by the United States and a few other countries, there are still big holes in the world’s ability to respond to an epidemic. Other countries may be more likely to step up if they see an overall plan and understand their role in it. We need a rigorous study of the cost of building a global warning and response system and a plan for contributions from various countries.
Through the United Nations, some global institution could be empowered and funded to coordinate the system. The United Nations and the WHO are studying the lessons from the Ebola epidemic and ways to improve international crisis management; these evaluations can provide a starting point for discussions of ways to strengthen the WHO’s capacity and about which parts of the process it should lead and which ones others (including the World Bank and the G7 countries) should lead in close coordination. The conversation should include military alliances such as NATO, which should make epidemic response a priority. The final arrangement should include a reserve corps of experts with the broad range of skills needed in an epidemic.
An epidemic is one of the few catastrophes that could set the world back drastically in the next few decades. By building a global warning and response system, we can prepare for it and prevent millions of deaths.

Recommendations for Preparing for Future Epidemics
The world needs to build a warning and response system for outbreaks. This system should
– be coordinated by a global institution that is given enough authority and funding to be effective,
– enable fast decision making at a global level,
– expand investment in research and development and clarify regulatory pathways for developing new tools and approaches,
– improve early warning and detection systems, including scalable everyday systems that can be expanded during an epidemic,
– involve a reserve corps of trained personnel and volunteers,
– strengthen health systems in low- and middle-income countries, and
– incorporate preparedness exercises to identify the ways in which the response system needs to improve.

PLOS Currents: Disasters
[Accessed 11 April 2015]
http://currents.plos.org/disasters/

.
Community Disaster Resilience: a Systematic Review on Assessment Models and Tools
April 8, 2015 • Research article
Introduction: Recent years have witnessed community disaster resilience becoming one of the most heavily supported and advocated approach to disaster risk management. However, its application has been influenced by the lack of assessment tools. This study reviews studies conducted using the resilience concept and examines the tools, models, and methods adopted. It examines the domains, indicators, and indices have been considered in the tools. It provides a critical analysis of the assessment tools available for evaluating community disaster resilience (CDR).
Methods: We investigated international electronic databases including Scopus, MEDLINE through PubMed, ISI Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health (CINAHL), and Google Scholar with no limitation on date, and type of articles. The search terms and strategy were as follow: (Disaster* OR Emergenc*) AND (Resilience OR Resilient OR Resiliency) that were applied for titles, abstracts and keywords. Extracted data were analyzed in terms of studied hazards, types of methodology, domains, and indicators of CDR assessment.
Results: Of 675 publications initially identified, the final analysis was conducted on 17 full text articles. These studies presented ten models, tools, or indices for CDR assessment. These evinced a diverse set of models with regard to the domains, indicators and the kind of hazard described. Considerable inter dependency between and among domains and indicators also emerged from this analysis.
Conclusion: The disparity between the articles using the resilience concept and those that offer some approach to measurement (675 vs. 17) indicates the conceptual and measurement complexity in CDR and the fact that the concept may be being used without regard to how CDR should be operationalized and assessed. Of those that have attempted to assess CDR, the level of conceptual diversity indicates limited agreement about how to operationalize the concept. As a way forward we summarize the models identified in the literature and suggest that, as a starting point for the systematic operationalization of CDR, that existing indicators of community disaster resilience be classified in five domains. These are social, economic, institutional, physical and natural domains. A need to use appropriate and effective methods to quantify and weigh them with regard to their relative contributions to resilience is identified, as is a need to consider how these levels interrelate to influence resilience. Although assessment of disaster resilience especially at the community level will inform disaster risk reduction strategies, attempts to systematically do so are in preliminary phases. Further empirical investigation is needed to develop a operational and measurable CDR model.

PLoS Currents: Outbreaks
http://currents.plos.org/outbreaks/
(Accessed 11 April 2015)

.
Public Knowledge, Perception and Source of Information on Ebola Virus Disease – Lagos, Nigeria; September, 2014
April 8, 2015 • Research
Background: The first ever outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in Nigeria was declared in July, 2014. Level of public knowledge, perception and adequacy of information on EVD were unknown. We assessed the public preparedness level to adopt disease preventive behavior which is premised on appropriate knowledge, perception and adequate information.
Methods: We enrolled 5,322 respondents in a community-based cross-sectional study. We used interviewer-administered questionnaire to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics, EVD–related knowledge, perception and source of information. We performed univariate and bivariate data analysis using Epi-Info software setting p-value of 0.05 as cut-off for statistical significance.
Results: Mean age of respondents was 34 years (± 11.4 years), 52.3% were males. Forty one percent possessed satisfactory general knowledge; 44% and 43.1% possessed satisfactory knowledge on mode of spread and preventive measures, respectively. Residing in EVD cases districts, male respondents and possessing at least secondary education were positively associated with satisfactory general knowledge (p-value: 0.01, 0.001 and 0.000004, respectively). Seventy one percent perceived EVD as a public health problem while 61% believed they cannot contract the disease. Sixty two percent and 64% of respondents will not shake hands and hug a successfully treated EVD patient respectively. Only 2.2% of respondents practice good hand-washing practice. Television (68.8%) and radio (55.0%) are the most common sources of information on EVD.
Conclusions: Gaps in EVD-related knowledge and perception exist. Targeted public health messages to raise knowledge level, correct misconception and discourage stigmatization should be widely disseminated, with television and radio as media of choice.

PLoS Medicine
(Accessed 11 April 2015)
http://www.plosmedicine.org/

.
Policy Forum
Improving Men’s Participation in Preventing Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV as a Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health Priority in South Africa
Wessel van den Berg, Kirsty Brittain, Gareth Mercer, Dean Peacock, Kathryn Stinson, Hanna Janson, Vuyiseka Dubula
Published: April 7, 2015
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001811
Summary Points
– Involving male partners in programmes to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV may improve programme coverage and infant outcomes.
– Rates of male partner involvement remain low worldwide, and detailed guidelines to increase involvement are lacking in South Africa.
– We recommend that South African national and provincial guidelines and policies for preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission be adjusted to explicitly include a focus on increasing male partner involvement and that they include concrete descriptions of how to achieve this.
– We propose recommendations for improving male partner involvement at a policy, facility, and community level.
– Challenges to improving male partner involvement include the nature of relationships and family structures in South Africa and the capacity of health systems to implement recommendations.

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
http://www.plosntds.org/
(Accessed 11 April 2015)

.
Research Article
Community-Centered Responses to Ebola in Urban Liberia: The View from Below
Sharon Alane Abramowitz, Kristen E. McLean, Sarah Lindley McKune, Kevin Louis Bardosh, Mosoka Fallah, Josephine Monger, Kodjo Tehoungue, Patricia A. Omidian
Published: April 9, 2015
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0003706
Abstract
Background
The West African Ebola epidemic has demonstrated that the existing range of medical and epidemiological responses to emerging disease outbreaks is insufficient, especially in post-conflict contexts with exceedingly poor healthcare infrastructures. In this context, community-based responses have proven vital for containing Ebola virus disease (EVD) and shifting the epidemic curve. Despite a surge in interest in local innovations that effectively contained the epidemic, the mechanisms for community-based response remain unclear. This study provides baseline information on community-based epidemic control priorities and identifies innovative local strategies for containing EVD in Liberia.
Methodology/Principal Findings
This study was conducted in September 2014 in 15 communities in Monrovia and Montserrado County, Liberia – one of the epicenters of the Ebola outbreak. Findings from 15 focus group discussions with 386 community leaders identified strategies being undertaken and recommendations for what a community-based response to Ebola should look like under then-existing conditions. Data were collected on the following topics: prevention, surveillance, care-giving, community-based treatment and support, networks and hotlines, response teams, Ebola treatment units (ETUs) and hospitals, the management of corpses, quarantine and isolation, orphans, memorialization, and the need for community-based training and education. Findings have been presented as community-based strategies and recommendations for (1) prevention, (2) treatment and response, and (3) community sequelae and recovery. Several models for community-based management of the current Ebola outbreak were proposed. Additional findings indicate positive attitudes towards early Ebola survivors, and the need for community-based psychosocial support.
Conclusions/Significance
Local communities’ strategies and recommendations give insight into how urban Liberian communities contained the EVD outbreak while navigating the systemic failures of the initial state and international response. Communities in urban Liberia adapted to the epidemic using multiple coping strategies. In the absence of health, infrastructural and material supports, local people engaged in self-reliance in order to contain the epidemic at the micro-social level. These innovations were regarded as necessary, but as less desirable than a well-supported health-systems based response; and were seen as involving considerable individual, social, and public health costs, including heightened vulnerability to infection.
Author Summary
In this study the authors analyzed data from the 2014 Ebola outbreak in Monrovia and Montserrado County, Liberia. The data were collected for the purposes of program design and evaluation by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Government of Liberia (GOL), in order to identify: (1) local knowledge about EVD, (2) local responses to the outbreak, and (3) community-based innovations to contain the virus. At the time of data collection, the international Ebola response had little insight into how much local Liberian communities knew about Ebola, and how communities managed the epidemic when they could not get access to care due to widespread hospital and clinic closures. Methods included 15 focus group discussions with community leaders from areas with active Ebola cases. Participants were asked about best practices and what they were currently doing to manage EVD in their respective communities, with the goal of developing conceptual models of local responses informed by local narratives. Findings reveal that communities responded to the outbreak in numerous ways that both supported and discouraged formal efforts to contain the spread of the disease. This research will inform global health policy for both this, and future, epidemic and pandemic responses.

PLoS One
[Accessed 11 April 2015]
http://www.plosone.org/

.
Can Reproductive Health Voucher Programs Improve Quality of Postnatal Care? A Quasi-Experimental Evaluation of Kenya’s Safe Motherhood Voucher Scheme
Claire Watt, Timothy Abuya, Charlotte E. Warren, Francis Obare, Lucy Kanya, Ben Bellows Research Article | published 02 Apr 2015 | PLOS ONE 10.1371/journal.pone.0122828
Abstract
This study tests the group-level causal relationship between the expansion of Kenya’s Safe Motherhood voucher program and changes in quality of postnatal care (PNC) provided at voucher-contracted facilities. We compare facilities accredited since program inception in 2006 (phase I) and facilities accredited since 2010-2011 (phase II) relative to comparable non-voucher facilities. PNC quality is assessed using observed clinical content processes, as well as client-reported outcome measures. Two-tailed unpaired t-tests are used to identify differences in mean process quality scores and client-reported outcome measures, comparing changes between intervention and comparison groups at the 2010 and 2012 data collection periods. Difference-in-differences analysis is used to estimate the reproductive health (RH) voucher program’s causal effect on quality of care by exploiting group-level differences between voucher-accredited and non-accredited facilities in 2010 and 2012. Participation in the voucher scheme since 2006 significantly improves overall quality of postnatal care by 39% (p=0.02), where quality is defined as the observable processes or components of service provision that occur during a PNC consultation. Program participation since phase I is estimated to improve the quality of observed maternal postnatal care by 86% (p=0.02), with the largest quality improvements in counseling on family planning methods (IRR 5.0; p=0.01) and return to fertility (IRR 2.6; p=0.01). Despite improvements in maternal aspects of PNC, we find a high proportion of mothers who seek PNC are not being checked by any provider after delivery. Additional strategies will be necessary to standardize provision of packaged postnatal interventions to both mother and newborn. This study addresses an important gap in the existing RH literature by using a strong evaluation design to assess RH voucher program effectiveness on quality improvement.

PNAS – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/
(Accessed 11 April 2015)

.
Robust and sustained immune activation in human Ebola virus infection
Judith N. Mandla and Mark B. Feinbergb,1
Author Affiliations
Extract
Ebola viruses (EBOV) are zoonotic infectious agents that are highly pathogenic in humans, causing severe hemorrhagic fever with fatality rates of ∼50–70% (1). This genus of negative single-stranded RNA viruses consists of five known species that are part of the Filoviridae family. The current EBOV outbreak in western Africa began in March 2014 and has since resulted in >24,000 cases and >10,000 deaths (1). This 25th known EBOV outbreak is unprecedented in its magnitude, duration, and societal impact. Given the likelihood of future EBOV outbreaks, significant efforts are being devoted to develop vaccines that block EBOV transmission and novel therapeutic interventions to treat infected individuals (2, 3). Progress in these pursuits requires better understanding of what key elements of the immune response correlate with virus replication control and protection from disease. In PNAS, McElroy et al. report the results of their study of the cellular and humoral immune responses of four EBOV-infected people treated at Emory University (all of whom received experimental therapies) (4). Their data provide critical insight into aspects of the host response in humans to EBOV that have not previously been examined using contemporary immunologic methods, and provide the foundation for future studies, elucidating immune responses mediating effective virus control.

Sustainability
Volume 7, Issue 3 (March 2015), Pages 2274-3514
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/7/3

.
Article: Sustainability Education in Massive Open Online Courses: A Content Analysis Approach
by Zehui Zhan, Patrick S.W. Fong, Hu Mei, Xuhua Chang, Ting Liang and Zicheng Ma
Sustainability 2015, 7(3), 2274-2300; doi:10.3390/su7032274
Received: 28 November 2014 / Revised: 12 February 2015 / Accepted: 13 February 2015 / Published: 25 February 2015
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability Approaches in Education)

.
Article: Soil Quality Indices for Evaluating Smallholder Agricultural Land Uses in Northern Ethiopia
by Aweke M. Gelaw, B. R. Singh and R. Lal
Sustainability 2015, 7(3), 2322-2337; doi:10.3390/su7032322
Received: 12 January 2015 / Revised: 11 February 2015 / Accepted: 15 February 2015 / Published: 27 February 2015
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Soil Health to Mitigate Soil Degradation)

.
Article: Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment: Evaluating Residential Development Sustainability in a Developing Country Context
by Tan Yigitcanlar, Md. Kamruzzaman and Suharto Teriman
Sustainability 2015, 7(3), 2570-2602; doi:10.3390/su7032570
Received: 12 December 2014 / Revised: 14 February 2015 / Accepted: 16 February 2015 / Published: 3 March 2015
| PDF Full-text
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning, Development and Management of Sustainable Cities)