The African Development Bank Group [to 4 July 2015]
http://www.afdb.org/en/news-and-events/press-releases/
[We generally limit coverage to regional and global level initiatives, recognizing that a number of country-level announcements are added each week]

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African Development Bank Group approves debt relief for Chad
03/07/2015 – The Boards of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) on Wednesday, July 1, 2015 approved debt relief for the Republic of Chad under the Enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) initiative in the amount of US $37 million (at end 2000 Net Present Value terms, or approximately US $66.04 million, in nominal terms). This follows a joint assessment of the country in April 2015 by the IMF and World Bank as having attained the HIPC ‘Completion Point’.

Skills that lead to jobs: AfDB provides US $62 million to support Technical and Vocational Education in Kenya
03/07/2015 – The Executive Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) on Wednesday, July 1, 2015 approved a US $62-million loan to finance the second phase of Kenya’s Support to Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) for Relevant Skills Development project.

The African Water Facility catalyses the development of waste management businesses to improve sanitation services in Arba Minch, Ethiopia
02/07/2015 – The African Water Facility (AWF) announced on Wednesday, July 1, 2015 that it is providing a €1.2-million grant to the Government of Ethiopia to improve sanitation and faecal waste management in Arba Minch. The project will benefit over 21,000 people who will have access to improved toilet facilities. It will also boost local agriculture through the provision of new and affordable fertiliser.

AfDB approves US $22.5-million to improve investment climate and forest governance in Congo
01/07/2015 – The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) on Wednesday, July 1, 2015 approved a US $22.5-million loan to the Republic of Congo to help finance the country’s Investment Climate and Forest Governance Support Project (PACIGOF).

Côte d’Ivoire’s President launches West African Energy Leaders Group
30/06/2015 – Côte d’Ivoire’s President Alassane Ouattara headed a top-level line-up of political and business leaders on Tuesday, June 30 in Abidjan to launch the African Energy Leaders Group (AELG) in West Africa, with concrete plans to drive sector reforms and a pipeline of bankable investment projects for sustainable energy access across the region.

OECD [to 4 July 2015]
http://www.oecd.org/newsroom/publicationsdocuments/bydate/
[We generally limit coverage to regional and global level initiatives, recognizing that a number of country-level announcements are added each week]

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Discrimination and poor job prospects hit children of immigrants
2-July-2015
The children of immigrants continue to face major difficulties integrating in OECD countries, especially in the European Union, where their poor educational outcomes leave many struggling to find work, according to a new OECD/EU report.

OECD and FAO expect stronger agricultural production, lower prices over coming decade – Rising incomes in developing world spurring demand for food, dietary changes
1-July-2015
Strong crop yields, higher productivity and slower growth in global demand should contribute to a gradual decline in real prices for agricultural products over the coming decade, but nonetheless, prices will likely remain at levels above those in the early-2000s, according to the latest Agricultural Outlook report produced by the OECD and FAO.

China signs cooperation agreements with OECD and joins OECD Development Centre
1-July-2015
In a historic visit by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang to the OECD in Paris, the People’s Republic of China today decided to enhance longstanding collaboration with the OECD and to join the OECD Development Centre.

Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) [to 4 July 2015]
http://www.oic-oci.org/oicv2/news/

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Resolution by OIC on Protecting the Family Receives Majority Vote at the Human Rights Council
A resolution on Protection of the Family that warns of the “increasing vulnerabilities” facing the family unit was adopted yesterday, 3 July 2015 at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva. The resolution was sponsored by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and was voted for by the majority of the HRC member states. It reaffirms that the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State…
04/07/2015

Human Rights Council adopts OIC resolution on ensuring accountability and justice for violations in Occupied Palestinian Territory
The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted today the resolution sponsored by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on “Ensuring accountability and justice for all violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem”. ..
03/07/2015

OIC-Proposed Resolution on Human Rights of Rohingya Gets Adopted by UN Human Rights Council
A resolution proposed by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) on Myanmar titled ” Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar” (A/HRC/29/L.30) was adopted by consensus at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva today, Friday, 3 July 2015. The adoption of this resolution without a vote conveys the strong support of the international community, particularly the member states of the HRC, to the content of this important resolution…
03/07/2015

World Bank [to 4 July 2015]
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/all
[We generally limit coverage to regional and global level initiatives, recognizing that a number of country-level announcements are added each week]

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The Investing in Africa Forum: Partnering to Accelerate Investment, Industrialization, and Results in Africa
ADDIS ABABA, July 1, 2015 – The Investing in Africa Forum: Partnering to Accelerate Investment, Industrialization, and Results, was held June 30-July 1, 2015, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, co-organized by the Government of Ethiopia, the China Development Bank, the China-Africa Development Fund, the World Bank Group, and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. It brought together representatives of the public and private sector from China and African countries. Regional institutions, development partners and think tanks also attended. Participants exchanged views on how African countries could attract greater investment, accelerate industrialization, create jobs and sustain development. The Chinese and African experiences were shared in order to provide information and lessons learned, and identify opportunities for enhanced partnerships…
Date: July 1, 2015 Type: Press Release

Global Food Prices Drop to a Five-Year Low
WASHINGTON, July 1, 2015 – International food prices decreased by 14% between August 2014 and May 2015, dropping to a five-year low, according to the latest edition of Food Price Watch. Cheap oil contributed to abundant global supplies of food in 2014 and prospects of a bumper crop for wheat, maize and rice in 2015—factors that are driving the sharp decline in international food prices. The agriculture and food sector continue to benefit from less expensive chemical fertilizer, fuel and transportation costs brought on by the previous year’s oil price declines, with food prices holding steady despite recent oil price hikes.Between August 2014 and May 2015, wheat prices plunged by 18%, rice prices dropped by 14% and maize prices declined by 6%. However, the arrival of El Nino, the appreciation of the U.S. dollar and the recent increase in oil prices could drive up food prices in the coming months…
Date: July 1, 2015 Type: Press Release

World Bank Commits to Greater Access to Information on the Policy’s Fifth Anniversary
WASHINGTON, July 1, 2015—The World Bank’s Access to Information (AI) Policy and Open Data Initiative launched five years ago, with more than 6.1 million documents and reports downloaded and over 18,000 development indicators made available, thereby spreading the organization’s wealth of operational information, research, statistics, and data on development challenges around the globe. Access to information and data can enable citizens to make informed decisions. “There is no one-size-fits-all solution to development challenges. But there is evidence that when citizens have access to information, they are empowered to participate in decisions that affect their lives and positively influence their community,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim, “Our goal is to continue to create new opportunities for knowledge exchange, and, ultimately, support our clients’ application of evidence-based solutions to development challenges,” he added…
Date: July 1, 2015 Type: Press Release

Speech by World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim on Trade’s Role in Ending Poverty by 2030
Date: June 30, 2015 Type: Speeches and Transcripts

Statement by World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim on the Establishment of AIIB
WASHINGTON, June 28, 2015—The World Bank Group today issued the following statement from World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim on the signing of the articles of agreement by the founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank: “I congratulate all founding members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank on the establishment of the new development institution today. More funding for infrastructure will help the poor, and we are pleased to be working with China and others to help the AIIB hit the ground running. The developing world’s infrastructure investment needs are too huge for any single institution. The world spends about $1 trillion a year on infrastructure, but the vast majority of that goes to developed countries. Emerging markets and low-income countries face an annual gap of $1 trillion to $1.5 trillion in infrastructure spending. We view the AIIB as an important new partner that shares a common goal: ending extreme poverty…
Date: June 28, 2015 Type: Press Release

IPU Inter-Parliamentary Union [to 4 July 2015]
http://www.ipu.org/english/news.htm

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MPs identify strategies for implementing new SDGs
30 JUNE 2015
MPs from nine European and Central Asian countries gathered in the Romanian capital, Bucharest in mid-June to identify how parliaments can be most effective in implementing the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They recommended that each country should devise its own sustainable development strategy, identifying specific goals and the means of achieving them with input from relevant parties including women’s groups. MPs at the two-day regional seminar also urged parliaments to promote strong inter-parliamentary cooperation, including the development of joint projects between countries. It recommended IPU set up a global parliamentary mechanism to track and evaluate progress so that national and regional experiences can be fed back to the global level and encourage further progress. The seminar, jointly organized by IPU and Romania’s Chamber of Deputies, was attended by MPs from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Serbia and Romania.

IT project aids Egyptian Parliament
30 JUNE 2015
A three-month IPU programme to train staff at the Egyptian parliament is the first stage in efforts to establish a modern parliamentary library with full internet access and capable of meeting the needs of future MPs. The newly-launched programme, supported by the Japanese foundation Worldwide Support for Development (WSD), includes training 210 staff in information technology management relating to the provision of library, information and research services (LRIS) – one of the priorities identified during a needs-assessment mission to Egypt in late 2014. The training, together with a recently installed faster computer system, will enable staff to use IT and the internet more effectively.

Supporting new Tunisian MPs
30 JUNE 2015
IPU and partner organizations have joined forces to provide a series of orientation workshops for Tunisian MPs elected late last year to the country’s first parliament since the Arab Spring. In a first session organized by IPU and the UN’s Development Programme (UNDP), the MPs focused on standards for democratic parliaments based on IPU’s Parliament and democracy in the 21st century and measures to put in place a gender equal parliament using the Organization’s Plan of Action for Gender-sensitive Parliaments. The MPS are due to explore the essential functions of parliaments – law-making, oversight and representation at another session in September. Meanwhile, at an event organized by IPU and International IDEA and supported by the UAE’s Federal National Council, the MPs focused on increasing cross-party cooperation between female MPs through both formal and informal means. Tunisia is one of only two Arab countries where more than 30 per cent of the MPs are women through the use of electoral quotas. Algeria became the first Arab country to achieve this.

New move to strengthen women’s rights in Mali
30 JUNE 2015
IPU and the National Assembly of Mali have launched a two-year initiative to improve the status of women and strengthen their rights. The project aims to support parliamentary bodies responsible for gender issues, and back parliamentary efforts to develop the legislative and political framework needed to improve women’s status. Training for MPs in late June will focus on developing the capacity and leadership skills of female MPs and on strengthening male and female MPs skills in advocating gender equality and fighting violence against women and girls. Priorities for parliamentary action include national reconciliation, gender equality, improvements in healthcare for women and children, better education for girls, combating violence, and women’s participation in decision-making. Women hold only 13 of the 147 seats in parliament – fewer than 9 per cent – although this represents a substantial improvement on previous figures.

Strengthening parliamentary action on maternal and child health in Bangladesh
30 JUNE 2015
The Bangladesh Parliament and IPU have signed an agreement setting in motion a partnership aimed at developing the capacity of the country’s MPs to promote maternal and child health (MNCH), including efforts to end child marriage. The agreement, signed in Dhaka during an official visit to the country by IPU Secretary General Martin Chungong and Senior Secretary of the Parliament Ashraful Moqbul, will focus on how parliament can improve its oversight and representation responsibilities on MNCH, develop strategies on strengthening parliament’s influence on the issue including community outreach and advocacy, and the importance of data collection on birth and marriage registrations, A range of activities supported by IPU will begin soon. Although Bangladesh is one of a few developing countries that have achieved the Millennium Development Goal on reducing child mortality, and made progress on maternal mortality, there is still work to be done to reduce maternal mortality to 140 per 100,000 live births. The persistence of harmful practices against women and girls, including child marriage and the lack of universal access to health are key challenges…

Amref Health Africa [to 4 July 2015]
http://amref.org/news/news/

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Meet Amref Health Africa’s New CEO‬
“Global health is changing, and Amref Health Africa is well positioned for the shift” – Dr Githinji Gitahi
Dr Gitahi Githinji joined Amref Health Africa on June 1, 2015. Until this appointment he was the Vice President and Regional Director for Africa, Smile Train International, where he successfully established partnerships for long-term sustainability with various African governments. Read his bio here

CARE International [to 4 July 2015]
http://www.care-international.org/news/press-releases.aspx

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New CARE Study: Evidence of Worsening Conditions as Syrian Refugees in Jordan Run Out of Resources
JORDAN
30 JUNE 2015
Aid agency CARE International releases “Five Years Into Exile: The challenges faced by Syrian refugees outside camps in Jordan and how they and their host communities are coping”. Syrian refugees in Jordan continue to face immense and increasing challenges leading to grave concerns about their vulnerability and protection, the study reports.

ECPAT [to 4 July 2015]
http://www.ecpat.net/news

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ECPAT e-Bulletin 29 June 2015
-Casa Alianza Nicaragua celebrates 17th Anniversary
-EU supported project to combat CSEC in Russia
-ECPAT hosts SACG meeting

ICRC [to 4 July 2015]
https://www.icrc.org/en/whats-new

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Yemen: Vital food aid delivered across front lines in Aden
News release
02 July 2015
Sana’a/Geneva (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross has today started a distribution of food across the front lines in the southern city of Aden. The consignment of more than 160 tons will cover the emergency needs of 17,500 people. Around half of Aden’s population are displaced from their homes, seeking shelter in any available space in the town.

Nepal: ICRC introduces new app to help reconnect families
Article
01 July 2015
The ICRC has introduced Familylinks ANSWERS, a new web application to help reconnect families separated by the earthquakes in Nepal earlier this year. This new technology, which can also be used in times of other disasters, means families will be reconnected more quickly.

Common ethical principles of health care in conflict and other emergencies
Article
30 June 2015
The World Medical Association (WMA), the International Committee of Military Medicine (ICMM), the International Council of Nurses (ICN), and the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), representing more than 30 million people from both the military and civilian realms, have adopted the “Ethical Principles of Health Care in Times of Armed Conflict and Other Emergencies”, a first-of-its-kind code of ethics that provides a common core for these major international health care organizations.

Mali: Over 250,000 people receive aid in north
News release
29 June 2015
Geneva / Bamako (ICRC) – Enduring terrible hardship, often with no means of survival or even shelter: that is the reality for thousands who have fled widespread violence in northern Mali in recent months. Their plight has prompted the distribution of 1,400 tonnes of food, as well as seed and other essential supplies, in and around Mopti, Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), working together with the Mali Red Cross and community leaders.

MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières [to 4 July 2015]
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news-stories/press/press-releases

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Press Release
Mauritania: Malian Refugees at Risk of Malnutrition Due to Canceled Food Aid
July 02, 2015
BASSIKNOU, MAURITANIA/NEW YORK, JULY 2, 2015—The cancellation of monthly food rations will likely increase global acute malnutrition among 49,500 Malian refugees in southeastern Mauritania, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned today, calling on the international donor community to ensure that the refugees have reliable sources of food.

Field news
Afghanistan: MSF Condemns Violent Armed Intrusion of Kunduz Hospital
July 03, 2015
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) condemns the violent intrusion by armed members of Afghan Special Forces in the organization’s trauma center in Kunduz, Afghanistan. The incident is an unacceptable breach of International Humanitarian Law, which protects medical services from attacks.

Field news
South Sudan: Civilians Shot in Malakal
July 02, 2015
Following a shooting incident directed at the Protection of Civilians (PoC) site in Malakal, Upper Nile State, on July 1, 2015, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) received nine wounded patients, women and the elderly among them, at its hospital in the PoC. The humanitarian situation in the state has been steadily deteriorating over the last few weeks, leaving the civilian population constantly exposed to episodes of violence. The numbers of wounded and displaced, along with rates of malnutrition and the risk of outbreaks, all continue to rise.

Field news
Libya: Ongoing Conflict Complicates Provision of Aid
July 01, 2015
Tensions are rising in eastern Libya and medical needs are increasing in turn. Fighting in the region has now expanded beyond the city of Benghazi, which has been the scene of armed confrontations for more than a year, to Derna, the stronghold of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in the area, where clashes started three weeks ago. This violence has strained the health care system and triggered population displacement, including more than 2,000 families who are now seeking sanctuary in Benghazi.

Field news
South Sudan: MSF Resumes Activities in Melut
June 29, 2015
Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has resumed activities in Melut, in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State, 16 days after renewed fighting forced the organization to suspend medical activities and evacuate staff. However, the ongoing conflict and recurrent periods of shelling in Malakal and Melut are still making it difficult for MSF teams to access the population to provide medical assistance and for populations to access health care facilities.

Partners In Health [to 4 July 2015]
http://www.pih.org/blog

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Partners In Health Celebrates 10 Years in Rwanda
July 02, 2015
Listen as Ophelia Dahl, chair of Partners In Health’s board and former executive director, tells the story of PIH’s involvement in Rwanda and some of its successes over the last decade. PIH and its sister organization, Inshuti Mu Buzima, work in partnership with Rwanda’s Ministry of Health.

Save The Children [to 4 July 2015]
http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6150563/k.D0E9/Newsroom.htm

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Burundian Refugees in Tanzania Predicted to Reach 250,000
Fairfield, Conn. (July 3, 2015) — The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on Wednesday, July 1, announced in Dar es Salaam that it was expecting the number of Burundian refugees in Tanzania to increase from the current 70,000 to between 250,000 and 500,000 as a result of the continued volatile situation related to the presidential elections in Burundi, scheduled to be held on July 15…

… Save the Children, Plan International and IRC are working in a coordinated response to this crisis focusing primarily on child protection and education needs. The focus now is on doing everything possible to scale up our activities and prepare for the new influx….

… A new camp site is soon to be announced to accommodate 40,000 of the existing 70,000 refugees. “We hope that the shift will be phased so that basic services are up and running before refugee families are taken to the new site,” said Save the Children’s country director, Steve Thorne. “As agencies ready to support, we call for early information on plans for the new camp so that we can best coordinate our efforts to support the refugee move to the new area.”

“The risk is that we find ourselves in a situation where vulnerable families, and especially children, are left further traumatized in difficult living conditions. One site may well not be enough for the high number of refugees expected and overcrowding could lead to further outbreaks of cholera and other communicable diseases. We urge UNHCR and the Government of Tanzania to identify additional sites early, in order to better prepare for increased flows of men, women and children who will be in urgent need of help when they cross the border,” he said…

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Urgent Action Needed to Tackle Child Labor Caused By Syrian Crisis
Amman (July 2, 2015) — The conflict and humanitarian crisis in Syria are pushing an increasing number of children into exploitation in the labor market, and much more needs to be done to reverse the trend, according to a new report released by Save the Children and UNICEF.

The report shows that inside Syria, children are now contributing to the family income in more than three quarters of surveyed households, In Jordan, close to half of all Syrian refugee children are now the joint or sole family breadwinners in surveyed households, while in some parts of Lebanon, children as young as six years old are reportedly working…

The Elders [to 4 July 2015]
http://theelders.org/news-media
News
30 June 2015
What would a transparent and democratic selection process for the Secretary-General look like?
At an event on Wednesday in New York, Mary Robinson and two others debated before the

News
Mary Robinson 29 June 2015
A Secretary-General to represent all the world’s peoples
Speaking at a debate at UN headquarters in New York, Mary Robinson outlines three proposals to strengthen the role of Secretary-General.

Opinion
Gro Harlem Brundtland, Jimmy Carter 28 June 2015
UN report shows accountability is key to unlocking peace in Israel and Gaza
Writing in Haaretz, Gro Harlem Brundtland and Jimmy Carter welcome the UN Human Rights Council’s report into the 2014 Gaza conflict, arguing that it is a milestone to ending impunity for violations against international law.

ODI [to 4 July 2015]
http://www.odi.org/media

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After Ebola: why and how capacity support to Sierra Leone’s health sector needs to change
Research reports and studies | July 2015 |
Lisa Denney and Richard Mallett with Ramatu Jalloh
The central argument of this report is that capacity building in Sierra Leone’s health sector has been thought about and operationalised in a narrow, technical way and that a smarter model of capacity building is needed.

Humanitarian trends and challenges for the Pacific region
Research reports and studies | July 2015 |
Katie Peters, Emma Lovell, Elizabeth Carabine, Alice Caravani
This briefing report supports the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) consultation for the Pacific region. It sets out the current humanitarian challenges and trends in the post-2015 era.

Pathways for irrigation development in Africa – summary
Working and discussion papers | June 2015 |
Naomi Oates, Guy Jobbins, Beatrice Mosello and John Arnold
This paper summarises the findings of a rapid review to determine the policies and practices that have shaped irrigation performance over the last 50 years in three African countries: Ethiopia, Morocco and Mozambique.

Shockwatch: Food prices annual review 2014/15
Books or book chapters | June 2015 |
Steve Wiggins and Sharada Keats
The annual review examines changes to cereals prices seen since May 2014 and looks at how domestic prices for cereals in the developing world have moved since the 2007/08 price spike.

Urban finance: rapid evidence assessment
resource | June 2015 |
Hamish Nixon, Victoria Chambers, Sierd Hadley and Thomas Hart
This paper explores the fiscal challenge posed by urbanisation, which demands that resources to fund the expenditure needs created by rapid growth are deployed while contributing to continued economic growth and employment.

Bringing taxation into social protection analysis and planning
Working and discussion papers | June 2015 |
Francesca Bastagli
Social protection and tax policy are commonly examined separately, yet they are strongly linked. Tax revenue levels and ‘mix’ matter to the resources available for social protection financing and their sustainability over time. They also matter to the net incidence and…

Country priorities for data development: what does history tell us?
Research reports and studies | June 2015 |
Amina Khan, Joseph Wales and Elizabeth Stuart
This report explores country priorities in improving data collection and statistical capacity, using South Africa, Pakistan and Mexico as case studies.

Trade facilitation: Rapid Evidence Assessment
Research reports and studies | June 2015 |
Yurendra Basnett and Isabella Massa
This report reviews the evidence of trade facilitation’s impact on trade performance including trade costs, volumes and values.

Mapping current incentives and investment in Viet Nam’s transport sector: informing private climate finance
Working and discussion papers | June 2015 |
Emily Darko, Nguyen Manh Hai and Shelagh Whitley
The application of a diagnostic tool to the mapping of current incentives and investment in the Viet Nam transport sector for the National Climate Change Strategy, the Green Growth Strategy, and for sub-national adaptation to climate change.

Regional infrastructure for trade facilitation – impact on growth and poverty reduction. A literature survey
Research reports and studies | June 2015 |
Marie-Agnes Jouanjean, Marie Gachassin and Dirk Willem te Velde
Evidence on how regional infrastructure impacts economic growth and poverty reduction – and the policy interventions that could reduce risks to the poor.

Pew Charitable Trusts [to 4 July 2015]
http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/about/news-room/press-releases

Press Release
Pew: Consumers Without Banks Use Prepaid Cards Like Checking Accounts
June 30, 2015
WASHINGTON—The Pew Charitable Trusts released a report today that finds the use of general purpose reloadable (GPR) prepaid cards on the rise among consumers. In particular, prepaid cardholders who are known as “unbanked,” because they don’t have traditional bank accounts, use their cards like checking accounts. This fact is a key reason the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should bring more safety and transparency to this market by adopting its pending proposal on prepaid cards.

GPR prepaid cards, also called GPR prepaid accounts, allow consumers to load funds via direct deposit or with cash and can then be used to withdraw funds from ATMs or to make purchases at retail outlets. Today, about 23 million adults use prepaid cards regularly.

The report, called “Banking on Prepaid” and based on a nationally representative telephone survey of adults who use GPR prepaid cards at least once a month, examined consumers’ knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions based on whether they have a checking account…

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Press Release
Pew Supports Tribe’s Expansion of the Dental Workforce
June 30, 2015
Children’s Dental Policy
WASHINGTON—The Pew Charitable Trusts applauds the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community for taking steps to expand its dental team to include a Dental Health Aide Therapist. This decision follows evidence showing that incorporating midlevel providers into a dentist’s team increases access to care. The Swinomish, a federally recognized Indian tribe from Washington state, is the first tribal community in the United States outside of Alaska to send a student to be trained as a Dental Health Aide Therapist.

Jane Koppelman, Pew’s research director for children’s dental policy, issued the following statement:
“The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community is taking an important step to address its need for dental care by training a Dental Health Aide Therapist to work with its dental team. For the past 10 years, these providers have delivered top quality and cost-effective care to tens of thousands of Alaska Native people, many of whom previously had no regular source of dental care. This action will provide similar benefits for the Swinomish people and could do so across the nation, if adopted by other tribes and state governments.

“Native Americans suffer from poor oral health due in part to a lack of available dentists: More than 2.4 million Native Americans lived in counties with dental care shortages in 2014. In addition, preschool-aged Native American children had four times more untreated tooth decay than white children, and in 1999, the most recent year for which complete data are available, 43 percent of Native American adults had both untreated decay and periodontal disease…

Rockefeller Foundation [to 4 July 2015]
http://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/newsroom

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‘Global Resilience Challenge’ Teams Identify Major Barriers to Building Resilience
[Undated]
NEW YORK—The Global Resilience Partnership today announced that 17 finalists in the Global Resilience Challenge will move forward with bold new proposals to build resilience in the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and South and Southeast Asia.

These finalist teams are made up of a diverse array of more than 150 experts from countries across Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. After months of research, these multisectoral teams— involving 70 local and 47 international partners from academia, local and international NGOs, and the private sector— have published problem statements addressing some of the toughest challenges to building resilience to recurring shocks and stresses — from droughts and floods to rapid urbanization and chronic food insecurity. In March and April, the teams came together in Bangkok and Nairobi to collaborate and consider how to incorporate innovation, technology, gender assessment tools, and private partnerships into their solutions. In September, the Partnership will announce which teams will each receive funding to implement and scale up their solutions to these challenges.

The Global Resilience Challenge is a three-stage grant competition led by the Global Resilience Partnership, a $150 million effort of The Rockefeller Foundation, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) to help the global community pivot from being reactive in the wake of disasters to driving evidence-based investments that allow communities to create smart plans that will minimize inevitable risks they face on the path to sustainable development, while enhancing the quality of everyday life…

American Journal of Disaster Medicine
Winter 2015, Volume 10, Number 1
http://pnpcsw.pnpco.com/cadmus/testvol.asp?year=2015&journal=ajdm.

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Article
Emergency preparedness of families of children with developmental disabilities: What public health and safety emergency planners need to know
Susan Wolf-Fordham, JD; Carol Curtin, MSW; Melissa Maslin, MEd; Linda Bandini, PhD; Charles D. Hamad, PhD
Winter 2015; pages 23-34
Abstract
Objective: To assess the emergency preparedness knowledge, behaviors, and training needs of families of children with developmental disabilities (DD).
Design: An online survey. Participants: A sample of 314 self-selecting US parents/guardians of children with DD, aged birth-21 years. Main outcome measures: 1) Preparedness self-assessment; 2) self-report regarding the extent to which families followed 11 specific preparedness action steps derived from publicly available preparedness guides; and 3) parent training and support needs.
Results: Although most participants assessed themselves to be somewhat to moderately well prepared, even those who reported being “very well prepared” had taken fewer than half of 11 recommended action steps. Most participants expressed a need for preparedness support; virtually all the respondents felt that training was either important or very important.
Conclusions: Children with disabilities are known to be particularly vulnerable to negative disaster impacts. Overall, parents in this study appeared under-prepared to meet family disaster needs, although they recognized its importance. The results suggest opportunities and methods for public health and safety planning, education and outreach to parents of children with DD who would benefit from targeted training such as information and skill building to develop effective family preparedness plans and connections to local emergency management and responders.
DOI:10.5055/ajdm.2015.0185

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Article
Local health department workers, public policy, and willingness to respond during emergencies
Lainie Rutkow, JD, PhD, MPH; Jon S. Vernick, JD, MPH; Carol B. Thompson, MS, MBA; Robert Hudson, MSN; Daniel J. Barnett, MD, MPH
Winter 2015; pages 41-50
Abstract
Objectives: To determine whether an association exists between a state’s authority to declare a public health emergency and local public health workers’ response willingness.
Design: The 2009-2010 Johns Hopkins~Public Health Infrastructure Response Survey Tool included questions about demographics and attitudes/beliefs regarding local public health workers’ response willingness during public health emergencies. Survey data were merged with data about presence/absence of a law granting states the authority to declare a public health emergency. Logistic regression analyses were performed with the presence/absence of the law and were adjusted for individuals’ demographic and locale characteristics.
Setting: Data were collected from eight clusters of local health department workers in nine states. Participants: Two thousand nine hundred ninety-three local health department workers.
Main outcome measure: Willingness to respond to four different public health emergency scenarios.
Results: For naturally occurring and human-caused disasters, in unadjusted analyses, there was no statistically significant difference in willingness to respond between individuals living in states with a law that allowed for a governmental declaration of public health emergency and those living in states without such a law. Adjusted analyses yielded similar results.
Conclusions: While laws giving the state the authority to declare a public health emergency are not associated with response willingness, findings may reflect the fact that states rarely declare public health emergencies, giving local public health workers few opportunities to become familiar with the implementation of these laws. In light of this, local health departments should consider altering their own internal policies to promote response willingness among their employees.
DOI:10.5055/ajdm.2015.0187

American Journal of Infection Control
July 2015 Volume 43, Issue 7, p663-784, e19-e38
http://www.ajicjournal.org/current

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What does the public know about Ebola? The public’s risk perceptions regarding the current Ebola outbreak in an as-yet unaffected country
Anat Gesser-Edelsburg, Yaffa Shir-Raz, Samah Hayek, Oshrat Sassoni-Bar Lev
p669–675
Published online: April 24, 2015
Preview
The unexpected developments surrounding the Ebola virus in the United States provide yet another warning that we need to establish communication preparedness. This study examines what the Israeli public knew about Ebola after the initial stages of the outbreak in a country to which Ebola has not spread and assesses the association between knowledge versus worries and concerns about contracting Ebola.

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Ebola infection control in Sierra Leonean health clinics: A large cross-agency cooperative project
Benjamin Levy, Carol Y. Rao, Laura Miller, Ngozi Kennedy, Monica Adams, Rosemary Davis, Laura Hastings, Augustin Kabano, Sarah D. Bennett, Momodu Sesay
p752–755
Published online: April 18, 2015
Preview
The Ebola virus disease outbreak occurring in West Africa has resulted in at least 199 cases of Ebola in Sierra Leonean health care workers, many as a result of transmission occurring in health facilities. The Ministry of Health and Sanitation of Sierra Leone recognized that improvements in infection prevention and control (IPC) were necessary at all levels of health care delivery. To this end, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, United Nations Children’s Fund, and multiple nongovernmental organizations implemented a national IPC training program in 1,200 peripheral health units (PHUs) in Sierra Leone.

BMC Health Services Research
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmchealthservres/content
(Accessed 4 July 2015)

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Study protocol
Protocol for the evaluation of a free health insurance card scheme for poor pregnant women in Mbeya region in Tanzania: a controlled-before and after study
Josephine Borghi, Kate Ramsey, August Kuwawenaruwa, Jitihada Baraka, Edith Patouillard, Ben Bellows, Peter Binyaruka, Fatuma Manzi BMC Health Services Res

BMC Medical Ethics
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmedethics/content
(Accessed 4 July 2015)

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Debate
Evaluating community engagement in global health research: the need for metrics
Kathleen MacQueen, Anant Bhan, Janet Frohlich, Jessica Holzer, Jeremy Sugarman, the Ethics Working Group of the HIV Prevention Trials Network BMC Medical Ethics 2015, 16:44 (1 July 2015)
Abstract
Background
Community engagement in research has gained momentum as an approach to improving research, to helping ensure that community concerns are taken into account, and to informing ethical decision-making when research is conducted in contexts of vulnerability. However, guidelines and scholarship regarding community engagement are arguably unsettled, making it difficult to implement and evaluate.
Discussion
We describe normative guidelines on community engagement that have been offered by national and international bodies in the context of HIV-related research, which set the stage for similar work in other health related research. Next, we review the scholarly literature regarding community engagement, outlining the diverse ethical goals ascribed to it. We then discuss practical guidelines that have been issued regarding community engagement. There is a lack of consensus regarding the ethical goals and approaches for community engagement, and an associated lack of indicators and metrics for evaluating success in achieving stated goals. To address these gaps we outline a framework for developing indicators for evaluating the contribution of community engagement to ethical goals in health research.
Summary
There is a critical need to enhance efforts in evaluating community engagement to ensure that the work on the ground reflects the intentions expressed in the guidelines, and to investigate the contribution of specific community engagement practices for making research responsive to community needs and concerns. Evaluation mechanisms should be built into community engagement practices to guide best practices in community engagement and their replication across diverse health research settings.