Rockefeller Foundation [to 12 December 2015]
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700+ Organizations in 116 Countries Say Universal Health Coverage is Right, Smart, and Overdue
December 11, 2015
Global leaders urged to ensure all people can access essential health services without facing financial hardship

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Harvard University, Wildlife Conservation Society launch new ‘Planetary Health Alliance’ with support from The Rockefeller Foundation
December 11, 2015
Unprecedented effort to address major public health threats caused by human impacts on the natural world

Wellcome Trust [to 12 December 2015]
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/2015/index.htm

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Scientists genetically engineer patients’ own cells to attack cancer
In a pioneering trial taking place in London, doctors are harnessing patients’ own immune systems in an effort to find a new effective treatment for resistant head and neck cancer.
10 December 2015

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Progressing clinical academic careers in the UK
A review exploring the experiences of early-career clinical academics across the UK has highlighted that while many successfully advance to research leadership positions, widespread barriers to both clinical and academic progression are faced by many of those aspiring to pursue a clinical academic career.
9 December 2015

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
December 2015; 93 (6)
http://www.ajtmh.org/content/current

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Incidence of Pneumococcal Pneumonia Among Adults in Rural Thailand, 2006–2011: Implications for Pneumococcal Vaccine Considerations
Barameht Piralam, Sara M. Tomczyk, Julia C. Rhodes, Somsak Thamthitiwat, Christopher J. Gregory, Sonja J. Olsen, Prabda Praphasiri, Pongpun Sawatwong, Sathapana Naorat, Somrak Chantra, Peera Areerat, Cameron P. Hurst, Matthew R. Moore, Charung Muangchana, and Henry C. Baggett
Am J Trop Med Hyg 2015 93:1140-1147; Published online October 26, 2015, doi:10.4269/ajtmh.15-0429
Abstract
The incidence of pneumococcal pneumonia among adults is a key driver for the cost-effectiveness of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine used among children. We sought to obtain more accurate incidence estimates among adults by including results of pneumococcal urine antigen testing (UAT) from population-based pneumonia surveillance in two Thai provinces. Active surveillance from 2006 to 2011 identified acute lower respiratory infection (ALRI)–related hospital admissions. Adult cases of pneumococcal pneumonia were defined as hospitalized ALRI patients aged ≥ 18 years with isolation of Streptococcus pneumoniae from blood or with positive UAT. Among 39,525 adult ALRI patients, we identified 481 pneumococcal pneumonia cases (105 by blood culture, 376 by UAT only). Estimated incidence of pneumococcal pneumonia hospitalizations was 30.5 cases per 100,000 persons per year (2.2 and 28.3 cases per 100,000 persons per year by blood culture and UAT, respectively). Incidence varied between 22.7 in 2007 and 43.5 in 2010, and increased with age to over 150 per 100,000 persons per year among persons aged ≥ 70 years. Viral coinfections including influenza A/B, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and adenovirus occurred in 11% (44/409) of pneumococcal pneumonia cases tested. Use of UAT to identify cases of pneumococcal pneumonia among adults in rural Thailand substantially increases estimates of pneumococcal pneumonia burden, thereby informing cost-effectiveness analyses and vaccine policy decisions.

BMC Health Services Research
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmchealthservres/content
(Accessed 12 December 2015)

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Research article
A systematic review of factors that affect uptake of community-based health insurance in low-income and middle-income countries
Esther Adebayo, Olalekan Uthman, Charles Wiysonge, Erin Stern, Kim Lamont, John Ataguba BMC Health Services Research 2015, 15:543 (8 December 2015)

BMC Infectious Diseases
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcinfectdis/content
(Accessed 12 December 2015)

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Research article
Cost-effectiveness analysis of human papillomavirus vaccination in South Africa accounting for human immunodeficiency virus prevalence
Xiao Li, Martinus Stander, Georges Van Kriekinge, Nadia Demarteau
BMC Infectious Diseases 2015, 15:566 (11 December 2015)
Abstract
Background
This study aims at evaluating the cost-effectiveness of a 2-dose schedule human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programme of HPV and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) naïve 12-year-old girls, in addition to cervical cancer (CC) screening alone, in South Africa. The study aims to account for both the impact of the vaccine among girls who are HIV-positive (HIV+) as well as HIV-negative (HIV-) population.
Methods
A previously published Markov cohort model was adapted to assess the impact and cost-effectiveness of a HPV vaccination programme in girls aged 12 years (N = 527 900) using the AS04-adjuvanted HPV-16/18 vaccine from a public payer perspective. Two subpopulations were considered: HIV- and HIV+ women. Each population followed the HPV natural history with different transition probabilities. Model input data were obtained from the literature, local databases and Delphi panel. Costs and outcomes were discounted at 5 %. Extensive sensitivity analyses were conducted to assess the robustness of the evaluation.
Results
Implementation of the AS04-adjuvanted HPV-16/18 vaccine in combination with current cytological screening in South African girls could prevent up to 8 869 CC cases and 5 436 CC deaths over the lifetime of a single cohort. Without discounting, this HPV vaccine is dominant over screening alone; with discounting, the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio is ZAR 81 978 (South African Rand) per quality-adjusted life years (QALY) gained. HPV vaccination can be considered cost-effective based on World Health Organization (WHO) recommended threshold (3 x gross domestic product/capita = ZAR 200 293). In a scenario with a hypothetical targeted vaccination in a HIV+ subpopulation alone, the modelled outcomes suggest that HPV vaccination is still cost-effective, although the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio increases to ZAR 102 479. Results were sensitive to discount rate, vaccine efficacy, HIV incidence and mortality rates, and HPV-related disease transition probabilities.
Conclusions
The AS04-adjuvanted HPV-16/18 vaccine can be considered cost-effective in a South African context although the cost-effectiveness is expected to be lower in the HIV+ subpopulation than in the overall female population. With improved access to HIV treatment, the HIV mortality and incidence rates are likely to be reduced, which could improve cost-effectiveness of the vaccination programme in South Africa.

Conflict and Health
http://www.conflictandhealth.com/
[Accessed 12 December 2015]

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Research
Psychological distress and its associations with past events in pregnant women affected by armed conflict in Swat, Pakistan: a cross sectional study
Khan MN, Chiumento A, Dherani M, Bristow K, Sikander S and Rahman A Conflict and Health 2015, 9:37 (10 December 2015)
Abstract
Background
The public health significance of maternal mental health is well established. Armed conflicts expose populations to events that could have long-term negative consequences for mental health of pregnant women and their children. This study explores the prevalence and associated risk factors for psychological distress of women during pregnancy, including exposure to past conflict-related potentially traumatic events, in a population exposed to armed conflict in the Swat region of Pakistan.
Methods
A community-based cross-sectional survey of 349 pregnant women in two union councils in Swat was conducted. Psychological distress was measured using the Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ). Conflict-related potentially traumatic events (PTEs) were measured through an adapted version of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire. Information was also collected on major life events (Life Events Checklist), social support (Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support), and demographic and socio-economic variables.
Results
Prevalence of current psychological distress was 38.1 % (95 % CI: 33.1, 43.3). Psychological distress was significantly associated with three or more potentially traumatic events (PTEs) experienced during the conflict (OR = 2.62, 95 % CI: 1.22, 5.61); three or more major life events in the year following the conflict (OR = 3.25, 95 % CI: 1.82, 5.82) and inversely associated with family support (OR = 0.91, 95 % CI: 0.88, 0.95).
Conclusion
This is one of the first community based cross sectional surveys in Swat valley, Pakistan to assess the prevalence of psychological distress during pregnancy in an area affected by conflict. Over a third of women show evidence of significant psychological distress. Exposure to potentially traumatic events remained independently associated with psychological distress 1 year after conflict ended, suggesting that conflict exposure may have long-term impacts upon maternal mental health. Combining this with findings relating to the cumulative impact of major life-events, and the protective factor of family support highlights the importance of developing culturally appropriate psychological interventions accessible to pregnant women rebuilding their lives following conflict.

Disasters
January 2016 Volume 40, Issue 1 Pages 1–182
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/disa.2016.40.issue-1/issuetoc

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Integrated disaster relief logistics: a stepping stone towards viable civil–military networks? (pages 7–25)
Peter Tatham and Sebastiaan (Bas) Rietjens
Article first published online: 13 AUG 2015 | DOI: 10.1111/disa.12131
Abstract
The twenty-first century has seen a significant rise in all forms of disasters and this has resulted in military and humanitarian organisations becoming more frequently engaged in the provision of support to those affected. Achieving an efficient and effective logistic preparation and response is one of the key elements in mitigating the impact of such events, but the establishment of mechanisms to deliver an appropriately integrated civil–military approach remains elusive. Not least because of the high percentage of assistance budgets spent on logistics, this area is considered to represent fertile ground for developing improved processes and understanding. In practice, the demands placed on civilian and military logisticians are broadly similar, as is the solution space. Speaking a common language and using common concepts, it is argued, therefore, that the logistic profession should be in the vanguard of the development of an improved civil–military interface.

Health and Human Rights
Volume 17, Issue 2 December 2015
http://www.hhrjournal.org/

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Special Issue: Evidence of the Impact of Human Rights-Based Approaches to Health

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Editorial
Making the Case: What Is the Evidence of Impact of Applying Human Rights-Based Approaches to Health?
Paul Hunt, Alicia Ely Yamin, and Flavia Bustreo, Guest Editors

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Framing the Issues
Assessing the Impact of a Human Rights-Based Approach Across a Spectrum of Change for Women’s, Children’s, and Adolescents’ Health
Rebekah Thomas, Shyama Kuruvilla, Rachael Hinton, Steven L. B. Jensen, Veronica Magar, and Flavia Bustreo

Ethical and Human Rights Foundations of Health Policy: Lessons from Comprehensive Reform in Mexico
Julio Frenk and Octavio Gómez-Dantés

What Constitutes Evidence in Human Rights-Based Approaches to Health? Learning from Lived Experiences of Maternal and Sexual Reproductive Health
Maya Unnithan

Measuring the Impact of the Human Rights on Health in Global Health Financing
Sara L.M. Davis

The Universal Periodic Review: A Platform for Dialogue, Accountability, and Change on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights
Kate Gilmore, Luis Mora, Alfonso Barragues, Ida Krogh Mikkelsen

Human Rights Quarterly
Volume 37, Number 4, November 2015
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/human_rights_quarterly/toc/hrq.37.4.html

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The Diffusion of Disability Rights in Europe
pp. 831-853
Lisa Vanhala
Abstract
This article examines the spread of disability rights across European countries. Existing theoretical explanations of rights diffusion are unable to account for the pattern of adoption of disability equality norms across Europe over the last twenty years. The article argues top-down explanations need to be complemented by agent-centered approaches to convincingly account for the case of disability rights in Europe. Engagement with social movement theory that takes domestic activists and the meanings they attribute to rights seriously offers a better understanding of how and why we might see the rise of rights in one case and their rejection in another.

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The UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking: A Turbulent Decade in Review
pp. 913-940
Anne T. Gallagher, Joy Ngozi Ezeilo
Abstract
In 2004, largely in response to external developments, the predecessor to the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed a Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons with an explicit mandate to address the human rights aspects of trafficking. This article critically assesses the first decade of that mandate—identifying important achievements but also acknowledging substantial challenges in securing effective responses to trafficking that both protect and advance human rights. In looking ahead it considers the broader lessons that this experience may hold for the emergent global movement against human exploitation—and the place of human rights in the dynamic but often chaotic and schismatic environment that has emerged around trafficking over the past decade.

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Rights Monitoring and Assessment using Quantitative Indicators of Law and Policy: International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
pp. 1071-1100
Jody Heymann, Kristen McNeill, Amy Raub
Abstract
This article proposes an approach to assessing country action on economic and social rights based on transparent, comparable measures of law and policy. Using a new data set on rights, laws, and policies in 193 UN member states, this article applies a sample set of indicators to ICESCR rights to demonstrate the utility of this approach. For each indicator, we examine whether the 163 UN member states that are states parties to the ICESCR have enacted relevant laws and policies; we then compare their performance with that of countries that have not ratified the ICESCR and examine differences before and after ICESCR ratification within countries.

Infectious Diseases of Poverty
http://www.idpjournal.com/content
[Accessed 12 December 2015]

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Research Article
Assessing Ebola-related web search behaviour: insights and implications from an analytical study of Google Trends-based query volumes
Cristiano Alicino, Nicola Bragazzi, Valeria Faccio, Daniela Amicizia, Donatella Panatto, Roberto Gasparini, Giancarlo Icardi, Andrea Orsi Infectious Diseases of Poverty 2015, 4:54 (10 December 2015)
Abstract
Background
The 2014 Ebola epidemic in West Africa has attracted public interest worldwide, leading to millions of Ebola-related Internet searches being performed during the period of the epidemic. This study aimed to evaluate and interpret Google search queries for terms related to the Ebola outbreak both at the global level and in all countries where primary cases of Ebola occurred. The study also endeavoured to look at the correlation between the number of overall and weekly web searches and the number of overall and weekly new cases of Ebola.
Methods
Google Trends (GT) was used to explore Internet activity related to Ebola. The study period was from 29 December 2013 to 14 June 2015. Pearson’s correlation was performed to correlate Ebola-related relative search volumes (RSVs) with the number of weekly and overall Ebola cases. Multivariate regression was performed using Ebola-related RSV as a dependent variable, and the overall number of Ebola cases and the Human Development Index were used as predictor variables.
Results
The greatest RSV was registered in the three West African countries mainly affected by the Ebola epidemic. The queries varied in the different countries. Both quantitative and qualitative differences between the affected African countries and other Western countries with primary cases were noted, in relation to the different flux volumes and different time courses. In the affected African countries, web query search volumes were mostly concentrated in the capital areas. However, in Western countries, web queries were uniformly distributed over the national territory. In terms of the three countries mainly affected by the Ebola epidemic, the correlation between the number of new weekly cases of Ebola and the weekly GT index varied from weak to moderate. The correlation between the number of Ebola cases registered in all countries during the study period and the GT index was very high.
Conclusion
Google Trends showed a coarse-grained nature, strongly correlating with global epidemiological data, but was weaker at country level, as it was prone to distortions induced by unbalanced media coverage and the digital divide. Global and local health agencies could usefully exploit GT data to identify disease-related information needs and plan proper communication strategies, particularly in the case of health-threatening events.

International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction
Volume 14, Part 4, Pages 323-564 (December 2015)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/22124209/14/part/P4

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Fragmentation in disaster risk management systems: A barrier for integrated planning
Original Research Article
Pages 445-456
Claudia Rivera, Henrik Tehler, Christine Wamsler]
Abstract
The need to integrate climate change adaptation (CCA) considerations into disaster risk management (DRM) systems is widely recognised. However, successful integration, and thus the implementation of integrated planning measures, is difficult in practice. To understand and reduce the problems encountered, it is important to investigate systemic challenges. These challenges are rooted in the interaction between various stakeholders that affect DRM and the integration of CCA, directly or indirectly. This study explores the degree of integration in on-the-ground measures by studying systemic challenges, using the Nicaraguan DRM system as a case study. A theoretical framework for investigating systemic challenges in DRM systems was developed. It was then used in a retrospective analysis of the different functions of the systems in order to identify fragmentation in knowledge, information and coordination flows at local and national levels of governance. The results revealed several fragmented processes and functions in the Nicaraguan DRM system. These lead to difficulties in consolidating relevant information produced by multiple governmental authorities at different levels, and transferring this information to the local level. Fragmentation also leads, in turn, to little integration of CCA aspects into DRM in both local planning and practice.

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Analysis of key factors for waste management in humanitarian response: An interpretive structural modelling approach
Original Research Article
Pages 527-535
Ashish Trivedi, Amol Singh, Ankur Chauhan
Abstract
Recent few years have witnessed a substantial growth in the frequency and magnitude of disasters. Natural disasters such as hurricanes and earthquakes hit a community without any prior signals or warning, resulting in high levels of devastation. This further leads to generation of waste and debris that pose threats to health and safety of associated population as well as hinder the recovery process. Hence, there is a necessity of an effective and efficient management of disaster waste. The present research analyses the factors that affect the successful implementation of disaster waste management. Initially the study aims to identify certain key factors from the literature as well as through consultation from domain experts. Next, the contextual relationship between the factors is studied by using Interpretive Structural Modelling approach. The analysis helps in determining factors that play influential role in disaster waste management. It is revealed that geography & terrain and type of disaster have a direct impact on speed of debris management. Although these factors cannot be controlled, but they must be kept in mind while devising waste management plans in vulnerable areas. The analysis further reveals that donors, disaster affected population and local & regional administration can contribute significantly in successful implementation of a disaster waste management plan. The study highlights how these factors influence other elements in waste management process during humanitarian response. Understanding the significance of these factors and giving them priority while planning and implementing disaster waste management can lead to an efficient relief delivery.

International Journal of Infectious Diseases
December 2015 Volume 41, In Progress
http://www.ijidonline.com/issue/S1201-9712%2815%29X0012-9

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Addressing contact tracing challenges—critical to halting Ebola virus disease transmission
Ashley L. Greiner, Kristina M. Angelo, Andrea M. McCollum, Kelsey Mirkovic, Ray Arthur, Frederick J. Angulo
p53–55
Published online: November 4 2015
Open Access
Abstract
The 2014–2015 Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak is the largest in history and the first in West Africa. Many factors underlie the extensive transmission of EVD, particularly delayed and ineffective contact tracing. Contact tracing is a key component to halting the epidemic and getting to zero cases; it includes identifying, locating, and assessing people (known as contact-persons) who have been exposed to a symptomatic EVD case patient.1 Contact-persons are then systematically followed during the maximum Ebola virus incubation period of 21 days, to allow for immediate identification and prompt isolation if they become symptomatic, preventing onward transmission.

Journal of Development Economics
Volume 118, Pages 1-298 (January 2016)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/03043878/118

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Conditional cash transfers, civil conflict and insurgent influence: Experimental evidence from the Philippines
Original Research Article
Pages 171-182
Benjamin Crost, Joseph H. Felter, Patrick B. Johnston
Abstract
Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs are an increasingly popular tool for reducing poverty in conflict-affected areas. Despite their growing popularity, there is limited evidence on how CCT programs affect conflict and theoretical predictions are ambiguous. We estimate the effect of conditional cash transfers on civil conflict in the Philippines by exploiting an experiment that randomly assigned eligibility for a CCT program at the village level. We find that cash transfers caused a substantial decrease in conflict-related incidents in treatment villages relative to control villages in the first 9 months of the program. Using unique data on local insurgent influence, we also find that the program reduced insurgent influence in treated villages. An analysis of possible spillovers yields inconclusive results. While we find no statistical evidence of spillovers, we also cannot rule out that the village-level effect was due to displacement of insurgent activity from treatment to control villages.

Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health
January 2016, Volume 70, Issue 1
http://jech.bmj.com/content/current

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Editorial
The 2014–2015 Ebola saga: lessons for the future
James A Ayukekbong
Author Affiliations
Section of Clinical Virology, Redeem Biomedical System, Buea, Cameroon
Extract
The duration and characteristics of the current devastating and unprecedented Ebola epidemic highlight the need for global public health surveillance to establish preparedness mechanisms for future outbreaks. Since the discovery of the virus in 1976, at least 25 Ebola outbreaks have been recorded, on average occurring every 1.5 years with case fatality rate (CFR) between 30% and 90%.1 ,2 The largest interval between two outbreaks is 15 years, that is, from the 1979 outbreak in Sudan due to the Sudan Ebola virus and the subsequent 1994 outbreak in Gabon caused by the Zaire Ebola virus.
Remarkably, only six previous outbreaks generated >100 deaths but the approximately 11 222 deaths (as of 30 June 2015) in the ongoing epidemic is already more than seven times the number of deaths reported for all previous outbreaks combined, which is estimated to be about 1580 deaths.3 ,4 Obviously, the present epidemic is the longest, largest and most complex Ebola outbreak since the virus was first discovered about 40 years ago. The outbreak started in December 2013 in Guinea,2 spread across land borders to Sierra Leone and Liberia, and then subsequently, by some infected persons, to seven other countries (Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, Spain, the UK, Germany and the USA). In some of these countries, individuals were only diagnosed as Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases after their arrival (eg, the USA), while other countries received known patients for treatment (eg, Spain). However, in these countries, the disease was rapidly contained, thanks to improved healthcare facilities, timely patient isolation and treatment. Meanwhile, the outbreak in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone continued on …

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Ebola, viewed through a lens of African epidemiology
Musa Abubakar Kana, Olufunmilayo Y Elegba, Jackie Obey, Faina Linkov, Eugene Shubnikov
J Epidemiol Community Health 2016;70:6-8 Published Online First: 5 August 2015 doi:10.1136/jech-2015-205874

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Commentary
The impact of pornography on gender-based violence, sexual health and well-being: what do we know?
Megan S C Lim1,2, Elise R Carrotte1, Margaret E Hellard1,2
Author Affiliations
1Centre for Population Health, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
2School of Population Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Introduction
As Internet access and literacy increases, pornography has become highly accessible, cheap and diverse. Online pornography use is common in the USA, with nearly 9 out of 10 men and 1 out of 3 women aged 18–26 reporting accessing pornography online.1 In June 2013, legal pornographic websites received more UK-based traffic than social networks, shopping, news and media, email, finance, gaming and travel websites.2 For example, popular pornography website ‘pornhub’ received 79 billion video views in 2014.3

Increased access to pornography online has been accompanied by rising concerns that it negatively impacts health and well-being, particularly with regard to young people. These concerns include that viewing any sexually explicit material erodes morals and that specific types of pornography, such as that depicting violence against women, leads to increased violence against women in real life. Even in the case of non-violent pornography, there is anxiety that people view pornography as ‘real’ rather than fantasy and that this negatively influences attitudes and real-life sexual behaviour, particularly when people’s sexual experience is limited such as in adolescence.4 Other concerns include the scarcity of condom use in pornography (both for diminishing condom use as a social norm and for the risks to the health of performers), impacts on body image (including trends in pubic hair removal and labiaplasty), and the harms of pornography addiction.

Despite the myriad of fears about online pornography, questions remain over its actual harm. Do viewers really imitate pornography in their own lives and does this negatively influence their health and well-being? Does watching violence in pornography lead to misogyny and gender-based violence? Are young people at greater risk of the negative effects of viewing pornography (if they exist) than older adults? In this paper, we explore the most commonly cited concerns over online pornography by …

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Reaching the poor with health interventions: programme-incidence analysis of seven randomised trials of women’s groups to reduce newborn mortality in Asia and Africa
Tanja A J Houweling, Joanna Morrison, Glyn Alcock, Kishwar Azad, Sushmita Das, Munir Hossen, Abdul Kuddus, Sonia Lewycka, Caspar W Looman, Bharat Budhathoki Magar, Dharma S Manandhar, Mahfuza Akter, Albert Lazarous Nkhata Dube, Shibanand Rath, Naomi Saville, Aman Sen, Prasanta Tripathy, Anthony Costello, for the EquiNaM group
J Epidemiol Community Health 2016;70:31-41 Published Online First: 5 August 2015 doi:10.1136/jech-2014-204685
Abstract
Background
Efforts to end preventable newborn deaths will fail if the poor are not reached with effective interventions. To understand what works to reach vulnerable groups, we describe and explain the uptake of a highly effective community-based newborn health intervention across social strata in Asia and Africa.
Methods
We conducted a secondary analysis of seven randomised trials of participatory women’s groups to reduce newborn mortality in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Malawi. We analysed data on 70 574 pregnancies. Socioeconomic and sociodemographic differences in group attendance were tested using logistic regression. Qualitative data were collected at each trial site (225 focus groups, 20 interviews) to understand our results.
Results
Socioeconomic differences in women’s group attendance were small, except for occasional lower attendance by elites. Sociodemographic differences were large, with lower attendance by young primigravid women in African as well as in South Asian sites. The intervention was considered relevant and interesting to all socioeconomic groups. Local facilitators ensured inclusion of poorer women. Embarrassment and family constraints on movement outside the home restricted attendance among primigravid women. Reproductive health discussions were perceived as inappropriate for them.
Conclusions
Community-based women’s groups can help to reach every newborn with effective interventions. Equitable intervention uptake is enhanced when facilitators actively encourage all women to attend, organise meetings at the participants’ convenience and use approaches that are easily understandable for the less educated. Focused efforts to include primigravid women are necessary, working with families and communities to decrease social taboos.

Journal of Global Ethics
Volume 11, Issue 3, 2015
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/rjge20/.U2V-Elf4L0l#.VAJEj2N4WF8

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Forum: The Sustainable Development Goals
Introduction: The 2030 Agenda
Eric Palmer*
DOI: 10.1080/17449626.2015.1119928
pages 262-269
Abstract
This introduction notes the contributions of authors to the second (final) issue of the Journal of Global Ethics 2015 Sustainable Development Goals Forum. It briefly explains the process through which the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have developed from their receipt in 2014 to their passage in September 2015 by the UN General Assembly, and it considers their development in prospect. The Millennium Development Goals, which spanned 1990–2015, present a case study that reveals the changeability of such long-term multilateral commitments. They were enmeshed in overlapping and inconsistent national and intergovernmental commitments reaching from 1995 to 2005, and the text of those goals also evolved, stabilizing for the last time in 2007. The SDGs and attendant commitments should be expected to evolve similarly over their 15-year run. This presents a concern, for among the three committees established by the UN to create the goals, the two committees charged with public consultation were retired as planned in 2014. The process evident thereafter has displayed a shift towards a strategy of enrolling broad public endorsement that leaves such consultation and specific responsibility to those consulted in doubt. This bodes ill for public deliberation on the goals and for public accountability as the agenda proceeds towards 2030.

Journal of Immigrant & Refugee Studies
Volume 13, Issue 4, 2015
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/wimm20/current

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The Refugee Experience of Social Cohesion in Australia: Exploring the Roles of Racism, Intercultural Contact, and the Media
Justine Dandy & Rogelia Pe-Pua
pages 339-357
Abstract
In this article we examine factors that enhance or disrupt social cohesion for refugees in communities in Perth, Sydney, and Murray Bridge. The data, from 54 interviews and focus groups with 138 people, are drawn from a larger study using Jenson’s multidimensional framework of social cohesion. We found that racism, intercultural contact, and the media had multiple and interrelated effects on aspects of social cohesion such as belonging, participation, and inclusion. The findings demonstrate the utility of the multidimensional framework for understanding refugees’ settlement experiences and outcomes and highlight key areas for policy and practice in refugee resettlement in Australia.

The Lancet
Dec 12, 2015 Volume 386 Number 10011 p2365-2444 e56-e60
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

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Editorial
Remembering the right to health
The Lancet
Summary
Dec 10 marks Human Rights Day. This year, the day is devoted to the launch of a year-long UN campaign to celebrate the 50th anniversary of two landmark international covenants on human rights: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which were adopted by the UN General Assembly on Dec 16, 1966.

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Comment
Women’s, children’s, and adolescents’ health needs universal health coverage
Robin Gorna, Nicole Klingen, Kunio Senga, Agnes Soucat, Keizo Takemi
2371

A worldwide shift in polio vaccines for routine immunisation
Julie R Garon, Walter A Orenstein
2375

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Articles
Immunogenicity of a new routine vaccination schedule for global poliomyelitis prevention: an open-label, randomised controlled trial
Roland W Sutter, Sunil Bahl, Jagadish M Deshpande, Harish Verma, Mohammad Ahmad, P Venugopal, J Venkateswara Rao, Sharad Agarkhedkar, Sanjay K Lalwani, Abhishek Kunwar, Raman Sethi, Marina Takane, Lalitendu Mohanty, Arani Chatterjee, T Jacob John, Hamid Jafari, R Bruce Aylward
Summary
Background
Polio eradication needs a new routine immunisation schedule—three or four doses of bivalent type 1 and type 3 oral poliovirus vaccine (bOPV) and one dose of inactivated poliovirus vaccine (IPV), but no immunogenicity data are available for this schedule. We aimed to assess immunogenicity of this vaccine schedule.
Methods
We did an open-label, randomised controlled trial in four centres in India. After informed consent was obtained from a parent or legally acceptable representative, healthy newborn babies were randomly allocated to one of five groups: trivalent OPV (tOPV); tOPV plus IPV; bOPV; bOPV plus IPV; or bOPV plus two doses of IPV (2IPV). The key eligibility criteria were: full-term birth (≥37 weeks of gestation); birthweight ≥2·5 kg; and Apgar score of 9 or more. OPV was administered at birth, 6 weeks, 10 weeks, and 14 weeks; IPV was administered intramuscularly at 14 weeks. The primary study objective was to investigate immunogenicity of the new vaccine schedule, assessed by seroconversion against poliovirus types 1, 2, and 3 between birth and 18 weeks in the per-protocol population (all participants with valid serology results on cord blood and at 18 weeks). Neutralisation assays tested cord blood and sera collected at 14 weeks, 18 weeks, 19 weeks, and 22 weeks by investigators masked to group allocation. This trial was registered with the India Clinical Trials Registry, number CTRI/2013/06/003722.
Findings
Of 900 newborn babies enrolled between June 13 and Aug 29, 2013, 782 (87%) completed the per-protocol requirements. Between birth and age 18 weeks, seroconversion against poliovirus type 1 in the tOPV group occurred in 162 of 163 (99·4%, 95% CI 96·6–100), in 150 (98·0%, 94·4–99·6) of 153 in the tOPV plus IPV group, in 153 (98·7%, 95·4–99·8) of 155 in the bOPV group, in 155 (99·4%, 96·5–100) of 156 in the bOPV plus IPV group, and in 154 (99·4%, 96·5–100) of 155 in the bOPV plus 2IPV group. Seroconversion against poliovirus type 2 occurred in 157 (96·3%, 92·2–98·6) of 163 in the tOPV group, 153 (100%, 97·6–100·0) of 153 in the tOPV plus IPV group, 29 (18·7%, 12·9–25·7) of 155 in the bOPV group, 107 (68·6%, 60·7–75·8) of 156 in the bOPV plus IPV group, and in 121 (78·1%, 70·7–84·3) of 155 in the bOPV plus 2IPV group. Seroconversion against poliovirus type 3 was achieved in 147 (90·2%, 84·5–94·3) of 163 in the tOPV group, 152 (99·3%, 96·4–100) of 153 in the tOPV plus IPV group, 151 (97·4%, 93·5–99·3) of 155 in the bOPV group, 155 (99·4%, 96·5–100) of 156 in the bOPV plus IPV group, and 153 (98·7%, 95·4–99·8) of 155 in the bOPV plus 2IPV group. Superiority was achieved for vaccine regimens including IPV against poliovirus type 3 compared with those not including IPV (tOPV plus IPV vs tOPV alone, p=0·0008; and bOPV plus IPV vs bOPV alone, p=0·0153). 12 serious adverse events occurred (six in the tOPV group, one in the tOPV plus IPV group, three in the bOPV group, zero in the bOPV plus IPV group, and two in the bOPV plus 2IPV group), none of which was attributed to the trial intervention.
Interpretation
The new vaccination schedule improves immunogenicity against polioviruses, especially against poliovirus type 3.
Funding
WHO, through a grant from Rotary International ( grant number 59735 ).

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Review
Assuring health coverage for all in India
Vikram Patel, Rachana Parikh, Sunil Nandraj, Priya Balasubramaniam, Kavita Narayan, Vinod K Paul, A K Shiva Kumar, Mirai Chatterjee, K Srinath Reddy

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Health Policy
How much donor financing for health is channelled to global versus country-specific aid functions?
Marco Schäferhoff, Sara Fewer, Jessica Kraus, Emil Richter, Lawrence H Summers, Jesper Sundewall, Gavin Yamey, Dean T Jamison

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Viewpoint
The health gap: the challenge of an unequal world
Michael Marmot

PLOS Currents: Disasters
http://currents.plos.org/disasters/
[Accessed 12 December 2015]

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Demographic Determinants of Disaster Preparedness Behaviors Amongst Tehran Inhabitants, Iran
December 11, 2015 · Research Article
Background: Tehran is vulnerable to natural hazards, especially earthquakes. Disaster preparedness behaviors (DPB) are measures that can mitigate the adverse consequences of disasters. Demographic factors affect DPB, however, the role of some of these factors is not still clear. By understanding these effects, disaster specialists could design interventions toward specific demographics. In the present study, we aimed to investigate demographic determinants of DPB.
Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in August 2014. The target population included inhabitants of Tehran who were 18 years or older. A total of 1250 participants were selected randomly and interviewed using a standardized questionnaire.
Results: Results of our study showed that monthly income level, previous disaster experience, residential district and occupation are demographic factors that influence DPB significantly. However, disaster preparedness was not affected by gender, educational level, number of household members, home type, home ownership and being the head of household.
Conclusion: To promote DPB in Tehran, disaster specialists should focus on improving DPB in low-income and unemployed people, and individuals who live in high risk districts, especially in those who have not experienced disasters.

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Teacher-Mediated Interventions to Support Child Mental Health Following a Disaster: A Systematic Review
December 8, 2015 · Disasters
Objectives: This review sought to identify, describe and assess the effectiveness of teacher-mediated interventions that aim to support child and adolescent recovery after a natural or man-made disaster. We also aimed to assess intervention applicability to rural and remote Australian school settings.
Method: A systematic search of the academic literature was undertaken utilising six electronic databases (EBSCO, Medline, PsycINFO, Embase, ERIC and CINAHL) using terms that relate to: teacher-mediated and school-based interventions; children and adolescents; mental health and wellbeing; natural disasters and man-made disasters. This was supplemented by a grey literature search.
Results: A total of 20 articles reporting on 18 separate interventions were identified. Nine separate interventions had been evaluated using methodologically adequate research designs, with findings suggesting at least short-term improvement in student wellbeing outcomes and academic performance.
Conclusions: Although none of the identified studies reported on Australian-based interventions, international interventions could be adapted to the Australian rural and remote context using existing psychosocial programs and resources available online to Australian schools. Future research should investigate the acceptability, feasibility and effectiveness of implementing interventions modelled on the identified studies in Australian schools settings.

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 12 December 2015]

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The Global Health Impact Index: Promoting Global Health
Nicole Hassoun
Research Article | published 11 Dec 2015 | PLOS ONE
10.1371/journal.pone.0141374
Abstract
Millions of people cannot access essential medicines they need for deadly diseases like malaria, tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS. There is good information on the need for drugs for these diseases but until now, no global estimate of the impact drugs are having on this burden. This paper presents a model measuring companies’ key malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS drugs’ consequences for global health (global-health-impact.org). It aggregates drugs’ impacts in several ways–by disease, country and originator-company. The methodology can be extended across diseases as well as drugs to provide a more extensive picture of the impact companies’ drugs are having on the global burden of disease. The study suggests that key malaria, TB and HIV/AIDS drugs are, together, ameliorating about 37% of the global burden of these diseases and Sanofi, Novartis, and Pfizer’s drugs are having the largest effect on this burden. Moreover, drug impacts vary widely across countries. This index provides important information for policy makers, pharmaceutical companies, countries, and other stake-holders that can help increase access to essential medicines.

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Health Gains and Financial Protection from Pneumococcal Vaccination and Pneumonia Treatment in Ethiopia: Results from an Extended Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
Kjell Arne Johansson, Solomon Tessema Memirie, Clint Pecenka, Dean T. Jamison, Stéphane Verguet
Research Article | published 09 Dec 2015 | PLOS ONE
10.1371/journal.pone.0142691
Abstract
Background
Pneumonia and pneumococcal disease cause a large disease burden in resource-constrained settings. We pursue an extended cost-effectiveness analysis (ECEA) of two fully publicly financed interventions in Ethiopia: pneumococcal vaccination for newborns and pneumonia treatment for under-five children in Ethiopia.
Methods
We apply ECEA methods and estimate the program impact on: (1) government program costs; (2) pneumonia and pneumococcal deaths averted; (3) household expenses related to pneumonia/pneumococcal disease treatment averted; (4) prevention of household medical impoverishment measured by an imputed money-metric value of financial risk protection; and (5) distributional consequences across the wealth strata of the country population. Available epidemiological and cost data from Ethiopia are applied and the two interventions are assessed separately at various incremental coverage levels.
Results
Scaling-up pneumococcal vaccines at around 40% coverage would cost about $11.5 million and avert about 2090 child deaths annually, while a 10% increase of pneumonia treatment to all children under 5 years of age would cost about $13.9 million and avert 2610 deaths annually. Health benefits of the two interventions publicly financed would be concentrated among the bottom income quintile, where 30–40% of all deaths averted would be expected to occur in the poorest quintile. In sum, the two interventions would eliminate a total of $2.4 million of private household expenditures annually, where the richest quintile benefits from around 30% of the total private expenditures averted. The financial risk protection benefits would be largely concentrated among the bottom income quintile. The results are most sensitive to variations in vaccine price, population size, number of deaths due to pneumonia, efficacy of interventions and out-of-pocket copayment share.
Conclusions
Vaccine and treatment interventions for children, as shown with the illustrative examples of pneumococcal vaccine and pneumonia treatment, can bring large health and financial benefits to households in Ethiopia, most particularly among the poorest socio-economic groups.

PNAS – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States  of America
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/
(Accessed 12 December 2015)

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Inequality, climate impacts on the future poor, and carbon prices
Francis Dennig, Mark B. Budolfson, Marc Fleurbaey, Asher Siebert, and Robert H. Socolow
PNAS 2015 ; published ahead of print December 7, 2015, doi:10.1073/pnas.1513967112
Significance
Hundreds of published papers produce “optimal” trajectories of global emissions of carbon dioxide, and corresponding carbon prices, over this century, taking into account future damages inflicted by climate change. To our knowledge, in all instances the models ignore inequalities in economic variables beyond regional differences. Here, we introduce heterogeneous subregional populations (distributed by income) and explore how the optimal trajectories are affected by whether regional damage afflicts the poor predominantly. We find that when future damage falls especially hard on the poor, considerably greater global mitigation effort is optimal than when damage is proportional to income.
Abstract
Integrated assessment models of climate and the economy provide estimates of the social cost of carbon and inform climate policy. We create a variant of the Regional Integrated model of Climate and the Economy (RICE)—a regionally disaggregated version of the Dynamic Integrated model of Climate and the Economy (DICE)—in which we introduce a more fine-grained representation of economic inequalities within the model’s regions. This allows us to model the common observation that climate change impacts are not evenly distributed within regions and that poorer people are more vulnerable than the rest of the population. Our results suggest that this is important to the social cost of carbon—as significant, potentially, for the optimal carbon price as the debate between Stern and Nordhaus on discounting.