WHO & Regionals [to 7 February 2015]

:: 136th WHO Executive Board session
26 January–3 February 2015
Geneva, Switzerland
Documentation

:: Global Alert and Response (GAR): Disease Outbreak News (DONs)
– Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – Saudi Arabia 3 February 2015
– Human infection with avian influenza A(H7N9) virus – Canada 1 February 2015

:: The Weekly Epidemiological Record (WER) 6 February 2015, vol. 90, 6 (pp. 33–40)
Contents
33 Chagas disease in Latin America: an epidemiological update based on 2010 estimates
43 Monthly report on dracunculiasis cases, January– November 2014

:: GIN January 2015 pdf, 1.82Mb
30 January 2015

:: Cholera prevention measures reduce transmission in South Sudan
6 February 2015 — When violence erupted in South Sudan, tens of thousands of people fled the conflict and sought refuge in United Nations bases in the hopes of protection. As the rainy season approached it increased the risk of water-borne diseases, like cholera, and the potential for explosive outbreaks in congested camps. A timely decision to start cholera prevention and control measures, averted illness and death among the vulnerable camp inhabitants who had been at high-risk of the disease.

:: Preventing premature cancer deaths
4 February 2015 — Annually there are 14 million new cases of cancer and over 8 million people die from cancer, with 60% of deaths in Africa, Asia and Central and South America. WHO is working with countries to build solutions to reduce premature deaths from cancers through its global drive to prevent premature deaths from NCDs by 25% by 2025.
Read the commentary on cancer and tobacco
WHO Regional Offices

WHO African Region AFRO
No new digest content identified.

WHO Region of the Americas PAHO
:: PAHO/WHO says accessible, cost-effective measures can prevent premature cancer deaths (02/02/2015)

WHO South-East Asia Region SEARO
:: Beat cancer: Prevent, detect early 04 February 2015

WHO European Region EURO
:: WHO strengthens health operations in eastern Ukraine 06-02-2015
:: Influenza season underway in WHO European Region 04-02-2015

WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region EMRO
No new digest content identified.

WHO Western Pacific Region
No new digest content identified.

UNFPA United Nations Population Fund [to 7 February 2015]
http://www.unfpa.org/public/

6 February 2015
News
The start of a movement: Girls rising up against FGM
TARIME, Tanzania – Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a human rights violation – one that can lead to haemorrhage, infection, complications during childbirth, infertility, and, in some cases, even death. Yet it remains…

5 February 2015
News
Empowering women to lead the change: One woman’s fight against FGM
DOKA, Sudan – Like the vast majority of women in Sudan, Haja Aicha underwent female genital mutilation (FGM) as a child. And like many women, she says the procedure was agonizing. But unlike most people, Haja Aicha has…

3 February 2015
News
Ebola survivors facing stigma, unemployment, exclusion
MONROVIA, Liberia – After recovering from the near-death experience of an Ebola infection, survivors in Liberia are reporting that their ordeal is not yet over. Many say they are encountering hostility, exclusion and…

UNDP United Nations Development Programme [to 7 February 2015]
http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter.html

03 Feb 2015
Helen Clark: Special Address at the Closing Session of the ECOSOC Youth Forum, “A Year of Opportunity for Youth”
New York, New York

02 Feb 2015
Helen Clark: Statement on “Innovative Approaches to Programme Design and Implementation to Support the Operationalisation of the post-2015 Development Agenda” at the Joint Meeting of the Executive Boards of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS, UNICEF, UN Women, and WFP
New York, New York

ILO International Labour Organization [to 7 February 2015]
http://www.ilo.org/global/lang–en/index.htm

ILO-UNCTAD book
Transforming economies
The ILO-UNCTAD book Transforming Economies: Making industrial policies work for growth, jobs and development , provides a deeper understanding of the process of structural and technological change, and distills lessons and principles for the design of policies that effectively create sustained and inclusive growth and quality jobs. The book is based on eight case studies (Costa Rica, Republic of Korea, Brazil, China, South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, the United States and the software industry in India), as well as cross-country and regional studies.

ICAO International Civil Aviation Organization [to 7 February 2015]
http://www.icao.int/Newsroom/Pages/default.aspx

ICAO Forges Clear Strategic Agreement amongst States and Industry as Landmark High Level Safety Event Draws to Successful Conclusion
MONTRÉAL, 6 FEBRUARY 2015 – The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) concluded its second High Level Safety Conference (HLSC) yesterday, with over 850 participants from its Member States and industry showing strong and united support for the UN body’s near- and long-term strategic planning and priorities for global aviation safety.

Besides forging global consensus on two particularly challenging emerging safety issues – flight tracking and conflict zone risk mitigation – the event also delivered clear affirmations for the objectives now being pursued in every world region under the ICAO Global Aviation Safety Plan.

Also recognized was the instrumental coordinating role now being performed by ICAO’s Regional Aviation Safety Groups (RASGs), and that sector-wide safety performance is a critical prerequisite for the sustainable development of air transport and the social and economic development benefits it fosters in States and Regions.

“Importantly, our Member States have reinforced their collective responsibility for aviation safety at this event, and that its enhancement will only continue to be possible through cooperative, collaborative and coordinated efforts among all stakeholders under the leadership of ICAO,” commented ICAO Council President Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu. “This is a clear testament to our ongoing mission and role and to the historic progress we have realized as a united global community.”

As the world continues to respond to the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Western Africa, the ICAO conference also stressed its recognition of the role played by aviation in responding to public health emergencies and the importance of collaboration between the aviation and public health sectors in preparedness planning and response to public health events….

UNIDO United Nations Industrial Development Organization [to 7 February 2015]
http://www.unido.org/en/news-centre/news.html

Monday, 02 February 2015
UNIDO teams up with International Trade Centre to help developing countries in Africa and Asia
VIENNA, 3 February 2015 – The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) will intensify joint activities in support of developing countries in Africa and Asia.

This was discussed in Vienna during a meeting between LI Yong, the Director General of UNIDO, and Dorothy Tembo, ITC Deputy Executive Director, and at subsequent meetings with representatives of relevant Branches, and then formulated in a joint communique signed by Tembo and Taizo Nishikawa, the Deputy to the Director General of UNIDO.

The communique suggests that the two organizations will strengthen cooperation in the areas of trade capacity building, value chain development, investment and export promotion, industrial upgrading and enterprise competitiveness, as well as youth employment and entrepreneurship.

Enhanced collaboration is especially envisaged in Ethiopia and Senegal – within the framework of the Country Partnership Programmes aimed at fostering inclusive and sustainable industrial development – and in Sri Lanka, in the context of an initiative to strengthen the trade capacities and performance of the country’s SMEs.

UNESCO [to 7 February 2015]
http://en.unesco.org/

31 January 2015
Sharm El Sheikh Statement: Setting the scene for education post-2015
Building effective channels for regional cooperation, advancing quality education and lifelong learning, and advocating for education provision in countries affected by conflict and those hosting refugees to be accepted as a global responsibility, are among the main highlights of the Sharm El Sheikh Statement that Arab ministers of education adopted today, concluding the Arab Regional Conference for Education post-2015….
The Statement

USAID [to 7 February 2015]
http://www.usaid.gov/

All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development Announces Round 2 Grantees for Technology-Based Literacy Solutions
February 3, 2015
Innovative, scalable solutions to impact children in developing countries
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), in partnership with World Vision and the Australian Government, announced today 14 grantees for the second call of All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development. Innovators across the world were selected for their low-cost, technology-based solutions and programs that confront fundamental literacy issues and empower children to read…
Round 2 grantees include:

Mother Tongue Instruction and Reading Materials
:: Agora Center, the University of Jyväskylä – Zambia
Introduces GraphoGame, a science-based eLearning environment for literacy and teacher training.
:: Creative Associates International – Zambia
Develops a community-based, scalable model for using mobile technology to create and disseminate mother tongue reading materials to families with early grade children.
:: Kampuchean Action for Primary Education – Cambodia
Develops mother tongue instruction and reading materials, with electronic readers having interactive features for Grades 2 and 3 readers.
:: Little Thinking Minds – Jordan
Builds a child-centered ICT-based Arabic literacy program consisting of e-books and associated mobile applications that can supplement traditional school-based learning at home or in the classroom.
:: Réseau d’Acteurs pour le Renouveau de l’Education – Mali
Uses mobile technology to improve the teaching and learning of reading and writing in bilingual curriculum schools.

Family and Community Engagement
:: ChildFund International – Afghanistan
Transmits radio messages and stories to families of struggling readers, using solar-charged mobile phones.
:: Oeuvre Malienne d’Aide à l’Enfance du Sahel – Mali
Uses Stepping Stone, a low-cost mobile lesson creation tool, to determine how access to interactive digital audio and texts might enhance pre-reading and reading skills.
:: Qué Funciona para el Desarrollo A.C. – Mexico
Introduces MATCH, a technology-based platform that provides children and their parents with a selection of Spanish-written books that are tailored to the child’s reading level and coincide with his/her topics of interest.
:: Sesame Workshop India Trust – India
Strengthens family and community engagement in promoting mother tongue reading skills among early primary grade children.

Children with Disabilities
:: Benetech – India
Creates texts in local languages by developing accessible audio books paired with the most current braille-focused reading methods.
:: Catholic Relief Services – Lesotho
Improves the reading outcomes of visually impaired children through the use of the Mountbatten Pro Brailler (MB Pro) and the Jot-a-Dot portable Brailler.
:: Institute for Disabilities Research and Training, Inc. – Morocco
Develops computer software that enables educators to efficiently create instructional materials with Moroccan Sign Language graphics.
:: Resources for the Blind, Inc. – Philippines
Develops technology to create and upload accessible versions of supplementary reading materials, and provides equipment needed by visually impaired students to access the materials.
:: Studio ADC – Georgia
Develops and tests electronic versions of books and learning materials for hearing impaired children.

ECHO [to 7 February 2015]
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/en/news

New EU strategy mobilises €1 billion for Syria and Iraq
06/02/2015
The European Commission and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy are presenting the first EU comprehensive strategy to tackle the crises in Syria and Iraq allocating €1 billion in funding for the next two years.

Statement by Commissioner Stylianides, EU Ebola Coordinator, on rising Ebola case numbers
05/02/2015
“Ebola cases in West Africa are on the rise again. For the first time this year, we saw an increase in new infections in the week to 1 February – with 124 new confirmed cases across Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. This is very worrying…

EU allocates €3 million to help flood victims in Southern Africa
05/02/2015
The European Commission is giving €3 million in humanitarian aid to assist the people affected by severe flooding in Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar. “The current heavy rains in the region have caused floods that destroyed houses, schools,…

Amref Health Africa [to 7 February 2015]
http://amref.org/news/news/

Speed up Efforts to End Female Genital Mutilation, Urges Amref Health Africa
International Day against Female Genital Mutilation – February 6, 2015

The International Day against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), also known as Female Genital Cutting, has been designated by the United Nations to raise awareness about the dangers of the practice. FGM is the intentional invasive injuring of the female genitalia for non-medical reasons. It is a painful damaging of the genitals aimed at subduing women, an extreme form of discrimination against women that reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes. It has been recognised as a severe violation of the rights of women and girls…

…Amref Health Africa has implemented programmes to eliminate FGM since 2007, including regional programmes across East Africa and Ethiopia. Amref Health Africa’s innovative anti-FGM work, especially the community-led Alternative Rites of Passage, has been widely recognised as safe and acceptable to the community.

On this International Day against Female Genital Mutilation, Amref Health Africa renews its commitment to working hand in hand with governments, development partners and civil society organisations to:
:: Explore innovative ways of engaging the communities to accelerate the abandonment of FGM and to inform programming in working with communities
:: Work hand in hand with relevant bodies and institutions to build skills of frontline health workers in dealing with the effects of FGM
:: Mobilise health workers against medicalisation of FGM
:: Increase health education and health promotion among girls and women

Amref Health Africa realises that governments are solely responsible for ensuring the right to health for their citizenry and commits to supporting the governments to meet this objective. To that extent, Amref Health Africa urges governments as well as their development partners to meet the following obligations for accelerating the abandonment of FGM:
:: Allocate adequate resources to support the abandonment of FGM and increase the empowerment of women and adolescents
:: Ensure frontline workers are knowledgeable and skilled in the care of FGM-related complications
:: Support the implementation of innovative approaches to engage communities towards abandonment of FGM
:: Invest in research to understand the underlying factors that cause FGM to thrive.

Aravind Eye Care System [to 7 February 2015]

Inauguration of Prayana
Aravind – Madurai, January 9
Prayana – A Museum of Library at Aravind was inaugurated in the premises of Aravind Library and Information Centre. The centre was inaugurated by Pamela C Sieving, Former Biomedical librarian/Informationist, NIH Library Bethesda, & Bette Anton, Librarian Emerita, University of California, Berkeley in the presence of senior leadership team of Aravind. The museum holds rare pictures right from the beginning of Aravind Eye Care System, manuscripts, old equipment and instruments used for diagnostic purposes.

BRAC [to 7 February 2015]

Maya Apa – Help at hand – Bangladesh’s first app by women for women
02 February 2015, Dhaka.
In partnership with BRAC, maya.com.bd has launched the first ever one-touch help service app for women in Bangladesh. ‘Maya Apa’ is an android-based mobile application, designed, developed, and implemented by female engineers, doctors, and entrepreneurs. It allows women (or any other user) to post questions anonymously, on health, legal and psychosocial issues. Within 48 hours, experts respond with tailor-made answers…

BRAC launches new research website
01 February 2015, Dhaka.
BRAC’s research and evaluation division launched its new website research.brac.net today. This new initiative was taken with the aim to disseminate its research publications to a wider audience as well as to bring research more prominently in development discussions. Integrating many features of web 2.0, the new website presents augmented user interactivity and mobile friendliness with clear navigations. The publications can be now read online plus social media tools…

Mercy Corps [to 7 February 2015]
http://www.mercycorps.org/press-room/releases

MERCY CORPS FORMS GLOBAL LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
February 2, 2015
WORLD LEADERS JOIN MERCY CORPS’ ADVISORY COMMITTEE TO HELP SHAPE AGENCY’S FUTURE STRATEGY
Portland, Ore. — Seven world political, business and economic leaders have joined Mercy Corps’ new Global Leadership Council to help enhance the organization’s strategic impact and influence and further strengthen responses to humanitarian and economic challenges around the world.
“We are facing an unprecedented number of complex humanitarian crises on multiple continents,” says Neal Keny-Guyer, Chief Executive Officer of Mercy Corps. “Our Global Leadership Council will help Mercy Corps continue to wisely navigate and adapt to today’s dynamic, rapidly changing environment.”
Linda Mason, Honorary Chair of Mercy Corps’ board of directors, will chair the Global Leadership Council. The council’s founding members are:
:: Carolina Barco, Advisor on Sustainable Urban Development in Latin America and the Caribbean to the Inter-American Development Bank, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia and former Ambassador to the United States
:: Mohamed El-Erian, Chief Economic Adviser at Allianz
:: Fadi Ghandour, Founder and Vice Chairman of Aramex, Executive Chairman of Wamda Ventures and Managing Partner of MENA Venture Investments
:: Mo Ibrahim, Founder and Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation and Founding Chairman of Satya Capital Limited
:: Indra Nooyi, Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo
:: George Papandreou, former Prime Minister and former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Greece
:: Robert Zoellick, Chairman of Goldman Sachs’ International Advisors and former President of the World Bank Group.
“These global citizens are among the foremost experts in their fields,” says Keny-Guyer. “Mercy Corps is deeply grateful for their strategic counsel and unwavering commitment to addressing the world’s toughest challenges.”

BMGF – Gates Foundation Watch [to 7 February 2015]

Stanford launches major effort to expedite vaccine discovery with $50 million grant
Stanford Report, January 29, 2015
[Excerpt]
Stanford University today announced that it has received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate efforts in vaccine development. The $50 million grant over 10 years will build on existing technology developed at Stanford and housed in the Human Immune Monitoring Core, and will establish the Stanford Human Systems Immunology Center. The center aims to better understand how the immune system can be harnessed to develop vaccines for the world’s most deadly infectious diseases….

PATH [to 7 February 2015]
http://www.path.org/news/

Press release | February 06, 2015
PATH names Kathy Cahill as vice president for International Development
Public health expert to serve on executive leadership team and oversee PATH’s international presence

Announcement | February 01, 2015
PATH, partners team up to unlock lifesaving health innovation in India
Unique collaboration joins PATH, Unitus Seed Fund, Pfizer, and partners to increase access to health products and services, support Indian entrepreneurs, and improve health throughout India

Innovative health sector financing: the Vaccine Independence Initiative
30 January 2015
This week the UNICEF Board is considering expanding the Vaccine Independence Initiative (VII). This financing mechanism was launched almost 25 years ago in 1991 to decouple the procurement of vaccines from the payment for these vaccines by countries out of national budgets. We caught up with PATH’s chief strategy officer Amie Batson, who has an intimate connection with this program….Q: What is next for the VII? A: During its meeting this week, the UNICEF Board is considering expanding the VII ten-fold (from $10 million to $100 million) to cover prefinancing of vaccines as well as many health products like bednets treated with long-lasting insecticide and supplies needed for Ebola response. As countries graduate from Gavi and other donor support, there are increasing demands for mechanisms such as the VII that create greater financial flexibility.

Save The Children [to 7 February 2015]
http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6150563/k.D0E9/Newsroom.htm

The Lottery of Birth: New Report Reveals World’s Most Disadvantaged Children are Being Left Behind in Global Efforts to Improve Child Survival
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (Feb. 4, 2015) — Despite historic global progress in reducing under-five child mortality rates over the past 15 years, new research conducted by Save the Children has found that large groups of children are still being left behind, simply because of where they live and the circumstances in which they are born.

Many factors, including whether a child lives in a rural area or belongs to a disadvantaged ethnic group, play a huge role in a child’s chances of survival. Save the Children describes this situation as a “lottery of birth.”

The “Lottery of Birth” report, based on inaugural analysis of disaggregated data from 87 low and middle income countries around the world, reveals that in more than three quarters of these countries, inequalities in child survival rates are actually worsening, resulting in some groups of children making far slower progress than their better-off peers…

SOS-Kinderdorf International [to 7 February 2015]
http://www.sos-childrensvillages.org/about-sos/press/press-releases

After Ebola: Orphaned children find home at SOS Children’s Villages Sierra Leone
04.02.2015 – For the first time since June 2014 new cases of Ebola in Sierra Leone have fallen below 100 per week. As the outbreak slows, focus shifts to how to care for the thousands of children left orphaned by Ebola.

Tostan [to 7 February 2015]
February 6, 2015

Tostan’s contributions to ending FGC highlighted by Government and UN agencies at national press conference

Dakar, Senegal – At a Press Conference held yesterday in Dakar, the Government of Senegal, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) shared the results of a recent government study on the practice of FGC in Senegal. According to this 86-page government report, Practices of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting of Girls and Women in Senegal (December 2014), the country has seen significant decreases in the number of young girls affected by FGC. The study revealed that among girls aged 0-15, who have a mother and at least one sibling who have been cut, the prevalence of FGC dropped from 20% in 2005 to 6.2% in 2010—that’s a 69% reduction over the course of five years.

The author of the study, Saturnin Kinson Kodjo, credited Tostan’s approach of non-formal human rights education and community engagement to the increasing number of communities that are abandoning the practice of FGC. “The best solution to abandoning FGC is Tostan’s approach of capacity building in communities and public declarations of abandonment,” he said. He recommended the continuation of the Tostan program in Senegal in order to put an end the practice in the coming years.
Tostan’s Chief Executive Officer, Molly Melching, was invited to talk about the success of Tostan’s Community Empowerment Program in helping communities make the decision to abandon FGC…

ODI [to 7 February 2015]
http://www.odi.org/media

“Cookie cutter” development policies won’t deliver for the world’s poorest – new report
Tuesday 3rd February 2015
A radically different approach to development is needed if progress in reaching the poorest is to be accelerated says a new report from the Overseas Development Institute (ODI).
In spite of aid flows and robust economic growth, the report, ‘Adapting development: improving services for the poor’, shows that some countries could still take 100 years or more to deliver some basic healthcare, sanitation and education services.

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

Stanford launches major effort to expedite vaccine discovery with $50 million grant
Stanford Report, January 29, 2015
[Excerpt]
Stanford University today announced that it has received a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate efforts in vaccine development. The $50 million grant over 10 years will build on existing technology developed at Stanford and housed in the Human Immune Monitoring Core, and will establish the Stanford Human Systems Immunology Center. The center aims to better understand how the immune system can be harnessed to develop vaccines for the world’s most deadly infectious diseases….