PLoS Currents: Outbreaks
http://currents.plos.org/outbreaks/
(Accessed 6 February 2016)

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Residency Training at the Front of the West African Ebola Outbreak: Adapting for a Rare Opportunity
February 2, 2016 · Discussion
Medical trainees face multiple barriers to participation in major outbreak responses such as that required for Ebola Virus Disease through 2014-2015 in West Africa. Hurdles include fear of contracting and importing the disease, residency requirements, scheduling conflicts, family obligations and lack of experience and maturity. We describe the successful four-week deployment to Liberia of a first year infectious diseases trainee through the mechanism of the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network of the World Health Organization. The posting received prospective approval from the residency supervisory committees and employing hospital management and was designed with components fulfilling the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) core competencies. It mirrored conventional training with regards to learning objectives, supervisory framework and assessment methods. Together with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and many other partners, the team joined the infection prevention and control efforts in Monrovia. Contributions were made to a ‘ring fencing’ infection control approach that was being introduced, including enhancement of triage, training and providing supplies in high priority health-care facilities in the capital and border zones. In addition the fellow produced an electronic database that enabled monitoring infection control standards in health facilities. This successful elective posting illustrates that quality training can be achieved, even in the most challenging environments, with support from the pedagogic and sponsoring institutions. Such experiential learning opportunities benefit both the outbreak response and the trainee, and if scaled up would contribute towards building a global health emergency workforce. More should be done from residency accreditation bodies in facilitating postings in outbreak settings.

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Epidemiology of Chikungunya Virus in Bahia, Brazil, 2014-2015
February 1, 2016 · Discussion
Chikungunya is an emerging arbovirus that is characterized into four lineages. One of these, the Asian genotype, has spread rapidly in the Americas after its introduction in the Saint Martin island in October 2013. Unexpectedly, a new lineage, the East-Central-South African genotype, was introduced from Angola in the end of May 2014 in Feira de Santana (FSA), the second largest city in Bahia state, Brazil, where over 5,500 cases have now been reported. Number weekly cases of clinically confirmed CHIKV in FSA were analysed alongside with urban district of residence of CHIKV cases reported between June 2014 and October collected from the municipality’s surveillance network. The number of cases per week from June 2014 until September 2015 reveals two distinct transmission waves. The first wave ignited in June and transmission ceased by December 2014. However, a second transmission wave started in January and peaked in May 2015, 8 months after the first wave peak, and this time in phase with Dengue virus and Zika virus transmission, which ceased when minimum temperature dropped to approximately 15°C. We find that shorter travelling times from the district where the outbreak first emerged to other urban districts of FSA were strongly associated with incidence in each district in 2014 (R2).

PNAS – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/
(Accessed 6 February 2016)

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Social Sciences – Sustainability Science – Biological Sciences – Sustainability Science:
Policy impacts of ecosystem services knowledge
Stephen M. Posnera,b,1, Emily McKenziec,d,e, and Taylor H. Rickettsa,b
Author Affiliations
Significance
Our study introduces a conceptual framework and empirical approach to explore how knowledge impacts decision-making. We illustrate this approach with knowledge about ecosystem services (ES), but the approach itself can be applied broadly. Our results indicate that the legitimacy of knowledge (i.e., perceived as unbiased and representative of multiple points of view) is of paramount importance for impact. More surprisingly, we found that credibility of knowledge is not a significant predictor of impact. To enhance legitimacy, ES researchers must engage meaningfully with decision-makers and stakeholders in processes of knowledge coproduction that incorporate diverse perspectives transparently. Our results indicate how research can be designed and carried out to maximize the potential impact on real-world decisions.
Abstract
Research about ecosystem services (ES) often aims to generate knowledge that influences policies and institutions for conservation and human development. However, we have limited understanding of how decision-makers use ES knowledge or what factors facilitate use. Here we address this gap and report on, to our knowledge, the first quantitative analysis of the factors and conditions that explain the policy impact of ES knowledge. We analyze a global sample of cases where similar ES knowledge was generated and applied to decision-making. We first test whether attributes of ES knowledge themselves predict different measures of impact on decisions. We find that legitimacy of knowledge is more often associated with impact than either the credibility or salience of the knowledge. We also examine whether predictor variables related to the science-to-policy process and the contextual conditions of a case are significant in predicting impact. Our findings indicate that, although many factors are important, attributes of the knowledge and aspects of the science-to-policy process that enhance legitimacy best explain the impact of ES science on decision-making. Our results are consistent with both theory and previous qualitative assessments in suggesting that the attributes and perceptions of scientific knowledge and process within which knowledge is coproduced are important determinants of whether that knowledge leads to action.

Prehospital & Disaster Medicine
Volume 31 – Issue 01 – February 2016
https://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayIssue?jid=PDM&tab=currentissue

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Original Research
Developing a Performance Assessment Framework and Indicators for Communicable Disease Management in Natural Disasters
Javad Babaie, Ali Ardalan, Hasan Vatandoost, Mohammad Mehdi Goya and Ali Akbarisari
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine / Volume 31 / Issue 01 / February 2016, pp 27 – 35
Abstract
Introduction
Communicable disease management (CDM) is an important component of disaster public health response operations. However, there is a lack of any performance assessment (PA) framework and related indicators for the PA. This study aimed to develop a PA framework and indicators in CDM in disasters.
Methods
In this study, a series of methods were used. First, a systematic literature review (SLR) was performed in order to extract the existing PA frameworks and indicators. Then, using a qualitative approach, some interviews with purposively selected experts were conducted and used in developing the PA framework and indicators. Finally, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) was used for weighting of the developed indicators.
Results
The input, process, products, and outcomes (IPPO) framework was found to be an appropriate framework for CDM PA. Seven main functions were revealed to CDM during disasters. Forty PA indicators were developed for the four categories.
Conclusion
There is a lack of any existing PA framework in CDM in disasters. Thus, in this study, a PA framework (IPPO framework) was developed for the PA of CDM in disasters through a series of methods. It can be an appropriate framework and its indicators could measure the performance of CDM in disasters.

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Special Reports
Protecting the Health and Well-being of Populations from Disasters: Health and Health Care in The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030
Amina Aitsi-Selmi and Virginia Murray
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine / Volume 31 / Issue 01 / February 2016, pp 74 – 78
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X15005531 Published online: 17 December 2015
Abstract
The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) 2015-2030 is the first of three United Nations (UN) landmark agreements this year (the other two being the Sustainable Development Goals due in September 2015 and the climate change agreements due in December 2015). It represents a step in the direction of global policy coherence with explicit reference to health, economic development, and climate change. The multiple efforts of the health community in the policy development process, including campaigning for safe schools and hospitals, helped to put people’s mental and physical health, resilience, and well-being higher up the DRR agenda compared with its predecessor, the 2005 Hyogo Framework for Action. This report reflects on these policy developments and their implications and reviews the range of health impacts from disasters; summarizes the widened remit of DRR in the post-2015 world; and finally, presents the science and health calls of the Sendai Framework to be implemented over the next 15 years to reduce disaster losses in lives and livelihoods.

Science
05 February 2016 Vol 351, Issue 6273
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

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In Depth
Infectious Disease
The race for a Zika vaccine is on
Jon Cohen
Science 05 Feb 2016:
Vol. 351, Issue 6273, pp. 543-544
DOI: 10.1126/science.351.6273.543
Summary
Scientists first isolated Zika virus in 1947, but the disease it caused in humans was considered mild: It did nothing to 80% of the people it infected, and the ones who had symptoms only had temporary fevers and rashes. But last year, a high number of cases of brain-damaging microcephaly in newborns began to surface in Brazil in lockstep with the arrival of the Zika virus, which is spread by mosquitoes. The World Health Organization on 1 February declared these clusters of disease a “public health emergency of international concern,” and a rush of vaccinemakers has jumped into the race to develop a preventive. Vaccines exist against several other flaviviruses, the family Zika belongs to, and experts predict that this won’t be a major scientific challenge. They also say it may be possible to piggyback on the other flavivirus vaccines, like ones made for dengue and yellow fever. Then again, vaccine R&D takes time, and because this effort is starting from scratch, researchers say it will take at least a few years before a vaccine can prove itself safe and effective in large human efficacy studies.

Social Science & Medicine
Volume 150, Pages 1-290 (February 2016)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/02779536/150

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Review article
Understanding the role of Indigenous community participation in Indigenous prenatal and infant-toddler health promotion programs in Canada: A realist review
Pages 128-143
Janet Smylie, Maritt Kirst, Kelly McShane, Michelle Firestone, Sara Wolfe, Patricia O’Campo
Abstract
Purpose
Striking disparities in Indigenous maternal-child health outcomes persist in relatively affluent nations such as Canada, despite significant health promotion investments. The aims of this review were two-fold: 1. To identify Indigenous prenatal and infant-toddler health promotion programs in Canada that demonstrate positive impacts on prenatal or child health outcomes. 2. To understand how, why, for which outcomes, and in what contexts Indigenous prenatal and infant-toddler health promotion programs in Canada positively impact Indigenous health and wellbeing.
Methods
We systematically searched computerized databases and identified non-indexed reports using key informants. Included literature evaluated a prenatal or child health promoting program intervention in an Indigenous population in Canada. We used realist methods to investigate how, for whom, and in what circumstances programs worked. We developed and appraised the evidence for a middle range theory of Indigenous community investment-ownership-activation as an explanation for program success.
Findings
Seventeen articles and six reports describing twenty programs met final inclusion criteria. Program evidence of local Indigenous community investment, community perception of the program as intrinsic (mechanism of community ownership) and high levels of sustained community participation and leadership (community activation) was linked to positive program change across a diverse range of outcomes including: birth outcomes; access to pre- and postnatal care; prenatal street drug use; breast-feeding; dental health; infant nutrition; child development; and child exposure to Indigenous languages and culture.
Conclusions
These findings demonstrate Indigenous community investment-ownership-activation as an important pathway for success in Indigenous prenatal and infant-toddler health programs.

Tropical Medicine & International Health
February 2016 Volume 21, Issue 2 Pages 157–291
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tmi.2016.21.issue-2/issuetoc

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Original Research Papers
Health status and disease burden of unaccompanied asylum-seeking adolescents in Bielefeld, Germany: cross-sectional pilot study (pages 210–218)
L. Marquardt, A. Krämer, F. Fischer and L. Prüfer-Krämer
Article first published online: 22 DEC 2015 | DOI: 10.1111/tmi.12649
Abstract
Objective
This exploratory pilot study aimed to investigate the physical and mental disease burden of unaccompanied asylum-seeking adolescents arriving in Bielefeld, a medium-size city in Germany.
Methods
A cross-sectional survey with purposive sampling of 102 unaccompanied asylum-seeking adolescents aged 12–18 years was performed. Information on general health status, selected infectious and non-communicable diseases, iron deficiency anaemia and mental illness was collected during routine check-up medical examinations upon arrival in Bielefeld, Germany. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics.
Results
The analysis revealed a complex disease burden with a high prevalence of infections (58.8%), mental illness (13.7%) and iron deficiency anaemia (17.6%) and a very low prevalence of non-communicable diseases (<2.0%). One in five of the refugees were infected with parasites. Whilst sub-Saharan Africans showed the highest prevalence of infections (86.7%), including highest prevalences of parasites (46.7%), West Asians had the highest prevalence of mental disorders (20.0%). Overall, the disease burden in females was higher.
Conclusion
A thorough medical and psychological screening after arrival is highly recommended to reduce the individual disease burden and the risk of infection for others. This promotes good physical and mental health, which is needed for successful integration into the receiving society. Barriers to health service access for unaccompanied asylum-seeking adolescents need to be lowered to allow need-specific health care and prevention.

Tropical Medicine & International Health
February 2016 Volume 21, Issue 2 Pages 157–291
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tmi.2016.21.issue-2/issuetoc

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Reviews
Prevalence and causes of hearing impairment in Africa (pages 158–165)
W. Mulwafu, H. Kuper and R. J. H. Ensink
Article first published online: 14 DEC 2015 | DOI: 10.1111/tmi.12640
Abstract
Objective
To systematically assess the data on the prevalence and causes of hearing impairment in Africa.
Methods
Systematic review on the prevalence and causes of hearing loss in Africa. We undertook a literature search of seven electronic databases (EMBASE, PubMed, Medline, Global Health, Web of Knowledge, Academic Search Complete and Africa Wide Information) and manually searched bibliographies of included articles. The search was restricted to population-based studies on hearing impairment in Africa. Data were extracted using a standard protocol.
Results
We identified 232 articles and included 28 articles in the final analysis. The most common cut-offs used for hearing impairment were 25 and 30 dB HL, but this ranged between 15 and 40 dB HL. For a cut-off of 25 dB, the median was 7.7% for the children- or school-based studies and 17% for population-based studies. For a cut-off of 30 dB HL, the median was 6.6% for the children or school-based studies and 31% for population-based studies. In schools for the deaf, the most common cause of hearing impairment was cryptogenic deafness (50%) followed by infectious causes (43%). In mainstream schools and general population, the most common cause of hearing impairment was middle ear disease (36%), followed by undetermined causes (35%) and cerumen impaction (24%).
Conclusion
There are very few population-based studies available to estimate the prevalence of hearing impairment in Africa. Those studies that are available use different cut-offs, making comparison difficult. However, the evidence suggests that the prevalence of hearing impairment is high and that much of it is avoidable or treatable.

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health ::
Holistic Development :: Sustainable Resilience
__________________________________________________
Week ending 30 January 2016

This weekly digest is intended to aggregate and distill key content from a broad spectrum of practice domains and organization types including key agencies/IGOs, NGOs, governments, academic and research institutions, consortia and collaborations, foundations, and commercial organizations. We also monitor a spectrum of peer-reviewed journals and general media channels. The Sentinel’s geographic scope is global/regional but selected country-level content is included. We recognize that this spectrum/scope yields an indicative and not an exhaustive product. Comments and suggestions should be directed to:

David R. Curry
Editor &
Founding Managing Director
GE2P2 – Center for Governance, Evidence, Ethics, Policy, Practice
david.r.curry@ge2p2center.net

pdf version: The Sentinel_ week ending 30 January 2016

blog edition: comprised of the 35+ entries  posted below on 3 February 2016

WHO statement on the first meeting of the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR 2005) Emergency Committee on Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations
WHO statement
1 February 2016

The first meeting of the Emergency Committee (EC) convened by the Director-General under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR 2005) regarding clusters of microcephaly cases and other neurologic disorders in some areas affected by Zika virus was held by teleconference on 1 February 2016, from 13:10 to 16:55 Central European Time.

The WHO Secretariat briefed the Committee on the clusters of microcephaly and Guillain-Barré Syndrome (GBS) that have been temporally associated with Zika virus transmission in some settings. The Committee was provided with additional data on the current understanding of the history of Zika virus, its spread, clinical presentation and epidemiology.

The following States Parties provided information on a potential association between microcephaly and/or neurological disorders and Zika virus disease: Brazil, France, United States of America, and El Salvador.

The Committee advised that the recent cluster of microcephaly cases and other neurologic disorders reported in Brazil, following a similar cluster in French Polynesia in 2014, constitutes a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).

The Committee provided the following advice to the Director-General for her consideration to address the PHEIC (clusters of microcephaly and neurologic disorders) and their possible association with Zika virus, in accordance with IHR (2005).

Microcephaly and neurologic disorders
:: Surveillance for microcephaly and GBS should be standardized and enhanced, particularly in areas of known Zika virus transmission and areas at risk of such transmission.
:: Research into the etiology of new clusters of microcephaly and neurologic disorders should be intensified to determine whether there is a causative link to Zika virus and/or other factors or co-factors.

As these clusters have occurred in areas newly infected with Zika virus, and in keeping with good public health practice and the absence of another explanation for these clusters, the Committee highlights the importance of aggressive measures to reduce infection with Zika virus, particularly among pregnant women and women of childbearing age.

As a precautionary measure, the Committee made the following additional recommendations:
Zika virus transmission
:: Surveillance for Zika virus infection should be enhanced, with the dissemination of standard case definitions and diagnostics to at-risk areas.
:: The development of new diagnostics for Zika virus infection should be prioritized to facilitate surveillance and control measures.
:: Risk communications should be enhanced in countries with Zika virus transmission to address population concerns, enhance community engagement, improve reporting, and ensure application of vector control and personal protective measures.
:: Vector control measures and appropriate personal protective measures should be aggressively promoted and implemented to reduce the risk of exposure to Zika virus.
:: Attention should be given to ensuring women of childbearing age and particularly pregnant women have the necessary information and materials to reduce risk of exposure.
:: Pregnant women who have been exposed to Zika virus should be counselled and followed for birth outcomes based on the best available information and national practice and policies.

Longer-term measures
:: Appropriate research and development efforts should be intensified for Zika virus vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.
:: In areas of known Zika virus transmission health services should be prepared for potential increases in neurological syndromes and/or congenital malformations.

Travel measures
:: There should be no restrictions on travel or trade with countries, areas and/or territories with Zika virus transmission.
:: Travellers to areas with Zika virus transmission should be provided with up to date advice on potential risks and appropriate measures to reduce the possibility of exposure to mosquito bites.
:: Standard WHO recommendations regarding disinsection of aircraft and airports should be implemented.

Data sharing
:: National authorities should ensure the rapid and timely reporting and sharing of information of public health importance relevant to this PHEIC.
:: Clinical, virologic and epidemiologic data related to the increased rates of microcephaly and/or GBS, and Zika virus transmission, should be rapidly shared with WHO to facilitate international understanding of the these events, to guide international support for control efforts, and to prioritize further research and product development.

Based on this advice the Director-General declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) on 1 February 2016. The Director-General endorsed the Committee’s advice and issued them as Temporary Recommendations under IHR (2005). The Director-General thanked the Committee Members and Advisors for their advice.

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List of Members of, and Advisers to, the International Health Regulations (2005) Emergency Committee on Zika virus and observed increase in neurological disorders and neonatal malformations

Life-Saving Aid Still Locked Out of Besieged, Hard-to-Reach Areas in Syria, Top United Nations Humanitarian Official Tells Security Council
Security Council 7612th Meeting (AM)
27 January 2016 SC/12223

Despite repeated calls to the Security Council and the parties to the conflict in Syria, the humanitarian community remained without access to the majority of the estimated 4.6 million people living in besieged or hard-to-reach areas, the senior United Nations humanitarian official said today during a briefing to the 15-member body.

Stephen O’Brien, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator, said the continued suffering of the Syrian people could not be blamed on humanitarian organizations and staff, who stood ready to scale up assistance as soon as security conditions and more sustainable access would allow it. Rather, it was the failure of the parties and the international community, all of whom had allowed the conflict to continue for far too long…

Humanitarian missions to that town and to the similarly besieged areas of Zabadani, Foah and Kefraya — undertaken by the United Nations, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent over the last two weeks — had delivered sufficient food, medical and other aid to help more than 60,000 people for one month. However, medical supplies and teams were still urgently needed and humanitarian conditions in those areas remained severe, and the situation in Madaya was only the “tip of the iceberg”.

He went on to say that increasing numbers of people were living in areas that were besieged or hard to reach, and the continuing use of siege and starvation as weapons of war was “reprehensible”. In addition, the indiscriminate use of weapons against civilians, residential areas, aid supply routes, as well as civilian infrastructure protected under international law continued, “outrageously”, with total impunity, he noted, recalling that he had repeatedly asked the Council to demand that the parties to the conflict facilitate unhindered, unconditional and sustained access across Syria.

“But, this is simply not happening,” he continued. In 2015, just over 10 per cent of the 113 requests for interagency convoys had been successful. A further 10 per cent had been approved in principle, but could not proceed due to a lack of final approval, insecurity or lack of agreement on safe passage. Almost 75 per cent of requests had gone unanswered by the Government. “Such inaction is unacceptable for a Member State of the United Nations and a signatory of the United Nations Charter,” he stressed…

World: UN emergency fund releases US$100 million to assist millions of displaced and vulnerable people in nine underfunded crises
(Addis Ababa/New York, 29 January 2016) – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today released US$100 million from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) for severely underfunded aid operations in nine neglected emergencies. The funds will enable life-saving help for millions of people forced from their homes in Central and Eastern Africa, those affected by conflict and food insecurity in Libya and Mali, and the most vulnerable and at risk of malnutrition in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“I am allocating US$100 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund to meet critical humanitarian needs in nine underfunded emergencies,” said the Secretary-General. “This funding is a lifeline for the world’s most vulnerable people. It is a concrete demonstration of our shared commitment to leave no one behind.”

Some $64 million from the CERF allocation will allow humanitarian partners to respond to the displacement crises in Central and Eastern Africa caused by conflict and violence in South Sudan, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Urgently needed funds will help an estimated 1.7 million refugees, internally displaced people and host communities in Burundi ($13 million), Ethiopia ($11 million), Kenya ($4 million), Sudan ($7 million), Tanzania ($11 million), and Uganda ($18 million).

A further $28 million will help relief agencies address the humanitarian needs of up to 350,000 people affected by conflict and food insecurity in Libya ($12 million); and in Mali ($16 million), where an estimated 300,000 people will be assisted, especially in the North.

An allocation of $8 million will support urgent life-saving humanitarian assistance for more than 2.2 million vulnerable people in DPR Korea, including 1.8 million children who need urgent nutrition assistance.

“With so many crises competing for attention around the world many people in need are forgotten. These CERF grants will help sustain life-saving assistance and protection in emergencies where the needs of the most vulnerable communities are alarmingly high but the resources enabling us to respond remain low,” said the Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien. “I thank our donors for their support to CERF so far in 2016. A strong and well-resourced CERF will help us focus on addressing the most critical needs.”

CERF is one of the fastest and most effective ways to support rapid humanitarian response. The Fund pools donor contributions into a single fund so money is available to start or continue urgent relief work anywhere in the world at the onset of emergencies and for crises that have not attracted sufficient funding. Since 2006, 125 UN Member States and observers, private-sector donors and regional governments have supported the Fund. To date, CERF has allocated almost $4.2 billion for humanitarian operations in 94 countries and territories.

OECD and UNHCR call for scaling up integration policies in favour of refugees
Watch: press conference with OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría and UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi
28/01/2016 – The heads of the OECD and UNHCR, at a joint high-level Conference on the integration of beneficiaries of international protection in Paris today, have called on governments to scale up their efforts to help refugees integrate and contribute to the societies and economies of Europe.

In 2015, more than 1 million people crossed the Mediterranean Sea to look for international protection in Europe. In total, about 1.5 million claimed asylum in OECD countries in 2015. This is almost twice the number recorded in 2014 and the highest number ever. At the same time, asylum seekers represent only about 0.1% of the total OECD population, and, even in Europe, they represent less than 0.3% of the total EU population.

The OECD and UNHCR stressed not only the moral imperative but also the clear economic incentive to help the millions of refugees living in OECD countries to develop the skills they need to work productively and safely in the jobs of tomorrow.

“Far from a problem, refugees can and should be part of the solution to many of the challenges our societies confront,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría at the joint Conference in Paris today. “They bring Hope: the hope of a better life and a better future for their children and ours. But to realise this potential, a substantial investment is needed to provide immediate support and help the refugees settle and adapt and develop their skills. It is a difficult and costly task in the short term, with a high pay-off for all in the medium to longer term” he said. “Our analysis demonstrates the benefits that well-managed migration can bring to the economies and societies of OECD countries. But this will largely depend on how well integration measures are designed and implemented. The earlier refugees get the required support, the better their integration prospects” Mr. Gurría added. (Read the full speech here)

“Integration is a dynamic two-way process which requires both the individual and society to make considerable efforts,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said. “In order to play a full role in the social, economic, and cultural life of their host country, refugees need to achieve equality of rights and opportunities. States have an important role in this process, ensuring that refugees play a positive and active part in the integration process, particularly in terms of the services provided to them and in ensuring that they are received by welcoming communities.”

The OECD also released today a report Making Integration Work: Refugees and others in need of protection, which provides the main lessons from the experience of OECD countries in fostering the integration of refugees. The report highlights many good practices to tackle key barriers and support lasting integration of refugees and their children. It stresses the importance of early intervention, including providing access to language courses, employment programmes and integration services as soon as possible, including for asylum seekers with high prospects to remain. It also stresses the need to help migrants settle where jobs are and not necessarily where housing is cheaper. The report also underlines the need to adapt integration programmes to reflect migrants’ diversity in terms of skills and the specific needs of refugees.

UNHCR and partners seek over US$500mill for Nigeria and CAR refugee crises
25 January 2016
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and its partners on Monday called on donor nations for more than half-a-billion dollars this year to help hundreds of thousands of people forced to flee conflicts in Nigeria and the Central African Republic (CAR) and the host communities providing them with shelter and other basic services.

The two Regional Refugee Response Plans (RRRP), presented at a donor briefing in Yaoundé, Cameroon, include US$198.76 million for 230,000 Nigerian refugees and some 284,300 members of host communities in Niger, Chad and Cameroon as well as US$345.7 million for 476,300 CAR refugees and some 289,000 people hosting them in Chad, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Republic of Congo.

Both RRRPs cover needs in sectors such as protection, education, food security, health and nutrition, livelihoods, shelter, basic aid and water, hygiene and sanitation. The CAR appeal is being made by 25 organizations, including UNHCR and other UN agencies as well as NGOs. The Nigeria appeal is made by 28 organizations. UNHCR alone is seeking US$189.54 million under the Central African Republic RRRP and US$62.33 million for the Nigeria one…

The Regional Refugee and Migrant Response Plan for Europe: Eastern Mediterranean and Western Balkans route :: January – December 2016
IOM, UNHCR and 65 other organizations
2016 :: 110 pages
Report pdf: http://rmrp-europe.unhcr.org/2016_RMRP_Europe.pdf

[Report excerpt}
p.12
Response Strategy
The regional RMRP presents a framework for an inter-agency response to the refugee and migrant mass flows into Europe through the Eastern Mediterranean and Western Balkans route. It sets out the overall strategic direction at the regional level, while building upon specific country chapters.

Besides cooperation with Governments, the RMRP will be implemented in close cooperation with the European Commission and relevant EU Agencies, including the European Agency for the Management of Operational Cooperation at the External Borders of the Member States of the EU (FRONTEX) and the European Asylum Support Office (EASO).

This response plan includes both a strategy and an appeal. The latter covers financial requirements to address major concerns in the areas of access to territory and asylum, to improve reception conditions and provide a protection-centered emergency assistance to people of concern, and to enable access to effective protection systems and durable solutions.

The RMRP will cover the needs of an integrated emergency response in Europe for twelve months in 2016, utilizing a planning figure of one million refugees and migrants arriving via sea from Turkey to Greece. It represents a coherent and predictable package of interventions based on standardized approaches and comparative advantages of involved partners.

The RMRP is also part of a comprehensive approach which includes a number of response plans and programmatic activities in refugee producing and transit countries.

Recognizing the primary leadership and responsibility of host governments, the strategic goals are:
1. To design and implement a response that supports, complements and builds Governments’ existing capacity to ensure effective and safe access to asylum, protection and solutions in relevant countries, as well as manage migration in an orderly and dignified manner while protecting the human rights of all refugees and migrants.

2. To ensure that refugee and migrant women, girls, boys and men have access to protection and assistance in a participatory manner, with particular attention to specific needs. Protection-centred assistance should be delivered in a manner that respects the principle of non-discrimination; age, gender and diversity; is appropriate to the specific characteristics of the movement; and takes into account the needs of the local communities.

3. To strengthen national and local capacities and protection systems and ensure safe access to longer-term solutions for refugees and migrants who may become stranded, may want to apply for asylum, or may want to return voluntarily to their countries of origin. This includes a robust and protection-centred relocation scheme, as well as reinforced alternative legal pathways to protection, such as family reunification and resettlement.

4. To strengthen partnership and coordination within the humanitarian community and with governments, both in setting common goals and in establishing national-level coordination
structures and information analysis, that ensure an efficient and coordinated response, including coordinated channels for citizen engagement to support the reception and integration of refugees and migrants….

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Press Release
IOM, UNHCR, Partners Seek USD 550 Million for Europe’s Refugees and Migrants
01/26/16
Switzerland – As continuing conflict in the Middle East and elsewhere drives people to seek refuge in Europe, IOM, UNHCR and some 65 other organizations yesterday appealed in Geneva to donors for USD 550 million to support the ongoing humanitarian response.

With global forced displacement at a record high of some 60 million people and increasingly impacting countries of the Global North, 2015 saw over a million refugees and migrants arriving in Europe by boat.

Around 850,000 of these crossed from Turkey to Greece, with most continuing through the Balkans and towards Austria, Germany, Sweden and other western European countries.

The appeal aims at funding humanitarian operations in 2016 across the affected countries, with approximately half of the funds allocated for Greece.

Humanitarian operations will include aid and protection activities where people are arriving, including identifying those at heightened risk, registration, shelter, water and sanitation to bolster the capacity of frontline responders, including coastguards, border guards, police and support for affected communities. Help with relocation, resettlement and other regular solutions was also part of the appeal.

UNICEF launches US$2.8 billion humanitarian appeal for children
Syria crisis causes spike in need for education in emergencies
GENEVA, 26 January 2016 – UNICEF is launching a US$2.8 billion appeal to reach 43 million children in humanitarian emergencies worldwide.

For the first time ever, the largest portion of the appeal – 25 per cent – is going towards educating children in emergencies. This year UNICEF plans to dramatically increase the number of children in crises who are given access to education – from 4.9 million at the beginning of 2015 to 8.2 million in 2016. More than half – 5 million – will be Syrian children inside the country or in neighbouring countries.

“Millions of children are being robbed of their education,” says Afshan Khan, UNICEF’s Director of Emergency Programmes. “Education is a life-saving measure for children, providing them with the opportunity to learn and play, amidst the carnage of gunfire and grenades. This year, a quarter of our appeal is devoted to education. By educating the minds of children and young people we are building hope so they can envisage a better future for themselves, their families and their societies and help break the cycle of chronic crisis.”

UNICEF’s 2016 appeal has doubled since this time three years ago. The twin drivers of conflict and extreme weather are forcing growing numbers of children from their homes and exposing millions more to severe food shortages, violence, disease, abuse, as well as threats to their education.

Around 1 in 9 of the world’s children is now living in conflict zones. In 2015, children living in countries and areas affected by conflict were twice as likely to die of mostly preventable causes before they reached the age of five, than those in other countries.

Climate change is a growing threat, with over half a billion children living in extremely high flood occurrence zones and nearly 160 million living in high or extremely high drought severity zones. One of the strongest El Niño weather events on record poses further risk.

The number of people forced from their homes continues to grow, with Europe alone receiving more than 1 million refugees and migrants in 2015.

“In the past few months I have seen with my own eyes children pushed beyond the boundaries of human suffering in Burundi, northeast Nigeria and along the migrant and refugee route in Europe,” says Khan. “Across the world, millions of children have been forced to flee their homes due to violence and conflict. The global refugee crisis is also a protection crisis for children on the move, who are at increased risk of abuse, exploitation and trafficking.”

UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children 2016 appeal targets a total of 76 million people, in 63 countries…

Corruption Perceptions Index – 2015
Transparency International – Support provided by Ernst & Young
2016 :: 20 pages
Report and Infographics: http://files.transparency.org/content/download/1952/12820/file/2015_CPI_ReportInfographicsZIP.zip

Press Release
Corruption Perceptions Index 2015: Corruption still rife but 2015 saw pockets of hope
27 January 2016
Transparency International calls on people everywhere to speak out against corruption

2015 showed that people working together can succeed in the battle against corruption. Although corruption is still rife globally, more countries improved their scores in the 2015 edition of Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index than declined.

Overall, two-thirds of the 168 countries on the 2015 index scored below 50, on a scale from 0 (perceived to be highly corrupt) to 100 (perceived to be very clean).

Yet in places like Guatemala, Sri Lanka and Ghana, citizen activists in groups and on their own worked hard to drive out the corrupt, sending a strong message that should encourage others to take decisive action in 2016…

The results –
:: The index covers perceptions of public sector corruption in 168 countries.
:: Denmark took the top spot for the 2nd year running, with North Korea and Somalia the worst performers, scoring just 8 points each.
:: Top performers share key characteristics: high levels of press freedom; access to budget information so the public knows where money comes from and how it is spent; high levels of integrity among people in power; and judiciaries that don’t differentiate between rich and poor, and that are truly independent from other parts of government.
:: In addition to conflict and war, poor governance, weak public institutions like police and the judiciary, and a lack of independence in the media characterise the lowest ranked countries.
:: The big decliners in the past 4 years include Libya, Australia, Brazil, Spain and Turkey. The big improvers include Greece, Senegal and UK.
:: The Corruption Perceptions Index is based on expert opinions of public sector corruption. Countries’ scores can be helped by open government where the public can hold leaders to account, while a poor score is a sign of prevalent bribery, lack of punishment for corruption and public institutions that don’t respond to citizens’ needs.

Global Risks Report 2016
World Economic Forum
11 Edition :: 103 pages
Pdf: http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GRR/WEF_GRR16.pdf

Overview
Now in its 11th edition, The Global Risks Report 2016 draws attention to ways that global risks could evolve and interact in the next decade.
The Global Risks Report 2016 features perspectives from nearly 750 experts on the perceived impact and likelihood of 29 prevalent global risks over a 10-year timeframe. The risks are divided into five categories: economic, environmental, geopolitical, societal and technological.
The report also examines the interconnections among the risks, and through that analysis explores three areas where global risks have the greatest potential to impact society. These are the concept of the “(dis)empowered citizen”, the impact of climate change on food security, and the potential of pandemics to threaten social cohesion.
The report also takes an in-depth look at the how the global security landscape could evolve in the future; sharing the outcomes of a year-long study to examine current trends and possible driving forces for the future of international security.

Introduction
Over the past decade, The Global Risks Report has expanded its scope from analysing the interconnected and rapidly evolving nature of global risks to also putting forward actionable solutions and calling for public-private collaboration in strengthening resilience. Now in its 11th edition, the Report describes a world in which risks are becoming more imminent and have wide-ranging impact: tensions between countries affect businesses; unresolved, protracted crises have resulted in the largest number of refugees globally since World War II; terrorist attacks take an increasing toll on human lives and stifle economies; droughts occur in California and floods in South Asia; and rapid advances in technologies are coupled with ever-growing cyber fragilities and persistent unemployment and underemployment.

Implications of sweeping digitization (also termed the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”), ranging from transformations that are the result of rising cyber connectivity to the potential effects of innovations on socioeconomic equality and global security, remain far from fully understood. At the same time, climate change is unequivocally happening, and there is no turning back time.

The increasing volatility, complexity and ambiguity of the world not only heightens uncertainty around the “which”, “when, “where” and “who” of addressing global risks, but also clouds the solutions space. We need clear thinking about new levers that will enable a wide range of stakeholders to jointly address global risks, which cannot be dealt with in a centralized way.

Taken together, this calls for a resilience imperative – an urgent necessity to find new avenues and more opportunities to mitigate, adapt to and build resilience against global risks and threats through collaboration among different stakeholders.

By putting the resilience imperative at its core, this year’s Global Risks Report combines four parts to present an analysis of different aspects of global risks – across both global risks and stakeholders – focused as much on the search for solutions as on the analysis of the risks themselves.

Part 1 analyses the difference in risk perceptions over different time horizons and the perceived interconnections among risks, as visualized in the Global Risks Landscape 2016, all based on the Global Risks Perception Survey, which combines the views of different stakeholders. Three risk interconnection clusters stand out:
:: climate change in relation to water and food crises;
:: the growing challenges of the rising number of displaced people worldwide; and,
:: what the Fourth Industrial Revolution means in an era of economic risks.

Part 2 discusses the implications of a changing international security landscape and identifies the drivers that are at work and the implications for addressing global risks. Inspired by the results of The Global Risks Report 2015 and the continued instability of the global security situation, it lays out alternative and plausible futures that could materialize unless there is a change in how we respond and manage the forces at play.

Part 3 explores three risks clusters that have the potential to challenge social stability. For each of these “Risks in Focus”, it describes three existing, practical initiatives that could help to build resilience. The concept of the (dis)empowered citizen is introduced to describe the tensions created by growing cyber connectivity that empowers citizens at the same time as they feel increasingly disenfranchised from traditional decision-making processes. The second contribution further explores one impact of climate change: coupled with rising population growth, it is threatening food security. Finally, in the wake of the Ebola crisis, the potential of pandemics to threaten social cohesion is discussed.

Part 4 applies the resilience imperative to one specific stakeholder – the business community – with an analysis at country and regional levels. Drawing on a unique data set of more than 13,000 business leaders in 140 economies, it explores the differing landscape of global risks across regions and offers a deep-dive into five of the six most cited global risks worldwide. Its aim is to inform the discussion of which risks to prioritize in order to build resilience within businesses.

World Economic Forum – 2016

Editor’s Note:
The annual World Economic Forum generates a good number of strategic announcements, new research studies and commentary. We provide additional selected press releases below – see initial aggregation in last week’s edition.

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Bank CEOs and Policy-makers Join Taskforce to Study Future of Global Financial System at Davos
News 26 Jan 2016
:: Mark Carney, Governor, Bank of England and Chairman of the Financial Stability Board (FSB), and Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman, World Economic Forum, announced on the 26th January the creation of a high-level Taskforce to address the future of the global financial system
:: The Taskforce, which met for the first time in Davos, comprises eight senior decision-makers from Citigroup, BlackRock, HSBC, Bank of America, Reserve Bank of India, IMF, Chinese University of Hong Kong
:: The group will focus on the inclusion of emerging market economies in the global financial system, technology-enabled innovation and the economic cost-benefit of post-crisis regulatory reforms as outlined here

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A Key Challenge of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: Staying Human – and Humane
News 23 Jan 2016
:: Rapid technological advances, including the proliferation of artificial intelligence, challenge individuals to maintain their essential humanity
:: More than 2,500 business, government and civil society leaders from over 100 countries participated in the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2016, which drew to a close

Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 23 January 2016 – As the world surges into the Fourth Industrial Revolution – a new age of interactive technologies, artificial intelligence and automation – a key challenge for individuals will be to understand and retain their very essence, their humanity, leading scientists and thought leaders on society and law said in the closing panel session of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2016. Being able to master the technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution must be an essential part of that, the panellists agreed. Said Henry T. Greely, the Deane F. and Kate Edelman Johnson Professor of Law at Stanford University in the US: “All of us need to begin to understand and grapple with how we want to shape these technologies.”

“We are competing with artificial intelligence,” asserted Meeting Co-Chair Amira Yahyaoui, Founder and Chair of citizens action group Al Bawsala in Tunisia and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shaper community of leaders in their twenties. “We really have to show we are the good ones. So the discussion of ethics and value has never been more essential than it is today.” Justine Cassell, Associate Dean, Technology, Strategy and Impact, in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University in the US, countered: “I don’t think of robots as competitors. I think of them as collaborators to help us do what we wish to do but can’t do alone and help us to be part of a larger community.”

Robots and artificial intelligence will force people to hone human skills that were much more important generations ago in the days of very low tech. “Empathy, respect – those skills will be effective for the workplace of the future,” Cassell reckoned. “It is through comparison with robots that we will know what it is to be human.”…

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Improving the Outlook for Science Depends on Basic Research and Better Use of Talent
News 23 Jan 2016
:: Sustaining basic research requires more support from business, academia and government
:: Improving opportunities for women and interdisciplinary connections can better leverage existing science knowledge

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Cautious Optimism for 2016 Global Economy
News 23 Jan 2016
:: Despite a new year marked by volatility, global growth will be modest and uneven
:: Modest optimism is accompanied by significant downside risks
:: Monetary policy divergence is not a major concern
:: Markets overreacted to China’s transition

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Redefine the Future by Using Technology to Create Opportunities and Bridge Gaps
News 23 Jan 2016
:: The central challenge in the Fourth Industrial Revolution is whether technology can be harnessed for systems change and drive progress towards a zero-carbon, zero-poverty world
:: Short-termism and the narrow shareholder approach should be replaced by management and decision-making that take into account the long view and the broader interests of all stakeholders

United Nations – Secretary General, Security Council, General Assembly  [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.un.org/en/unpress/
Selected Press Releases/Meetings Coverage

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29 January 2016
SC/12229
Security Council Press Statement on Haiti
The following Security Council press statement was issued today by Council President Elbio Rosselli (Uruguay):
The members of the Security Council expressed their strong concern regarding the developments leading to the indefinite postponement of the final round of elections in Haiti, scheduled to have taken place on 27 December 2015 and postponed, for the second time, to 24 January.

The members of the Security Council expressed their concern that the delay in elections may undermine Haiti’s ability to address the security, economic and social challenges it faces, and strongly encouraged the Executive, the Parliament and the relevant political actors to come to an agreement by 7 February, providing a Haitian-led and owned road map for the swift conclusion of the current electoral cycle to allow the Haitian pople the opportunity to vote for their elected representatives in a free, fair, inclusive and transparent contest…

The members of the Security Council reiterated their strong condemnation of any attempt to destabilize the electoral process, in particular by force, and urged all candidates, their supporters, political parties and other political actors to remain calm, refrain from unlawful violence or any action that can further disrupt the electoral process and political stability, resolve any electoral disputes through established legal mechanisms and to hold those responsible for such violence accountable…

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29 January 2016
SG/SM/17499-AFR/3315
Secretary-General Stresses Development, Good Governance Can Prevent Terrorism, in Remarks to African Union Peace and Security Council

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29 January 2016
SC/12227
President Put Optimistic, Positive ‘Spin’ on Situation in Burundi, Security Council Visiting Mission to Africa Reports
President Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi had portrayed an optimistic and positive picture of recent developments in his country, while the radical opposition camp had expressed concern that “genocide was in the making”, France’s representative told the Security Council today during a briefing on its visiting mission to Burundi and Ethiopia from 21 to 23 January.

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27 January 2016
GA/PAL/1358
Palestinian Rights Committee Critical to Keeping International Spotlight on Troubling Situation, Secretary-General Says at Start of 2016 Session
Palestinians were losing hope after nearly 50 years of occupation by Israel, but despite the challenges, the United Nations remained committed to creating the conditions for the resumption of meaningful negotiations, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the Palestinian Rights Committee today as it opened its 2016 session.

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27 January 2016
SC/12223
Life-Saving Aid Still Locked Out of Besieged, Hard-to-Reach Areas in Syria, Top United Nations Humanitarian Official Tells Security Council
Despite repeated calls to the Security Council and the parties to the conflict in Syria, the humanitarian community remained without access to the majority of the estimated 4.6 million people living in besieged or hard-to-reach areas, the senior United Nations humanitarian official said today during a briefing to the 15-member body.

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26 January 2016
SC/12219
Act Now to Prevent Two-State Solution from ‘Slipping Away Forever’, Secretary-General Warns during Security Council Debate
With a relentless wave of extremist terror gripping the Middle East, Israelis and Palestinians had an opportunity to restore hope to a region torn apart by intolerance and cruelty, Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon told the Security Council today, urging it to “act now” to prevent the two-State solution from slipping away forever.

UN OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights [to 30 January 2016]
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/media.aspx?IsMediaPage=true
Selected Press Releases

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More allegations of sexual abuse of children by foreign soldiers in the Central African Republic
29 January 2016

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UN expert group urges the US to address legacies of the past, police impunity and racial injustice crisis
WASHINGTON D.C. (29 January 2016) – The legacy of enslavement in the United States of America remains a serious challenge as there has been no real commitment to recognition and reparations for people of African descent, a United Nations expert panel has said today at the end of its second official visit* to the country.
From 9 to 29 January, a delegation of the UN Working Group of experts on people of African descent visited Washington D.C., Baltimore, Jackson- Mississippi, Chicago, and New York City to address current concerns, and assess progress made in the fight agains racial discrimination, Afrophobia, xenophobia, and protecting and promoting the human rights of African- Americans.

“Despite substantial changes since the end of the enforcement of Jim Crow and the fight for civil rights, ideology ensuring the domination of one group over another continues to negatively impact the civil, political, economic, social, cultural and environmental rights of African Americans today,” said human rights expert Mireille Fanon Mendes France, who currently heads the group of experts…

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South Korea’s democracy project threatened by regression on assembly and association rights – UN expert
SEOUL (29 January 2016) – United Nations Special Rapporteur Maina Kiai today commended the Republic of Korea’s “impressive achievements,” but underlined that its journey to democracy is not yet over. At the end of his first official visit* to the country, Mr. Kiai warned that the democracy project is still being threatened by a decline on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association.

“The project of building democracy and human rights in South Korea is not over; indeed it never truly is, in any nation,” said the independent expert mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to monitor and promote the realization of the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association worldwide. “What we have is a structure, and our solemn task as governments and citizens is to continually build upon that structure, strengthening the foundation and cultivating its resilience.”

While the Special Rapporteur applauded the Government’s many human rights achievements, he also highlighted “a trend of gradual regression on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association – not a dramatic shutdown of these rights, but a slow, creeping inclination to degrade them.”

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UN and African experts urge Sierra Leone’s President to save millions of women’s lives by signing the 2015 Safe Abortion Bill
GENEVA (28 January 2016) – A group of United Nations and African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights Commission human rights experts* today urge the President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, to sign the 2015 Safe Abortion Bill for it to enter into force without further delay. They warned that reluctance towards the decriminalization of abortion by some parties, including religious organizations, has resulted in delays in signing the Bill, as the President sent it back to Parliament for reconsideration.

The 2015 Safe Abortion Bill, passed by Parliament last December, is aimed at ensuring women’s and adolescents’ access to safe services regarding abortion and authorizes the termination of a pregnancy under any circumstances up to 12 weeks and in cases of incest, rape, fetal impairment as well as when the woman’s health is at risk, up to 24 weeks.