Amref Health Africa [to 9 January 2016]
http://amref.org/news/news/

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January 5, 2016
Amref Health Africa calls for urgent emergency support for drought-stricken Afar Region of Ethiopia
January 5, 2016
Nairobi, Kenya
As the drought and food shortage in parts of Ethiopia continues to worsen, Amref Health Africa is working with communities, all levels of government and partner organizations to identify and address expected public health emergencies. Focused on the Afar Region, one of the hardest hit areas, Amref Health Africa is ramping up a number of key activities to assist with the emergency response, including:
:: Training health workers, community members, and health facility managers to screen children for malnutrition.
:: Logistical support to provide at-risk children and pregnant women with nutritional supplements.
:: Training health workers on emergency response.
:: Providing health education to communities about the types of diseases that become more prevalent during drought and food shortages, and helping people access the necessary health care services.
:: Working with communities to ensure access to clean water through various means, such as water treatment chemicals and supplies and trucking in clean water.
Promoting the importance of continued good hygiene practices and proper sanitation to prevent the spread of disease.
:: Building the strength of the health system to help ensure ongoing, life-saving prevention and treatment services continue despite the emergency (e.g. immunizations).

BRAC [to 9 January 2016]
http://www.brac.net/#news

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5 January 2016
BRAC awards 10 journalists for reporting on Migration
BRAC awarded 10 journalists from local and national media at an event in the capital today. BRAC Migration programme organised this event at BRAC Centre in recognition of media’s contribution in raising mass awareness on migration, migrant’s rights and welfare. This initiative was taken for the first time to acknowledge and encourage journalism in migration sector.

4 January, 2016
We mourn for Mahabub Hossain
BRAC deeply mourns at the sad demise of Dr Mahabub Hossain, advisor of the executive director, BRAC and Distinguished Professor and Chairperson, Economics and Social Science department of BRAC University. He passed away on January 4, 2016, at 2.45 am (Bangladesh time) in Cleveland Hospital, USA at the age of 71. He left behind his wife, two daughters and a son.

In a life filled with brilliance, this eminent economist served as head of social science division of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Executive director of BRAC, and Director General of Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS). An inspiring figure, he will be forever remembered for his brilliance in articulation of macro- economic analysis, his path breaking research works, his leadership in agricultural innovation and above all his deep empathy for the marginalised people…

ICRC [to 9 January 2016]
https://www.icrc.org/en/whats-new
[Selected news releases]

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05 January 2016
Article
32nd International Conference: Resolutions, bulletins and reports
The 32nd International Conference, held in Geneva from 8-10 December, brought together representatives from 169 Governments, 185 National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and more than 100 observers in an effort to find a common vision for future humanitarian action.

Resolutions
Resolution 1: Strengthening international humanitarian law protecting persons deprived of their liberty (32IC/15/R1)

Resolution 2: Strengthening compliance with international humanitarian law (32IC/15/R2)

Resolution 3: Sexual and gender-based violence: joint action on prevention and response (32IC/15/R3)

Resolution 4: Health Care in Danger: Continuing to protect the delivery of health care together (32IC/15/R4)

Resolution 5: Safety and security of humanitarian volunteers (32IC/15/R5)

Resolution 6: Strengthening legal frameworks for disaster response, risk reduction and first aid (32IC/15/R6)

Resolution 7: Strengthening the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement response to growing humanitarian needs (32IC/15/R7)

…Resolution 10: Power of Humanity. The Fundamental Principles in Action (32IC/15/R10)

IRCT [to 9 January 2016]
http://www.irct.org/

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News
Nine new rehabilitation centres join the IRCT network
04-01-2016
The IRCT is pleased to announce that nine new rehabilitation centres have joined the network.
The new centres are from Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, DR Congo, India, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan, Republic of Korea and USA. They are all not-for-profit rehabilitation centres that provide, as a minimum, rehabilitation services to 50 torture survivors per year… The nine new members take the membership to 150 centres from over 70 countries.

Islamic Relief [to 9 January 2016]
http://www.islamic-relief.org/category/news/

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January 3, 2016
Supporting orphaned children globally
Islamic Relief’s child welfare expert has spoken at a global conference to discuss the rising numbers of orphaned children.

Islamic Relief currently sponsors more than 48,000 orphans in 24 countries and was invited to attend the two-day conference, hosted by Turkish NGO IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation in Istanbul, to discuss the challenges facing orphaned children.

Anwar Ahmed, orphans and child welfare manager at Islamic Relief global headquarters, spoke at the event. He discussed the issue, and the number of factors behind the increased numbers of orphaned children in the world…

Mercy Corps [to 9 January 2016]
http://www.mercycorps.org/press-room/releases

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Iraq, January 5, 2016
Support for Extremist Groups Linked to Governance Failures After Iraq War
New research reveals strong civil society can soothe the tensions driving extremism

Washington, DC — Perceptions of a lack of inclusivity in governance in Iraq has fueled support for extremist groups, according to new research from the global organization Mercy Corps. The report, “Investing In Iraq’s Peace” is based on a public opinion survey of 5,000 people across Iraq, repeated over three years from 2013 to 2015, coupled with interviews of Iraqi citizens including civic leaders, youth, government officials and activists. The survey found that, contrary to popular assumptions, tensions between Iraq’s different sects have been overplayed as the main cause of conflict. Instead, it is the perception that the government is unjust, unresponsive and unaccountable that pushes people to support militias or terrorist organizations….

These findings suggest the failure to support fair and accountable government in Iraq following the US-led invasion has directly contributed to the rise of extremist groups. The research also indicates that one way to address instability in Iraq is to support civil society so that people who are frustrated, in particular young people, have a forum to engage with government institutions instead of siding with armed groups.

“The resignation of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in August 2014 coincided with a sharp decline in those expressing sympathy for armed opposition groups in Iraq, according to our surveys,” says Tesfaye. “The data showed that public support for extremist groups can be eroded. Improving governance, particularly by strengthening civil society, is one good way to invest in Iraq’s peace.”
Download or read the full report.

OXFAM [to 9 January 2016]
http://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases

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8 January 2016
More funding is needed to save lives in countries hit by El Nino
An inadequate response to El Nino will put an already overstretched humanitarian system under intense strain and expose tens of millions more people to the extreme risk of hunger, homelessness and disease. Funding is urgently required to prevent millions more women, children and men around the world from going hungry, suffering water shortages, falling ill and seeing their livelihoods collapse.

Partners In Health [to 9 January 2016]
http://www.pih.org/blog

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Jan 05, 2016
Immigration Crisis, Health as a Human Right in Haiti
Dr. Alexandre Widner comments in this essay on the current political and medical crisis unfolding along the border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and on how PIH is responding to the situation. R

Save The Children [to 9 January 2016]
http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.9357111/k.C14B/Press_Releases_2016/apps/nl/newsletter2.asp

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January 7, 2016
Save the Children Calls for an Immediate End to the Siege of Madaya
Fairfield, Conn. — More children will die in the coming days and weeks unless food, medicine, fuel and other vital aid is immediately allowed into the besieged Syrian town of Madaya, Save the Children warns.

Humanitarian workers on the ground report that at least 31 people in the town have died from malnutrition-related causes in the month of December, including three infant children under one year old. Three unborn children have allegedly died as their mothers were severely malnourished and health workers report an increase in cases of Hepatitis A and skin diseases.

Severe food shortages have pushed the price of essentials such as rice, sugar and bulgur wheat to astronomical levels. Yesterday the cost of bulgur reached $280 per kilogram, according to Save the Children partners in Madaya…

Tostan [to 9 January 2016]
http://www.tostan.org/latest-news

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January 5, 2016
Solidarity Still Needed in Guinea for those Affected by Ebola
In December of 2013, a strange disease began to spread in a small village in Guinea, West Africa. It wasn’t until the 21st of March 2014 that this disease was identified as the Ebola virus.

Just last month, two long years after it began, Guinea was finally declared free of Ebola. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the country now enters a 90-day period of heightened surveillance to make sure that any new cases are identified and dealt with quickly.

While this Ebola-free declaration made by the WHO comes as an immense relief, the work on the ground remains on-going. Late last year a psychosocial and child protection response plan was developed by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Promotion of Women and Children in conjunction with UNICEF. The plan, which will continue through April 2016, provides a minimum package of services to address the differing circumstances of children both directly and indirectly impacted by Ebola.

With the support of UNICEF, Tostan has been providing psychosocial support workshops and home monitoring of orphans, setting up hygiene kits and games, introducing cash transfers, and organizing solidarity campaigns on behalf of people affected by Ebola. These collective efforts will impact 153 Ebola orphans, including 72 girls…

The Elders [to 9 January 2016]
http://theelders.org/news-media

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Opinion Kofi Annan 6 January 2016
2016: a year for passionate intensity and positive change
Reflecting on the events of the past year, Kofi Annan calls on our current generation of leaders to show conviction to achieve positive change for in 2016.

Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA) [to 9 January 2016]
http://www.globalhumanitarianassistance.org/

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Food insecurity, Ethiopia
Report Synopsis
Date: 2016/01/06
On 5 January 2016 we responded to a funding alert for food insecurity in Ethiopia. Overall there are 10.2 million people in an emergency food security situation caused by drought; there are 7 million people in Belg (short rainy season)-dependent areas and 5.1 million people in need of Belg season seeds.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)’s Financial Tracking Service (FTS), donors have committed/contributed US$560.8 million of humanitarian assistance to Ethiopia since the start of 2015. Agriculture was one of the least funded sectors in Ethiopia in 2015, receiving just 0.7% of total humanitarian funding (US$4.1 million). Approximately US$0.4 million was allocated to the distribution of seeds to vulnerable households (according to project descriptions on UN OCHA’s FTS).

Read our full analysis of the current funding situation.

ODI [to 9 January 2016]
http://www.odi.org/media

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Probing for proof, plausibility, principle and possibility: a new approach to assessing evidence in a systematic evidence review
Journal articles or issues | January 2016 | Anouk S. Rigterink and Mareike Schomerus

This article proposes a new approach to assessing evidence during a systematic evidence review aiming to inform international development policy. Drawing lessons from a number of social science systematic evidence reviews, the article identifies how the method’s limiting perspective on evidence (including the exclusive focus on ‘gold standard’ empirical information) has serious disadvantages for the usability of evidence reviews for policy. This article aims to provide an alternative framework that allows for a less exclusionary, yet policy-practical, way of assessing evidence. We propose four perspectives on evidence, appropriate for different stages in the policy process: principle when setting or prioritising broad policy goals, plausibility when
assessing specific future policies, proof when evaluating past policies and possibility when striving for innovation and allowing exchange of ideas.

Kellogg Foundation [to 9 January 2016]
http://www.wkkf.org/news-and-media#pp=10&p=1&f1=news

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WKKF releases 2015 annual report, focused on racial healing and racial equity
Jan. 5, 2016
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) announced the release of its 2015 Annual Report today. The report, which focuses on racial healing and racial equity, is delivered by virtue of an interactive and stylish website.
The articles, videos and interactive content within this year’s report reflects the long racial equity journey the foundation has been on as well as provides insights and information from experts in the field about the barriers to opportunity for communities of color. The critical importance of racial healing and narrative change is also elevated within the report, as well as the stories of several WKKF grantees that have been working in the racial healing space…

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Swinomish Indian Tribal Community adds first dental therapist to meet dental care needs
Statement by La June Montgomery Tabron, president and CEO
Jan. 4, 2016

Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation [to 9 January 2016]
https://www.moore.org/newsroom/press-releases

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Nurse practitioners less costly than physicians in treating Medicare patients
January 6, 2016
BOZEMAN – With Medicare enrollment and cost concerns growing, a new study finds that patients with a nurse practitioner as a primary care provider are less costly to Medicare than patients with a physician primary care provider. The study—the first to examine national data—contradicts previous research suggesting that both types of providers generate equal costs or that nurse practitioners actually cost Medicare more…
Press Releases

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NQF to develop national standards, measurement for patient decision aids
January 4, 2016
Washington, DC—As people demand a greater say in decisions about their healthcare, a variety of tools called decision aids are increasingly being used to make it easier for patients and their clinicians to discuss treatment options. The National Quality Forum will help make sense of the proliferation of these patient resources, which commonly include pamphlets, videos, or web-based resources, by developing national standards for decision aids and a process for their certification. NQF also will work with a multistakeholder expert panel to define concepts for how to measure decision quality and shared decision-making…
Press Releases

David and Lucile Packard Foundation [to 9 January 2016]
http://www.packard.org/news/

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Opinion
Regulators Should Let Banks Get Back to Small-Dollar Loans
January 07, 2016
Small-Dollar Loans
By Nick Bourke
The payday loan market is past due for reform. Implemented correctly, new regulatory standards will help payday loan borrowers by making these loans safer and more affordable, as well as pave the way for better, lower-cost installment loans from banks…

American Journal of Disaster Medicine
Summer 2015, Volume 10, Number 3
http://pnpcsw.pnpco.com/cadmus/testvol.asp?year=2015&journal=ajdm

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Article
Examining the importance of incorporating emergency preparedness and disaster training core competencies into allied health curricula
Tammy Curtis, PhD, RT(R)(CT)(CHES)
Summer 2015; pages 223-236
Abstract
Preparation for responding to emergency events that does not warrant outside help beyond the local community resources or responding to disaster events that is beyond the capabilities of the local community both require first responders and healthcare professionals to have interdisciplinary skills needed to function as a team for saving lives. To date, there is no core emergency preparedness and disaster planning competencies that have been standardized at all levels across the various allied health curricula disciplines. Objective: To identify if emergency preparedness and disaster training content are currently being taught in allied health program courses, to identify possible gaps within allied health curricula, and to explore the perceptions of allied health college educators for implementing emergency preparedness and disaster training core competencies into their existing curricula, if not already included. Design: A quantitative Internet-based survey was conducted in 2013. Setting: Convenient sample. Participants: Fifty-one allied health college educators completed the survey. Findings: Descriptive statistics indicated that the majority of allied health college instructors do not currently teach emergency preparedness and disaster training core competency content within their current allied health discipline; however, their perceived level of importance for inclusion of the competencies was high. The results of this study supported the need for developing and establishing a basic national set of standardized core emergency preparedness and disaster planning competencies at all levels across various allied health curricula disciplines to ensure victims receive the best patient care and have the best possible chance of survival.

American Journal of Infection Control
January 2016 Volume 44, Issue 1, p1-124, e1-e7
http://www.ajicjournal.org/current

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APIC survey finds U.S. healthcare facilities are more prepared to confront Ebola compared to last year: Staffing and infection control resources remain issues
Published in issue: January 01 2016
Preview
Nine in 10 hospital-based APIC members believe their facilities are better prepared today than a year ago to receive a patient with a highly lethal infectious disease like Ebola, but more than half (55 percent) say their facilities have not provided additional resources to support their infection prevention and control (IPC) programs as a result of the Ebola crisis, according to a recent APIC survey.

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Immunity of nursing students to measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella in Yozgat, Turkey
Çiğdem Kader, Ayse Erbay, Nazan Kılıç Akça, Muhammet Fevzi Polat, Sevinç Polat
e5–e7
Published online: October 3 2015
Preview
Measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) are vaccine-preventable diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the vaccination status of first-year nursing students in Turkey. The sample used was 180 students and immunoglobulin G antibodies against MMRV viruses were determined quantitatively by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Immunity rates to MMRV were 82.8%, 83.3%, 98.3%, and 100%, respectively. The results of this study showed that all of the students were immune to varicella and 32.8% of the students were not immune to at least 1 of the viruses covered by the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine.

American Journal of Public Health
Volume 106, Issue 1 (January 2016)
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/current

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Increasing the Incidence and Influence of Systematic Reviews on Health Policy and Practice
Iain Chalmers, DSc, and Daniel M. Fox, PhD
Iain Chalmers is a co-founder of the Cochrane Collaboration (www.cochrane.org) and the James Lind Initiative, Oxford, UK. Daniel Fox is president emeritus of the Milbank Memorial Fund, New York, NY.
Abstract
Why do people make practice and policy decisions in health care and public health without reference to relevant research, or only to biased samples of relevant research evidence? This illogical behavior doesn’t serve the interests of health service users or the public, yet it remains usual. One reason is that most reports of research do not help. Even very prestigious journals publish reports of new studies without acknowledging that readers need to know what the new evidence has added to the totality of trustworthy evidence relevant to the questions addressed.1
Waste in the conduct and reporting of research is a scientific, ethical, and economic scandal, especially because half of the potentially relevant research does not even get reported (see, for example, http://www.alltrials.net). Nevertheless, it is important that systematic use is made of those reports of research that are accessible. In this editorial we consider the increased availability of systematic reviews of research, some of their positive effects on policy and practice, and limitations in the current use of systematic reviews. We end by offering suggestions for enhancing the effectiveness of systematic reviews.

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The Health of the Newest Americans: How US Public Health Systems Can Support Syrian Refugees
Clea A. McNeely, DrPH, MALyn Morland, MSW, MA
Clea A. McNeely is with the Center for the Study of Youth and Political Conflict and the Department of Public Health, University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Lyn Morland is with the Division of Innovation, Policy, and Research, Bank Street College of Education, New York, NY.
ABSTRACT
The statistics are stunning: 1.9 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, 1.7 million in Lebanon, 630 000 in Jordan, 506 000 in the European Union, and 1883 in the United States.1–3 The United States will admit an additional 10 000 Syrian refugees during the next fiscal year, at which point Syrians will constitute approximately 18% of the total refugee population admitted in 2016.4 But this is not a public health emergency in the United States.
The media attention and national concern about Syrian refugees does provide an opportunity, however, to improve our public health system’s capacity to serve all refugees. With commitment and grit, several communities have increased refugees’ access to quality health services that span the full spectrum from preventive screening to management of complex chronic conditions. These promising practices demonstrate the feasibility of providing efficient, accessible and effective health services for even the most linguistically and economically marginalized members of our communities. As Beth Farmer, the director of International Counseling and Community Services in Washington State put it: “If we fix the healthcare system for refugees—make it understandable and easily accessible—we fix it for everyone” (telephone communication, October 2015).

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Sociodemographic Predictors of Vaccination Exemptions on the Basis of Personal Belief in California
American Journal of Public Health: January 2016, Vol. 106, No. 1: 172–177.
Michelle M. Mello, Y. Tony Yang, Paul L. Delamater, Timothy F. Leslie,
Abstract
Objectives. We examined the variability in the percentage of students with personal belief exemptions (PBEs) from mandatory vaccinations in California schools and communities according to income, education, race, and school characteristics.
Methods. We used spatial lag models to analyze 2007–2013 PBE data from the California Department of Public Health. The analyses included school- and regional-level models, and separately examined the percentage of students with exemptions in 2013 and the change in percentages over time.
Results. The percentage of students with PBEs doubled from 2007 to 2013, from 1.54% to 3.06%. Across all models, higher median household income and higher percentage of White race in the population, but not educational attainment, significantly predicted higher percentages of students with PBEs in 2013. Higher income, White population, and private school type significantly predicted greater increases in exemptions from 2007 to 2013, whereas higher educational attainment was associated with smaller increases.
Conclusions. Personal belief exemptions are more common in areas with a higher percentage of White race and higher income.

American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
January 2016; 94 (1)
http://www.ajtmh.org/content/current
Successful Global Health Research Partnerships: What Makes Them Work?
Chandy C. John*, George Ayodo and Philippa Musoke
Author Affiliations
Ryan White Center for Pediatric Infectious Disease and Global Health, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana; Kenya Medical Research Institute, Center for Global Health Research, Kisumu, Kenya; Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
Abstract
There are many successful global health research partnerships, but little information is available about what makes them successful. We asked 14 research colleagues from Uganda, Kenya, and the United States who have extensive global health research experience about what they considered the top three factors that led to or impeded successful international research collaborations. Four key factors were identified: 1) mutual respect and benefit, 2) trust, 3) good communication, and 4) clear partner roles and expectations. Initial and ongoing assessment of these factors in global health research partnerships may prevent misunderstandings and foster a collaborative environment that leads to successful research.

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Burden of Norovirus and Rotavirus in Children After Rotavirus Vaccine Introduction, Cochabamba, Bolivia
Casey L. McAtee*, Rachel Webman, Robert H. Gilman, Carolina Mejia, Caryn Bern, Sonia Apaza,
Susan Espetia, Mónica Pajuelo, Mayuko Saito, Roxanna Challappa, Richard Soria, Jose P. Ribera,
Daniel Lozano and Faustino Torrico
Author Affiliations
Department of Pediatrics, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, Louisiana; Department of Surgery, New York University, New York; Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland; Laboratorios de Investigación y Desarrollo, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Asociación Benéfica PRISMA, Lima, Peru; CEADES Salud y Medio Ambiente, Cochabamba, Bolivia; Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco, San Francico, California; Hospital Albina R. de Patiño, Cochabamba, Bolivia
Abstract
The effectiveness of rotavirus vaccine in the field may set the stage for a changing landscape of diarrheal illness affecting children worldwide. Norovirus and rotavirus are the two major viral enteropathogens of childhood. This study describes the prevalence of norovirus and rotavirus 2 years after widespread rotavirus vaccination in Cochabamba, Bolivia. Stool samples from hospitalized children with acute gastroenteritis (AGE) and outpatients aged 5–24 months without AGE were recruited from an urban hospital serving Bolivia’s third largest city. Both viruses were genotyped, and norovirus GII.4 was further sequenced. Norovirus was found much more frequently than rotavirus. Norovirus was detected in 69/201 (34.3%) of specimens from children with AGE and 13/71 (18.3%) of those without diarrhea. Rotavirus was detected in 38/201 (18.9%) of diarrheal specimens and 3/71 (4.2%) of non-diarrheal specimens. Norovirus GII was identified in 97.8% of norovirus-positive samples; GII.4 was the most common genotype (71.4% of typed specimens). Rotavirus G3P[8] was the most prevalent rotavirus genotype (44.0% of typed specimens) and G2P[4] was second most prevalent (16.0% of typed specimens). This community is likely part of a trend toward norovirus predominance over rotavirus in children after widespread vaccination against rotavirus