Save The Children [to 23 May 2015]
http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6150563/k.D0E9/Newsroom.htm

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Statement From Save the Children On The Violence In South Sudan
Washington, D.C. (May 20, 2015) — Save the Children is horrified and deeply saddened by reports of the killing, maiming, rape and abduction of children in Unity State, South Sudan, in the last two weeks. We are particularly disturbed by the deliberate targeting of children by armed groups, the on-going recruitment of children into these armed groups, and the continued reports of the rape of children by armed groups.
These acts constitute grave violations against children under UN Security Resolution 1612 and Save the Children calls upon all parties to the conflict to ensure the protection of civilians, including children, and to uphold all principles enshrined in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was ratified in South Sudan less than two weeks ago…

Save The Children Launches Charity-Driven Game, Sustainaville, On Mobile, PC And MAC
May 19, 2015

People In Aid [to 23 May 2015]
http://www.peopleinaid.org/

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Global Healthy Workplace Summit 2015: Factors to consider when implementing a healthy workplace programme
By Jonathan Potter
In this final article on the Global Healthy Workplace Summit 2015, Jonathan Potter, Executive Director of People In Aid, highlights four factors to consider when implementing a wellness programme.
(22 May 2015)

New case study: BRAC adopts a new HR model
In 2012, BRAC decided to implement a new strategic HR model to ensure the organisation’s effectiveness and sustainability. This case study examines the HR initiatives undertaken, as well as the challenges, lessons learned, and impact of the model.
(21 May 2015)

How does a humanitarian aid worker become an ‘exemplary field leader’?
This final article on the research of Dr Scott Breslin highlights the features of exemplary humanitarian aid workers that contribute to their effectiveness and wellbeing at work. It then presents three recommendations for HR practitioners to ensure workplace conditions which support successful recruitment and retention of staff, as well as staff wellbeing and effective performance.
(20 May 2015)

New case study: ActionAid Uganda reduces staff attrition with a new recruitment policy
In this case study, ActionAid Uganda shares an initiative it undertook to improve its staff recruitment process. By embedding a comprehensive recruitment guideline in its HR Policy manual, ActionAid Uganda has reduced staff attrition from 13% in 2013 to 10% in 2014.
(20 May 2015)

Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA) [to 23 May 2015]
http://www.globalhumanitarianassistance.org/

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Tanzania refugee crisis
Report Synopsis
Date: 2015/05/22
On 21 May 2015 we responded to a funding alert in response to the Burundian refugee crisis in Tanzania.

The announcement of Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza running for an unconstitutional third term in the June 2015 presidential elections has led to public unrest and threats forcing thousands of Burundians to seek refuge in neighbouring countries.

On 17 May 2015, UNHCR announced that over 70,000 Burundian refugees had arrived in Tanzania since the start of the unrest in early April. A Tanzanian regional health official has announced that 33 Burundian refugees have died from the cholera outbreak in a refugee camp in northwest Tanzania.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)’s Financial Tracking Service (FTS), EU Institutions (ECHO) are the only donor to Tanzania in 2015, committing/contributing US$3.3 million to the crisis. There is currently no UN-coordinated appeal for Tanzania in 2015.

Read our full analysis of the current funding situation.

ODI [to 23 May 2015]
http://www.odi.org/media

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Building adaptive water resources management in Ethiopia
Research reports and studies | May 2015 |
Beatrice Mosello, Roger Calow, Josephine Tucker, Helen Parker, Tena Alamirew, Seifu Kebede, Tesfay Alemseged, Assefa Gudina
What does it take to build adaptive water resources management in Ethiopia: a country experiencing fast economic growth, widespread social and political transformation, and impacts of climate change? This study reports on the current institutional system for water…

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Speaking truth to power: why energy distribution, more than generation, is Africa’s poverty reduction challenge
Working and discussion papers | May 2015 |
James Ryan Hogarth; Ilmi Granoff
This paper revisits the roles that energy plays in poverty reduction.

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The impact of climate change on the achievement of the post-2015 sustainable development goals
Research reports and studies | May 2015 |
Alberto Ansuategi, Valerie Houlden, Anil Markandya, Laura Onofri, Helen Picot, Georgia-Marina Tsarouchi and Nigel Walmsley
This report considers impacts on development over the next 15 years, under two scenarios for the 2015 climate change agreement: a high-ambition agreement and a low-ambition agreement. It looks at associated policies and levels of investment in mitigation and adaptation…

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Comment
Doing development differently: breaking the glass ceiling
Articles and blogs | 20 May 2015 |
Leni Wild and David Booth
How we can create a ‘bandwagon effect’ and bring top decision-makers on board with more locally led, politically smart and adaptive development practices

Clinton Foundation [to 23 May 2015]
https://www.clintonfoundation.org/press-releases-and-statements
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Speeches for the Clinton Foundation
[undated webpage, but media reports, including the New York Times report below, identify release as 21 May 2015]
In addition to contributions and grants, listed here, speeches by President, Secretary, and Chelsea Clinton have helped support the implementation of the Clinton Foundation’s work around the world…
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New York Times, May 21, 2015 – By MAGGIE HABERMAN
Clinton Foundation Releases List of Speeches That Filled Its Coffers
The Clinton Foundation, facing heavy scrutiny of its fund-raising during Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, released on Thursday a list of paid speeches by the Clintons that generated at least $12 million for the organization.

The list shows that Bill, Hillary and Chelsea Clinton turned over to the foundation from $12 million to as much as $26 million in speaking fees.

The list shows the speeches filled the foundation’s coffers in a range of amounts and over years, with Mr. Clinton giving roughly 70 speeches since 2002, including three that brought in from $500,001 to $1 million.

Mrs. Clinton, the former secretary of state, gave roughly 15 speeches and Chelsea Clinton gave six, bringing in between $370,000 and $800,000…

Conrad N. Hilton Foundation [to 23 May 2015]
http://www.hiltonfoundation.org/news

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May 20, 2015
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Names Peter Laugharn New President and CEO, Effective January 1, 2016
Former CEO of Firelight Foundation, Laugharn deemed a “perfect fit” to lead Foundation
AGOURA HILLS, CA – The Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, which has awarded $1 billion in grants in the U.S. and around the world to improve the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people, today named Peter Laugharn its incoming President and CEO, effective January 1, 2016. Laugharn has 25 years of foundation and nonprofit experience internationally, focusing on improving the well-being of vulnerable children. He most recently served as executive director of the Firelight Foundation, a Hilton Foundation grantee…

MacArthur Foundation [to 23 May 2015]
http://www.macfound.org/

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Publication
Assessing the Costs of Jails
Published May 21, 2015
Hidden costs make jails far more expensive than previously understood, according to a report by the Vera Institute of Justice. The report shows that while the U.S. Department of Justice estimated that local communities spent $22.2 billion on jails in 2011, that figure fails to take into account significant costs such as employee benefits and inmate medical care that may not be included in jail budgets. The report was supported by MacArthur through the Safety and Justice Challenge, which seeks to reduce over-incarceration by changing the way America thinks about and uses jails.

Pew Charitable Trusts [to 23 May 2015]
http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/about/news-room/press-releases

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Press Releases
Pew: Clean Energy Investment Shifting to Developing Nations
May 19, 2015
Investment in and deployment of electricity infrastructure is shifting from the industrialized economies of the Northern Hemisphere to the developing economies collectively known as the “global south” and from fossil fuels toward clean energy, according to research released today by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

The report, Power Shifts—Emerging Clean Energy Markets, examines clean energy investment and deployment trends in developing countries. The report finds that 100 nations outside of the Group of 20 and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development attracted a total of $62 billion in clean energy investment from 2009 to 2013, much of it in a relatively small number of countries. In fact, almost half (45 percent) of the total five-year investment, $27.9 billion, occurred in 10 markets, where clean energy capacity grew by 91 percent, three times faster than any other supply option, over the five years…

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation [to 23 May 2015]
http://www.rwjf.org/en/about-rwjf/newsroom/news-releases.html

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RWJF Commits $25 Million to Broaden Health Research
Three programs will offer innovative research opportunities.
May 19, 2015
Princeton, N.J.—The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) today announced an initial $25 million commitment over the next three years to fund innovative research on policies, laws, system interventions, and community dynamics that improve health and well-being, with emphasis on sectors not typically associated with health, such as transportation and housing.

The research grants will support RWJF’s vision, released in 2014, to work with others to build a national Culture of Health in which everyone has the opportunity to live their healthiest life possible.

“For decades, we have supported a research agenda that supports evidence-based approaches to solve some of the most complex health issues facing America, but we want to go even deeper to address root causes of inequitable health outcomes and possible solutions based in creative collaboration across sectors and disciplines,” said Alonzo Plough, PhD, MPH, chief science officer and vice president of Research, Evaluation and Learning at RWJF. “This funding will support analyses of the impact of innovative programs and policies on overall health and well-being. We will explore topics that extend beyond the traditional understanding of health as just the absence of illness, to a broader understanding of well-being that is influenced by a range of factors affecting communities, the environment, and other social and economic determinants of health.”

Research projects will be solicited that examine the factors necessary to building a Culture of Health by identifying problems and finding evidence for what works. RWJF hopes to identify analytic methods that will help determine if the consequences of specific actions, both interventions and policy changes, actually improve population health, well-being, and equity.

Three expert organizations will lead new research programs:
:: Evidence for Action, led by a team at the University of California, San Francisco, will support investigator-initiated research that spans the full range of topics and methodologies needed to build an evidence base for a Culture of Health.

:: Policies for Action, based at Temple University, will specifically explore how policies, laws and regulations in both the public and private sectors can support a Culture of Health. This new project builds on the work and insights of the Temple team’s six years of experience with its Public Health Law Research program, an RWJF grantee.

:: Systems for Action, at the University of Kentucky, will specifically explore ways to better align and integrate public health delivery and financing systems with health care, social services, and other community systems, incorporating the Kentucky team’s experience running RWJF’s National Coordinating Center for Public Health Services and Systems Research.

RWJF officials said the roughly $25 million in new research funding adds to robust research and evaluation funding available through its current areas of focus, including reducing childhood obesity; expanding access to affordable, high-quality health coverage; increasing value of U.S. health care; and others. In addition to working with researchers who focus on traditional approaches to health research, RWJF is seeking new relationships with experts in fields not traditionally associated with health and building a broader capacity in population health science…

BMC Health Services Research
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmchealthservres/content
(Accessed 23 May 2015)

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Research article
Does a voucher program improve reproductive health service delivery and access in Kenya?
Rebecca Njuki, Timothy Abuya, James Kimani, Lucy Kanya, Allan Korongo, Collins Mukanya, Piet Bracke, Ben Bellows, Charlotte Warren BMC Health Services Research 2015, 15:206 (23 May 2015)
Abstract (provisional)
Background
Current assessments on Output-Based Aid (OBA) programs have paid limited attention to the experiences and perceptions of the healthcare providers and facility managers. This study examines the knowledge, attitudes, and experiences of healthcare providers and facility managers in the Kenya reproductive health output-based approach voucher program.
Methods
A total of 69 in-depth interviews with healthcare providers and facility managers in 30 voucher accredited facilities were conducted. The study hypothesized that a voucher program would be associated with improvements in reproductive health service provision. Data were transcribed and analyzed by adopting a thematic framework analysis approach. A combination of inductive and deductive analysis was conducted based on previous research and project documents. Results
Facility managers and providers viewed the RH-OBA program as a feasible system for increasing service utilization and improving quality of care. Perceived benefits of the program included stimulation of competition between facilities and capital investment in most facilities. Awareness of family planning (FP) and gender-based violence (GBV) recovery services voucher, however, remained lower than the maternal health voucher service. Relations between the voucher management agency and accredited facilities as well as existing health systems challenges affect program functions.
Conclusions
Public and private sector healthcare providers and facility managers perceive value in the voucher program as a healthcare financing model. They recognize that it has the potential to significantly increase demand for reproductive health services, improve quality of care and reduce inequities in the use of reproductive health services. To improve program functioning going forward, there is need to ensure the benefit package and criteria for beneficiary identification are well understood and that the public facilities are permitted greater autonomy to utilize revenue generated from the voucher program.

BMC Research Notes
(Accessed 23 May 2015)
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcresnotes/content

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Research article
Culturally appropriate methodology in obtaining a representative sample of South Australian Aboriginal adults for a cross-sectional population health study: challenges and resolutions
Tania Marin, Anne Taylor, Eleonora Grande, Jodie Avery, Graeme Tucker, Kim Morey BMC Research Notes 2015, 8:200 (19 May 2015)
Abstract (provisional)
Background
The considerably lower average life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, compared with non-Aboriginal and non-Torres Strait Islander Australians, has been widely reported. Prevalence data for chronic disease and health risk factors are needed to provide evidence based estimates for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders population health planning. Representative surveys for these populations are difficult due to complex methodology. The focus of this paper is to describe in detail the methodological challenges and resolutions of a representative South Australian Aboriginal population-based health survey.
Methods
Using a stratified multi-stage sampling methodology based on the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2006 Census with culturally appropriate and epidemiological rigorous methods, 11,428 randomly selected dwellings were approached from a total of 209 census collection districts. All persons eligible for the survey identified as Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and were selected from dwellings identified as having one or more Aboriginal person(s) living there at the time of the survey.
Results
Overall, the 399 interviews from an eligible sample of 691 SA Aboriginal adults yielded a response rate of 57.7%. These face-to-face interviews were conducted by ten interviewers retained from a total of 27 trained Aboriginal interviewers. Challenges were found in three main areas: identification and recruitment of participants; interviewer recruitment and retainment; and using appropriate engagement with communities. These challenges were resolved, or at least mainly overcome, by following local protocols with communities and their representatives, and reaching agreement on the process of research for Aboriginal people.
Conclusions
Obtaining a representative sample of Aboriginal participants in a culturally appropriate way was methodologically challenging and required high levels of commitment and resources. Adhering to these principles has resulted in a rich and unique data set that provides an overview of the self-reported health status for Aboriginal people living in South Australia. This process provides some important principles to be followed when engaging with Aboriginal people and their communities for the purpose of health research.

Forum for Development Studies
Volume 42, Issue 2, 2015
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/sfds20/current

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The Impact of ‘Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture’ on Household Vulnerability to Food Insecurity in the KwaZulu-Natal Province
Stanley Sharaunga, Maxwell Mudhara & Ayalneh Bogale
pages 195-223
Free access
DOI:10.1080/08039410.2014.997792
Abstract
It is argued that empowering women in smallholder agriculture is very crucial in reducing vulnerability to food insecurity among rural households. This study contributes to this literature by adapting the vulnerability as expected poverty approach to determine which dimensions of ‘women’s empowerment in agriculture’ reduces household’s vulnerability to food insecurity based on cross-section data collected from 300 randomly selected primary female heads-of-households in Msinga rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal. It was found that empowering women in socio-cultural aspects that creates hindrances in agriculture reduces the probability of their households being vulnerable to food insecurity. Surprisingly, access to irrigation and improved water-use security did not significantly influence household vulnerability to food insecurity. However, other forms of women’s empowerment including economic agency and physical capital empowerment were found to reduce the likelihood of a household being vulnerable to food insecurity. Women with high levels of financial capital empowerment invested less in other capital assets and were more vulnerable to food insecurity in the future. In addition to women’s empowerment, demographic characteristics of a household influence its vulnerability status. A household’s vulnerability to food insecurity reduces as the husband’s income increases but increases with increased dependency ratio. It was concluded that empowerment in agriculture alone is not a panacea to reduce household vulnerability to food insecurity. Efforts should be made to improve physical assets that determine the off-farm income earning and agricultural production capacity of households.
NGO Effectiveness: Evidence from the Field of Child Labour in El Salvador

Forum for Development Studies
Volume 42, Issue 2, 2015
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/sfds20/current

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NGO Effectiveness: Evidence from the Field of Child Labour in El Salvador
Ivica Petrikova
pages 225-244
DOI:10.1080/08039410.2015.1010567
Abstract
This article examines the impact that relations among three non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working with child labourers in El Salvador have on the effectiveness of the NGO’s development assistance. Each of the organisations has chosen a different approach to child labour – one of them views it as an inevitable consequence of poverty that cannot be addressed separately from other developmental problems, while another one regards it a violation of children’s human rights in need of imminent eradication. The third organisation falls somewhere in between, promoting child-labour bans in theory but not fully enforcing them in practice. The three NGOs neither collaborate nor communicate with each other. As a result, the overall effect of their work is hindered by a small scale of projects, high transaction costs, potential duplication, and contradicting strategies to addressing child labour. Some of these shortcomings could be improved via intensifying organisations’ mutual coordination. However, more communication on its own would likely not lead to greater coherence in the approach to addressing child labour on the national level, as it appears that the NGOs devise their strategies and projects on the basis of their donors’ preferences rather than on the basis of their beneficiaries’ needs. I conclude with the observation that in order to increase their effectiveness, NGOs working in child labour, and in other divisive development topics, should be in closer coordination not only with each other but also with the governments of the countries where they work.

Journal of Global Infectious Diseases (JGID)
April-June 2015 Volume 7 | Issue 2 Page Nos. 53-94
http://www.jgid.org/currentissue.asp?sabs=n

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State of the globe: Ebola outbreak in the western world: Are we really ready?
Miguel Reina-Ortiz1, Ismael Hoare1, Vinita Sharma2, Ricardo Izurieta1
1 Department of Global Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Florida, USA
2 Department of Community and Family Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Florida, USA
Excerpt
…In summary, if we are to prevent an Ebola outbreak to ever occur in the Western World, we would need to consider the additional following steps: Educate the population to avoid overflowing of healthcare services, but at the same time to recognize early symptoms properly; implement triage units or sentinel posts closer to the most vulnerable populations (if and when needed); care for the uninsured; educate and train healthcare workers; establish sterilizing units directly under the command of Health Departments; and recruit and train staff and volunteers. We deem the prospects of an Ebola outbreak to occur in the US and the Western World still very low; however, we believe it is important to address the weaknesses in our healthcare systems to be better prepared for such a challenge should it occur.

Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved (JHCPU)
Volume 26, Number 2, May 2015 Supplement
https://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_health_care_for_the_poor_and_underserved/toc/hpu.26.2A.html
SUPPLEMENT FOCUS: Shining the Light on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Health

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Introduction: Shining the Light on Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Health
Winston Tseng, Simona C. Kwon
Author’s Note: In liieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:
The United States’s diverse Asian American and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AA and NHPI) populations have grown faster than those of any other racial/ethnic group over the past three decades.* , Out of the shadows and into the light, the health and health care issues faced by our AA and NHPI communities across the U.S., its territories, and freely associated states matter more and more to the vitality and future of the nation.

In 2015, we mark the 30th anniversary of the Heckler Report, the seminal Report of the Secretary’s Task Force on Black and Minority Health documenting national health inequities by race and ethnicity, which led to the establishment of the Office of Minority Health by Congress in 1986. Notably, the report concluded that Asian/Pacific Islanders in aggregrate were healthier than any other racial group in the U.S. In this supplement, Ponce and colleagues– Ko Chin and Caballero* present a community perspective on the leadership of Assistant Secretary for Health, Dr. Howard Koh, and his work in shepherding new national health equity initiatives, including the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, the reauthorization of the Office of Minority Health (OMH), the creation of the first national U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Plan for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Health, and the new HHS data standards for race, ethnicity, sex, primary language, and disability status from Section 4302 of the Affordable Care Act (ACA)., In addition, the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Service in Health and Health Care were updated in 2013 to provide a comprehensive framework of health and health care organizations for the delivery of culturally respectful and linguistically responsive care and services to all. We honor the heroes and transformative ideas that have worked to advance AA and NHPI health equity.

Asian American and NHPI advocates, researchers, and community leaders have also made tremendous strides in building local and regional community coalitions to document health disparities and advance health equity on behalf of our diverse communities over the past decades., In this supplement, Trinh-Shevrin and colleagues
Authors across the articles by Huang, Islam, is to focus on addressing NHPI health conditions and health care services. This work ahead of us must start with recognizing the effects of structural racism, federal policies, and U.S. occupation on NHPI health, if it is to address racial justice and restore the agency and civil rights of NHPI indigenous communities across Hawaii, the Pacific Islands, and the continental U.S.

The health equity goals of the HHS Action Plan to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, National Stakeholder Strategy for Achieving Health Equity and Healthy People 2020 offer an opportunity for strengthening public-private partnerships between government and communities to document further the structural health inequities disfavoring AA and NHPI populations., The new HHS data standards that examine granular ethnicity and primary languages, as they are implemented across national surveys (e.g., National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, National Health Interview Survey, Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System, Youth Risk Behavioral Surveillance System) and administrative health data systems (e.g., Medicare, Medicaid, Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, Physician Quality Reporting Initiative, and Uniform Data System) and reported through Healthy People 2020 and other public health dissemination venues, will allow us to track and monitor many key health issues facing AA and NHPI populations for the first time at a national level.

The National Stakeholder Strategy for Achieving Health Equity defines health equity as the “attainment of the highest level of health for all people. Achieving health equity requires valuing everyone equally with focused and ongoing societal efforts to address avoidable inequalities, historical and contemporary injustices, and the elimination of health and health care disparities.”24[page 9] The definition of disparities by HHS and the Healthy People program has changed over time; initially the term disparities was understood as denoting disparities by race and ethnicity and focused on health behaviors and conditions. The conception of disparities in Healthy People 2020 is much broader today and includes health disparities by race and ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability status, and geography as well as an examination of other…

Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (JPIDS)
Volume 4 Issue 2 June 2015
http://jpids.oxfordjournals.org/content/current

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Challenges in the Surveillance of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease in the Postvaccination Era
Kattia Camacho-Badilla1, Luiza H. Falleiros-Arlant2, José Brea3 and María L. Avila-Aguero1
Author Affiliations
1Pediatric Infectious Diseases Service, Hospital Nacional de Niños, “Dr. Carlos Sáenz Herrera”, San José, Costa Rica
2Pediatrics, Facultade de Medicina da Universidade de Santos, Sao Paulo, Brazil
3Pediatrics, Centro Universitario Médico del Este, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Accepted April 6, 2015.
Excerpt
Worldwide, meningitis and pneumonia are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children. Invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) is the leading cause of vaccine-preventable deaths, accounting for 11% of deaths in children <5 years globally in the pre-pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) era [1], and it causes significant disease burden in Latin America (LA) and the Caribbean.

According to data published by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in July 2014, 25 countries from LA and the Caribbean have introduced PCVs in their immunization schedules. Bolivia is the latest country that has introduced the 13-PCV in their national immunization program. The First Latin American Meeting of Pneumococcus: Epidemiology and Impact of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines was held in San José, Costa Rica in August 2014 given the importance of analyzing the data of the post-PCVs era and its impact since their introduction in different countries…

Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly
June 2015; 44 (3)
http://nvs.sagepub.com/content/current

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Two Approaches to Nonprofit Financial Ratios and the Implications for Managerial Incentives
Adam Eckerd1
1Virginia Tech, Alexandria, USA
Abstract
Nonprofits compete in donation markets for resources and are expected to report on the financial stewardship of the organization. Without a clear comparative signal to differentiate organizations in this resource market, simple financial ratios have been used as proxy measures of relative organizational efficiency. Two conceptual models can be applied to the use of these ratios: first, as dichotomous conformance thresholds that identify poor performers who are unable to meet some minimum standard, or second, as directly comparable scales of performance where more optimized ratios can be used to distinguish the best performers. These two different conceptual models imply two different managerial approaches and potential organizational outcomes. This research assesses the extent to which nonprofits that are evaluated by an external evaluator appear to use the ratios as thresholds to pass or as scales to optimize.

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Anatomy of the Nonprofit Starvation Cycle
An Analysis of Falling Overhead Ratios in the Nonprofit Sector
Jesse D. Lecy1, Elizabeth A. M. Searing1
1Georgia State University, Atlanta, USA
Abstract
The nonprofit starvation cycle is a debilitating trend of under-investment in organizational infrastructure that is fed by potentially misleading financial reporting and donor expectations of increasingly low overhead expenses. Since its original reporting in 2004, the phenomenon has been referenced several times, but seldom explored empirically. This study uses 25 years of nonprofit data to examine the existence, duration, and mechanics behind the nonprofit starvation cycle. Our results show a definite downward trend in reported overhead costs, reflecting a deep cut in administrative expenses partially offset by an increase in fundraising expenses. The organization’s size is instrumental to its behavior, with a sharp rise in reported overhead occurring when revenues equal $100,000, but diminishing at $550,000. Finally, the brunt of the cuts have fallen on nonexecutive staff wages and professional fees, which heightens the concern of potentially ill effects derived from a fixation on overhead cost reduction.

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International Nonprofit Collaboration – Examining the Role of Homophily
Yannick C. Atouba1 Michelle Shumate2
1Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, USA
2Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
Abstract
The importance and popularity of interorganizational collaboration among nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have grown considerably in recent years. Despite these growths, however, not much is known about why NGOs network the way they do or why NGO networks are structured the way they are. Using homophily theory and exponential random graph modeling, this study examines the patterns of interorganizational collaborative ties among infectious diseases international NGOs (INGOs) in 2007 (n = 94). The results suggest that these NGOs are more likely to collaborate when they have the same status, when they have similar (closer) founding dates, when they are headquartered in the same global hemisphere (north/south), when they have common funding partners, and when they are headquartered in the same geographic regions. Overall, the findings from this study suggest that various sources of homophily inform partner selection among infectious disease INGOs.

PLOS Currents: Disasters
[Accessed 23 May 2015]
http://currents.plos.org/disasters/

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The Duration of an Exposure Response Gradient between Incident Obstructive Airways Disease and Work at the World Trade Center Site: 2001-2011
May 20, 2015 · Research article
Background: Adverse respiratory effects of World Trade Center (WTC) exposure have been widely documented, but the length of time that exposure remains associated with disease is uncertain. We estimate the incidence of new cases of physician-diagnosed obstructive airway disease (OAD) as a function of time since 9/11/2001 in WTC-exposed firefighters.
Methods: Exposure was categorized by first WTC arrival time: high (9/11/2001 AM); moderate (9/11/2001 PM or 9/12/2001); or low (9/13-24/2001). We modeled relative rates (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of OAD incidence by exposure over the first 10 years post-9/11/2001, estimating the time(s) of change in the RR with change point models. We further examined the relationship between self-reported lower respiratory symptoms and physician diagnoses.
Results: Change points were observed at 15 and 84 months post-9/11/2001, with relative incidence rates for the high versus low exposure group of 4.02 (95% CI 2.62-6.16) prior to 15 months, 1.90 (95% CI 1.49-2.44) from months 16 to 84, and 1.20 (95% CI 0.92-1.56) thereafter. Incidence in all exposure groups increased after the WTC health program began to offer free coverage of OAD medications in month 63. Self-reported lower respiratory symptoms in the first 15 months had 80.6% sensitivity, but only 35.9% specificity, for eventual OAD diagnoses.
Conclusions: New OAD diagnoses are associated with WTC exposure for at least seven years. Some portion of the extended duration of that association may be due to delayed diagnoses. Nevertheless, our results support recognizing OAD among rescue workers as WTC-related even when diagnosed years after exposure.

PLoS One
[Accessed 23 May 2015]
http://www.plosone.org/

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Research Article
Effective Coverage and Systems Effectiveness for Malaria Case Management in Sub-Saharan African Countries
Katya Galactionova, Fabrizio Tediosi, Don de Savigny, Thomas Smith , Marcel Tanner
Published: May 22, 2015
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0127818
Abstract
Scale-up of malaria preventive and control interventions over the last decade resulted in substantial declines in mortality and morbidity from the disease in sub-Saharan Africa and many other parts of the world. Sustaining these gains will depend on the health system performance. Treatment provides individual benefits by curing infection and preventing progression to severe disease as well as community-level benefits by reducing the infectious reservoir and averting emergence and spread of drug resistance. However many patients with malaria do not access care, providers do not comply with treatment guidelines, and hence, patients do not necessarily receive the correct regimen. Even when the correct regimen is administered some patients will not adhere and others will be treated with counterfeit or substandard medication leading to treatment failures and spread of drug resistance. We apply systems effectiveness concepts that explicitly consider implications of health system factors such as treatment seeking, provider compliance, adherence, and quality of medication to estimate treatment outcomes for malaria case management. We compile data for these indicators to derive estimates of effective coverage for 43 high-burden Sub-Saharan African countries. Parameters are populated from the Demographic and Health Surveys and other published sources. We assess the relative importance of these factors on the level of effective coverage and consider variation in these health systems indicators across countries. Our findings suggest that effective coverage for malaria case management ranges from 8% to 72% in the region. Different factors account for health system inefficiencies in different countries. Significant losses in effectiveness of treatment are estimated in all countries. The patterns of inter-country variation suggest that these are system failures that are amenable to change. Identifying the reasons for the poor health system performance and intervening to tackle them become key priority areas for malaria control and elimination policies in the region

The Lancet
May 23, 2015 Volume 385 Number 9982 p2015-2120
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

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Editorial
Strengthening clinical research in children and young people
The Lancet
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60974-6
Summary
“The time has come to protect children and young people through research not from research”, said Bobbie Farsides, Professor of Bioethics at Brighton and Sussex Medical School and Chair of the Working Party for the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, which published its report Children and clinical research: ethical issues on May 14. “It will always be easier to say ‘no’ to research with children on the grounds that it’s too difficult, but we should challenge the idea that it is acceptable to continue to offer health care to children without seeking to improve the evidence base for many of the treatments provided”, added Farsides. [Download the report]

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Articles
Socioeconomic inequalities in adolescent health 2002–2010: a time-series analysis of 34 countries participating in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study
Dr Frank J Elgar, PhD, Timo-Kolja Pförtner, PhD, Irene Moor, MSc, Bart De Clercq, MSc, Gonneke W J M Stevens, PhD, Candace Currie, PhD
Published Online
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)61460-4
Summary
Background
Information about trends in adolescent health inequalities is scarce, especially at an international level. We examined secular trends in socioeconomic inequality in five domains of adolescent health and the association of socioeconomic inequality with national wealth and income inequality.
Methods
We undertook a time-series analysis of data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study, in which cross-sectional surveys were done in 34 North American and European countries in 2002, 2006, and 2010 (pooled n 492 788). We used individual data for socioeconomic status (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Family Affluence Scale) and health (days of physical activity per week, body-mass index Z score [zBMI], frequency of psychological and physical symptoms on 0–5 scale, and life satisfaction scored 0–10 on the Cantril ladder) to examine trends in health and socioeconomic inequalities in health. We also investigated whether international differences in health and health inequalities were associated with per person income and income inequality.
Findings
From 2002 to 2010, average levels of physical activity (3·90 to 4·08 days per week; p<0·0001), body mass (zBMI −0·08 to 0·03; p<0·0001), and physical symptoms (3·06 to 3·20, p<0·0001), and life satisfaction (7·58 to 7·61; p=0·0034) slightly increased. Inequalities between socioeconomic groups increased in physical activity (−0·79 to −0·83 days per week difference between most and least affluent groups; p=0·0008), zBMI (0·15 to 0·18; p<0·0001), and psychological (0·58 to 0·67; p=0·0360) and physical (0·21 to 0·26; p=0·0018) symptoms. Only in life satisfaction did health inequality fall during this period (−0·98 to −0·95; p=0·0198). Internationally, the higher the per person income, the better and more equal health was in terms of physical activity (0·06 days per SD increase in income; p<0·0001), psychological symptoms (−0·09; p<0·0001), and life satisfaction (0·08; p<0·0001). However, higher income inequality uniquely related to fewer days of physical activity (−0·05 days; p=0·0295), higher zBMI (0·06; p<0·0001), more psychological (0·18; p<0·0001) and physical (0·16; p<0·0001) symptoms, and larger health inequalities between socioeconomic groups in psychological (0·13; p=0·0080) and physical (0·07; p=0·0022) symptoms, and life satisfaction (−0·10; p=0·0092).
Interpretation
Socioeconomic inequality has increased in many domains of adolescent health. These trends coincide with unequal distribution of income between rich and poor people. Widening gaps in adolescent health could predict future inequalities in adult health and need urgent policy action.
Funding
Canadian Institutes of Health Research.