Emergencies

Posted on 24 February 2019 by davidrcurry

Emergencies

POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
Polio this week as of 20 February 2019
:: On 19 February, the 20th IHR Emergency Committee including members, advisers, and invited Member States convened to discuss the status of international spread of poliovirus. The Committee unanimously agreed that the risk of polio spread continues to be a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and proposed an extension of Temporary Recommendations for an additional three months. The recommendations come amid outbreak notification of cVDPV1 and cVDPV2 in Indonesia and Mozambique respectively. The official WHO Statement and the Temporary Recommendations will be issued shortly. [Full statement not yet posted]

:: The GPEI has developed the Global Polio Surveillance Action Plan 2018-2020, incorporating newer strategies and innovations to help endemic, outbreak and high-risk countries measure and enhance sensitivity of their surveillance systems. Read more here.

:: WHO is seeking input on draft guidance for managing human exposure to live polioviruses in facilities such as labs and vaccine plants. The document is open for public comment and WHO is particularly seeking feedback from national authorities for containment and others working in public health.

Summary of new viruses this week:
:: Afghanistan — one case of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) and four WPV1-positive environmental samples;
:: Pakistan – two cases of WPV1 and four WPV1-positive environmental samples.

::::::
::::::

Editor’s Note:
WHO has posted a refreshed emergencies page which presents an updated listing of Grade 3,2,1 emergencies as below.

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies [to 23 Feb 2019]
Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: :: 29: Situation report on the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu 19 February 2019
:: DONS – Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo 21 February 2019

Bangladesh – Rohingya crisis
:: Bi‐weekly Situation Report 3 – 14 February 2019
…Immunization
Vaccination at Registration Post: Three vaccination posts have been established in camp 7, camp 17 and 26 with the support of UNHCR to provide immunization service to newborn eligible for birth registration under family head count. The activity started in Teknaf in Sep 2018 and in Ukhia (camp 7 and 17) in Feb 2019. Immunization activities are offered for 5 days a week.
Health worker immunization: Two vaccinations post are providing immunization to health care workers on weekly basis to humanitarian workers in camps. To-date 1,753 Td doses have been administered to health workers.
VPD Surveillance: 3 AFP cases have been investigated in 2019 with result still pending. Out of 88 suspected measles cases in 2019, 53 patients (42%) have been investigated through Case Report Form.

South Sudan
:: WHO provides lifesaving health care services to displaced populations and host communities in 22 locations in South Sudan 18 February 2019

Myanmar – No new digest announcements identified
Nigeria – No new digest announcements identified
Somalia – No new digest announcements identified
Syrian Arab Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies [to 23 Feb 2019]
Brazil (in Portugese) – No new digest announcements identified
Cameroon – No new digest announcements identified
Central African Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Ethiopia – No new digest announcements identified
Hurricane Irma and Maria in the Caribbean – No new digest announcements identified
Iraq – No new digest announcements identified
Libya – No new digest announcements identified
MERS-CoV – No new digest announcements identified
Niger – No new digest announcements identified
occupied Palestinian territory – No new digest announcements identified
Sao Tome and Principe Necrotizing Cellulitis (2017) – No new digest announcements identified
Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Ukraine – No new digest announcements identified
Zimbabwe – No new digest announcements identified

::::::

WHO Grade 1 Emergencies [to 23 Feb 2019]
Afghanistan
Chad
Indonesia – Sulawesi earthquake 2018
Kenya
Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Mali
Namibia – viral hepatitis
Peru
Philippines – Tyhpoon Mangkhut
Tanzania

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::::::

UN OCHA – L3 Emergencies
The UN and its humanitarian partners are currently responding to three ‘L3’ emergencies. This is the global humanitarian system’s classification for the response to the most severe, large-scale humanitarian crises.
Syrian Arab Republic
:: Humanitarian Update Syrian Arab Republic – Issue 01 | 19 February 2019

FIGURES
. People in need of humanitarian assistance 13M
. People in acute need of humanitarian assistance 5.2M
. Internally displaced people (as of August) 6.2M
. Returnees (January – December 2018) 1.4 M
. People in need in UN-declared hardto-reach areas 1.1M
HRP 2018 FUNDING
. 3.36 billion requested (US$)
. 64.9% funded

Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

::::::

UN OCHA – Corporate Emergencies
When the USG/ERC declares a Corporate Emergency Response, all OCHA offices, branches and sections provide their full support to response activities both at HQ and in the field.
Ethiopia
:: Ethiopia Humanitarian Bulletin Issue #3 | 04-17 February 2019
HIGHLIGHTS
. Over 45,000 IDPs in need of urgent humanitarian assistance in Central Gondar.
. The level of humanitarian needs in 2019 expected to remain similar to 2018.
. UNHCR notes spontaneous movement of South Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia.

Somalia – No new digest announcements identified

Posted on 18 February 2019 by davidrcurry

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 16 February 2019

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
GE2P2 Global Foundation – Governance, Evidence, Ethics, Policy, Practice
david.r.curry@ge2p2center.net

PDF: The Sentinel_ period ending 16 Feb 2019

Contents
:: Week in Review [See selected posts just below]
:: Key Agency/IGO/Governments Watch – Selected Updates from 30+ entities [see PDF]
:: INGO/Consortia/Joint Initiatives Watch – Media Releases, Major Initiatives, Research:: Foundation/Major Donor Watch -Selected Updates
:: Journal Watch – Key articles and abstracts from 100+ peer-reviewed journals [see PDF]

ISIL/Da’esh Continues Evolution into Covert Global Network Enjoying Access to Millions of Dollars, Top Anti-Terrorism Official Tells Security Council

Posted on 18 February 2019 by davidrcurry

Governance: Non-state Actors – ISIL/Da’esh

ISIL/Da’esh Continues Evolution into Covert Global Network Enjoying Access to Millions of Dollars, Top Anti-Terrorism Official Tells Security Council
Counter-Terrorism Directorate Chief Concerned That Group Exploits Mobile Money Payments, Anonymity of Blockchain Technology
11 February 2019
SC/13697
Despite the decline in the number of international terrorist attacks in 2018, Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant () continues to evolve into a global covert network, with access to hundreds of millions of dollars and the demonstrated ability to exploit new technologies, the top-ranking United Nations counter-terrorism officials told the Security Council today.

Vladimir Voronkov, Under-Secretary-General in the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, briefed the 15-member Council on the eighth “Report of the Secretary-General on the threat posed by ISIL to international peace and security and on the range of the United Nations’ efforts in support of Member States in countering the threat”. He said the threat has been increased by the presence of returning, relocating or released foreign terrorist fighters.

With ISIL’s centre of gravity in Iraq and Syria, where it is reported to control between 14,000 and 18,000 militants, the group remains intent on undermining any form of stabilization, he emphasized. Despite its loss of revenues, ISIL sustains its operations through accessible reserves or investment in businesses ranging from $50 million to $300 million. “Recent ISIL losses should not lead to complacency at any level,” he stressed.

He went on to outline efforts undertaken by the United Nations in countering the financing of terrorism, border control enforcement and countering terrorist narratives. Noting that ISIL continues to target Libya’s police stations and oil facilities, he said approximately 1,000 foreign terrorist fighters are also reported to have travelled from the western Balkans to conflict zones in Iraq and Syria. ISIL is also reported to control training camps in Afghanistan and is increasingly recruiting women and youngsters in its South-East Asia terrorist operations.

In a second briefing, Michèle Coninsx, Executive Director of the Counter Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate, cited with concern ISIL’s use of mobile payment services in West Africa and its possible exploitation of the anonymity afforded by blockchain technology. On advancing justice and accountability, she emphasized the fundamental need to collect and preserve evidence, pointing out that Governments can also establish special investigative and prosecutorial entities to support criminal justice efforts, welcoming the establishment of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by Da‘esh/Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (UNITAD) in that context…

United Nations seeks US$920 million for Rohingya humanitarian crisis in 2019

Posted on 18 February 2019 by davidrcurry

Humanitarian Response – Scale: Rohingya in Bangladesh

United Nations seeks US$920 million for Rohingya humanitarian crisis in 2019
15 Feb 2019
United Nations aid agencies and NGO partners launched today the 2019 Joint Response Plan (JRP) for the Rohingya humanitarian crisis. The appeal seeks to raise US$920 million to meet the massive needs of more than 900,000 refugees from Myanmar and over 330,000 vulnerable Bangladeshis in host communities.

Critical aid and services such as food, water, sanitation and shelter represent more than half of the funding needs this year. Other key sectors of the appeal include health, site management, protection activities including child protection and addressing sexual and gender-based violence, education and nutrition.

More than 745,000 Rohingya refugees have fled from Myanmar’s Rakhine State to Bangladesh since August 2017, escaping violence in Myanmar and joining roughly 200,000 others already displaced in the Cox’s Bazar area by previous cycles of violence.

With the generosity and support of the Bangladeshi authorities and local communities, who were the first to respond to the emergency, critical needs were met and many lives were saved.

“The solidarity shown by the Government of Bangladesh and the commitment of humanitarian partners ensured the successful implementation of the first Joint Response Plan in 2018. Moving forward, we reiterate our commitment to meeting the dire needs of this population and urge the international community to support these efforts,” said International Organization for Migration Director General António Vitorino.

“Our humanitarian imperative today is to stabilise the situation of stateless Rohingya refugees and their Bangladesh hosts. We are hoping for timely, predictable and flexible contributions in order to meet the goals of this year’s appeal,” said the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.

“But while we tackle these immediate humanitarian needs we must not lose sight of solutions. I repeat my call to Myanmar to take urgent action to address the root causes of this crisis which have persisted for decades, so that people are no longer forced to flee and can eventually return home in safety and dignity. We encourage countries in this region and beyond to show solidarity with Bangladesh and to support Myanmar to start creating conditions for voluntary, safe and dignified return of Rohingya refugees,” Grandi continued.

The new JRP sets out a comprehensive humanitarian effort shaped around three strategic objectives. By bringing together 132 partners – UN agencies, international and national NGOs and government bodies in a collective effort – the Plan aims to deliver protection to refugee women, men, girls and boys, provide life-saving assistance and foster social cohesion.

The 2019 JRP is the third joint humanitarian appeal and builds on achievements made thus far in order to further stabilize the situation of Rohingya refugees…

UNHCR and UNICEF urge action in Europe to end childhood statelessness

Posted on 18 February 2019 by davidrcurry

Human Rights – Statelessness

UNHCR and UNICEF urge action in Europe to end childhood statelessness
GENEVA, 14 February 2019 – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and UNICEF, the UN Children’s Agency, are calling on States and regional organisations to take urgent action to ensure no child is born, or remains, stateless in Europe.

While there are no precise figures on the total numbers of stateless children, more than half a million people in Europe are estimated to be stateless.

As the overall number of asylum-seeking children in Europe has grown since 2010, with peaks in 2015 and 2016, so has the number of children identified as ‘stateless’. In 2017 some 2,100 children were registered as ‘stateless’, which represented a four-fold increase compared to 2010.

Children without a nationality have limited access to basic rights and services such as education and healthcare and can face life-long discrimination. Lack of official documents can put children at greater risk of experiencing violence, abuse and trafficking, and place them and their families at risk of arrest and detention.

“Life is stacked against a stateless child right from the start. Like all of us, they can dream, and they can hope, but the legal obstacles they face often mean their dreams are dashed before they are adults, and their potential squandered,” said Pascale Moreau, UNHCR’s Director of the Bureau for Europe.

Three groups of children are particularly affected:
:: Children who are born stateless in Europe. These include children who cannot inherit their parents’ nationality due to gender discrimination and gaps in nationality laws, and those who are stateless because their parents are.
:: Children born in Europe whose births are not registered, including children in vulnerable minority populations like the Roma.
:: Children from countries with known stateless populations who come to Europe as refugees and asylum-seekers.

“Every child has the right to a name and a nationality,” said Afshan Khan, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, and Special Coordinator for the Refugee and Migrant Response in Europe.

“Governments not only have a responsibility to adopt safeguards that prevent a child from being born stateless, but to provide legal aid and support to ensure every stateless child realizes their right to citizenship.”

To better address child statelessness in Europe, UNICEF and UNHCR are proposing a series of low-cost, effective and sustainable solutions, including:
:: Ensuring that every stateless refugee or migrant child is properly identified and protected upon arrival in Europe.
:: Simplifying procedures to enable stateless children to acquire a nationality as soon as possible.
:: Adopting or amending legislation to include safeguards granting nationality to all children born in a country who would otherwise be stateless.

While birth registration rates are high in Europe, information campaigns targeting families most at risk of statelessness would help identify unregistered children and support families through registration procedures.

Achieving legal identity for all through birth registration is one of the goals of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. UNICEF works to ensure all children are registered at birth, while UNHCR’s #IBelong Campaign aims to end statelessness, which affects millions of people worldwide, by 2024.

A DOCUMENT ON HUMAN FRATERNITY FOR WORLD PEACE AND LIVING TOGETHER – APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Posted on 18 February 2019 by davidrcurry

Global Governance – World Religions

A DOCUMENT ON HUMAN FRATERNITY FOR WORLD PEACE AND LIVING TOGETHER
APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
(3-5 FEBRUARY 2019)
[Introduction Excerpts]
…From our fraternal and open discussions, and from the meeting that expressed profound hope in a bright future for all human beings, the idea of this Document on Human Fraternity was conceived. It is a text that has been given honest and serious thought so as to be a joint declaration of good and heartfelt aspirations. It is a document that invites all persons who have faith in God and faith in human fraternity to unite and work together so that it may serve as a guide for future generations to advance a culture of mutual respect in the awareness of the great divine grace that makes all human beings brothers and sisters.

[Document Excerpts]
…In the name of God and of everything stated thus far; Al-Azhar al-Sharif and the Muslims of the East and West, together with the Catholic Church and the Catholics of the East and West, declare the adoption of a culture of dialogue as the path; mutual cooperation as the code of conduct; reciprocal understanding as the method and standard.

We, who believe in God and in the final meeting with Him and His judgment, on the basis of our religious and moral responsibility, and through this Document, call upon ourselves, upon the leaders of the world as well as the architects of international policy and world economy, to work strenuously to spread the culture of tolerance and of living together in peace; to intervene at the earliest opportunity to stop the shedding of innocent blood and bring an end to wars, conflicts, environmental decay and the moral and cultural decline that the world is presently experiencing.

We call upon intellectuals, philosophers, religious figures, artists, media professionals and men and women of culture in every part of the world, to rediscover the values of peace, justice, goodness, beauty, human fraternity and coexistence in order to confirm the importance of these values as anchors of salvation for all, and to promote them everywhere.

This Declaration, setting out from a profound consideration of our contemporary reality, valuing its successes and in solidarity with its suffering, disasters and calamities, believes firmly that among the most important causes of the crises of the modern world are a desensitized human conscience, a distancing from religious values and a prevailing individualism accompanied by materialistic philosophies that deify the human person and introduce worldly and material values in place of supreme and transcendental principles.

While recognizing the positive steps taken by our modern civilization in the fields of science, technology, medicine, industry and welfare, especially in developed countries, we wish to emphasize that, associated with such historic advancements, great and valued as they are, there exists both a moral deterioration that influences international action and a weakening of spiritual values and responsibility. All this contributes to a general feeling of frustration, isolation and desperation leading many to fall either into a vortex of atheistic, agnostic or religious extremism, or into blind and fanatic extremism, which ultimately encourage forms of dependency and individual or collective self-destruction.

History shows that religious extremism, national extremism and also intolerance have produced in the world, be it in the East or West, what might be referred to as signs of a “third world war being fought piecemeal”. In several parts of the world and in many tragic circumstances these signs have begun to be painfully apparent, as in those situations where the precise number of victims, widows and orphans is unknown. We see, in addition, other regions preparing to become theatres of new conflicts, with outbreaks of tension and a build-up of arms and ammunition, and all this in a global context overshadowed by uncertainty, disillusionment, fear of the future, and controlled by narrow-minded economic interests.

We likewise affirm that major political crises, situations of injustice and lack of equitable distribution of natural resources – which only a rich minority benefit from, to the detriment of the majority of the peoples of the earth – have generated and continue to generate, vast numbers of poor, infirm and deceased persons. This leads to catastrophic crises that various countries have fallen victim to despite their natural resources and the resourcefulness of young people which characterize these nations. In the face of such crises that result in the deaths of millions of children – wasted away from poverty and hunger – there is an unacceptable silence on the international level.

It is clear in this context how the family as the fundamental nucleus of society and humanity is essential in bringing children into the world, raising them, educating them, and providing them with solid moral formation and domestic security. To attack the institution of the family, to regard it with contempt or to doubt its important role, is one of the most threatening evils of our era…

…The first and most important aim of religions is to believe in God, to honour Him and to invite all men and women to believe that this universe depends on a God who governs it. He is the Creator who has formed us with His divine wisdom and has granted us the gift of life to protect it. It is a gift that no one has the right to take away, threaten or manipulate to suit oneself. Indeed, everyone must safeguard this gift of life from its beginning up to its natural end. We therefore condemn all those practices that are a threat to life such as genocide, acts of terrorism, forced displacement, human trafficking, abortion and euthanasia. We likewise condemn the policies that promote these practices.

Moreover, we resolutely declare that religions must never incite war, hateful attitudes, hostility and extremism, nor must they incite violence or the shedding of blood. These tragic realities are the consequence of a deviation from religious teachings. They result from a political manipulation of religions and from interpretations made by religious groups who, in the course of history, have taken advantage of the power of religious sentiment in the hearts of men and women in order to make them act in a way that has nothing to do with the truth of religion. This is done for the purpose of achieving objectives that are political, economic, worldly and short-sighted. We thus call upon all concerned to stop using religions to incite hatred, violence, extremism and blind fanaticism, and to refrain from using the name of God to justify acts of murder, exile, terrorism and oppression…

– Freedom is a right of every person: each individual enjoys the freedom of belief, thought, expression and action. The pluralism and the diversity of religions, colour, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings. This divine wisdom is the source from which the right to freedom of belief and the freedom to be different derives. Therefore, the fact that people are forced to adhere to a certain religion or culture must be rejected, as too the imposition of a cultural way of life that others do not accept;

– Justice based on mercy is the path to follow in order to achieve a dignified life to which every human being has a right;…

– Terrorism is deplorable and threatens the security of people, be they in the East or the West, the North or the South, and disseminates panic, terror and pessimism, but this is not due to religion, even when terrorists instrumentalize it. It is due, rather, to an accumulation of incorrect interpretations of religious texts and to policies linked to hunger, poverty, injustice, oppression and pride. This is why it is so necessary to stop supporting terrorist movements fuelled by financing, the provision of weapons and strategy, and by attempts to justify these movements even using the media. All these must be regarded as international crimes that threaten security and world peace. Such terrorism must be condemned in all its forms and expressions;

– The concept of citizenship is based on the equality of rights and duties, under which all enjoy justice. It is therefore crucial to establish in our societies the concept of full citizenship and reject the discriminatory use of the term minorities which engenders feelings of isolation and inferiority. Its misuse paves the way for hostility and discord; it undoes any successes and takes away the religious and civil rights of some citizens who are thus discriminated against;…

– It is an essential requirement to recognize the right of women to education and employment, and to recognize their freedom to exercise their own political rights. Moreover, efforts must be made to free women from historical and social conditioning that runs contrary to the principles of their faith and dignity. It is also necessary to protect women from sexual exploitation and from being treated as merchandise or objects of pleasure or financial gain. Accordingly, an end must be brought to all those inhuman and vulgar practices that denigrate the dignity of women. Efforts must be made to modify those laws that prevent women from fully enjoying their rights;

– The protection of the fundamental rights of children to grow up in a family environment, to receive nutrition, education and support, are duties of the family and society. Such duties must be guaranteed and protected so that they are not overlooked or denied to any child in any part of the world. All those practices that violate the dignity and rights of children must be denounced. It is equally important to be vigilant against the dangers that they are exposed to, particularly in the digital world, and to consider as a crime the trafficking of their innocence and all violations of their youth;

– The protection of the rights of the elderly, the weak, the disabled, and the oppressed is a religious and social obligation that must be guaranteed and defended through strict legislation and the implementation of the relevant international agreements…

Abu Dhabi, 4 february 2019
His Holiness Pope Francis
The Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmad Al-Tayyeb

Long delays in banning trade in threatened species

Posted on 18 February 2019 by davidrcurry

Featured Journal Content

Science
15 February 2019 Vol 363, Issue 6428
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl
Policy Forum
Long delays in banning trade in threatened species
By Eyal G. Frank, David S. Wilcove
Science15 Feb 2019 : 686-688 Restricted Access
Scientific knowledge should be applied with more urgency
Summary
The harvesting of wild animals and plants for international trade affects thousands of species, and compounds ongoing extinction threats such as habitat loss and climate change (1–4). The loss of overexploited species can result in cascading effects that reduce overall ecosystem functioning (4, 5).

The primary international framework for preventing the loss of species due to international wildlife trade is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Given that CITES aims to be as scientifically based as possible (6), we analyzed how quickly species that are identified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as being threatened from trade are subsequently protected under CITES. The Red List represents an authoritative body of scientific knowledge regarding extinction risks.

We find that in nearly two-thirds of the cases, the CITES process of regulating trade in threatened species lags considerably behind the IUCN identification of species in need of protection from trade. Such delay in the application of scientific knowledge to policy formulation could result in species extinctions. With signatories to CITES set to gather in May to determine which species merit protection, we suggest opportunities to improve this process.

Character Disorders among Autocratic World Leaders and the Impact on Health Security, Human Rights, and Humanitarian Care

Posted on 18 February 2019 by davidrcurry

Featured Journal Content

Prehospital & Disaster Medicine
Volume 34 – Issue 1 – February 2019
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/prehospital-and-disaster-medicine/latest-issue
Guest Editorial
Character Disorders among Autocratic World Leaders and the Impact on Health Security, Human Rights, and Humanitarian Care
Frederick M. Burkle
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X18001280
Published online: 15 January 2019, pp. 2-7
Abstract
The development of autocratic leaders in history reveals that many share severe character disorders that are consistently similar across borders and cultures. Diplomats and humanitarians negotiating for access to populations in-need and security of their programs, especially in health, must understand the limitations placed on the traditional negotiation process.

These shared character traits stem from a cognitive and emotional developmental arrest in both childhood and adolescence resulting in fixed, life-long, concrete thinking patterns. They fail to attain the last stage of mental and emotional development, that of abstract thinking, which is necessary for critical reasoning that allows one to consider the broader significance of ideas and information rather than depend on concrete details and impulses alone.

These autocratic leaders have limited capacity for empathy, love, guilt, or anxiety that become developmentally permanent and guide everyday decision making. Character or personality traits that perpetuate the lives of autocratic leaders are further distinguished by sociopathic and narcissistic behaviors that self-serve to cover their constant fear of insecurity and the insatiable need for power.

Human rights, humanitarian care, and population-based health security are examples of what has consistently been sacrificed under autocratic rule. Today, with the worst global loss of democratic leadership ever seen since WWII, leaders with these character traits now rule in major countries of the world. While history teaches us of battles and conflicts that result from such flawed leadership, it lacks explanations of why autocratic behaviors consistently emerge and dominate many societies.

Building multidisciplinary capacity and capability in societies among democracies to limit or cease such authoritarian dominance first begins with a developmental understanding of why autocrats exist and persist in externalizing their pathological behaviors on unsuspecting and vulnerable populations, and the limitations they place on negotiations.

Emergencies

Posted on 18 February 2019 by davidrcurry

Emergencies

POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
Polio this week as of 13 February 2019
:: The 2019 Annual Letter by Bill & Melinda Gates makes a case for investment in global health. Progress by Global Polio Eradication Initiative is a good reminder of how investment in global health funds benefits people around the world. Read the letter here.
:: In Indonesia, a circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1) outbreak is confirmed.

Summary of new viruses this week:
:: Pakistan – once case of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) and four wild polioviruses type 1 (WPV1) positive environmental samples;
:: Nigeria – two circulating vaccine derived poliovirus type 2 (VDPV2) positive environmental samples;
:: Indonesia– one case of circulating vaccine derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1).

Editor’s Note:
WHO has posted a refreshed emergencies page which presents an updated listing of Grade 3,2,1 emergencies as below.

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies [to 16 Feb 2019]
Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo 14 February 2019
… Main challenges this past week primarily pertain to community mistrust, particularly in Katwa, and the difficulty in encouraging community members to be more proactive in reporting suspected cases, presenting early to ETCs for treatment, and participating in community-based prevention and response efforts. However, in the face of these protracted challenges, response strategies have demonstrated to be effective in curtailing the spread of EVD. Fostering greater community trust by strengthening engagement with its members remains a top priority for response teams.

On 13 February, the Ministry of Health (MoH) launched the Strategic Response Plan 3 (SRP 3). The plan lays out the response strategy, objectives and budget requirements for the MoH, WHO, and all implementing partners for the next six months (February through July 2019). SRP 3 takes into account recommendations from operational reviews, and builds on a series of new strategic directions that capitalize on lessons learned under the scope of SRP 2. Activities laid out aim to stop the transmission of EVD in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, and prevent its spread to other provinces and neighbouring countries.

WHO remains confident that this outbreak can be successfully brought to an end through strategies outlined in SRP 3. To achieve the goals set out by the plan, MoH, WHO, and partners are appealing for US$ 148 million. WHO and partners count on the continued support of the international community to provide the required funding in order to stop this outbreak…

Nigeria
:: WHO supports five countries to fight lassa fever outbreaks 8 February 2019

Bangladesh – Rohingya crisis – No new digest announcements identified
Myanmar – No new digest announcements identified
Somalia – No new digest announcements identified
South Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Syrian Arab Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies [to 16 Feb 2019]
Libya
:: US$ 43.5 million needed to provide life-saving health aid in Libya in 2019
Cairo, 11 February 2019 – The World Health Organization and health partners are appealing for US$ 43.5 million to provide life-saving interventions for 388 000 people inside Libya affected by ongoing conflict…

Iraq
:: WHO intercountry cooperation yields rich health dividends
13 February 2019 – Intercountry collaboration between Iraq and Jordan allowed WHO and health authorities in Iraq to rapidly and successfully respond to an increase in cases of acute respiratory infections…

MERS-CoV
:: MERS therapeutics and vaccines workshop 30 November 2018
13 Feb 2019
Meeting report pdf, 606kb
Final Agendapdf, 290kb
List of participantspdf, 348kb

Brazil (in Portugese) – No new digest announcements identified
Cameroon – No new digest announcements identified
Central African Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Ethiopia – No new digest announcements identified
Hurricane Irma and Maria in the Caribbean – No new digest announcements identified
Niger – No new digest announcements identified
occupied Palestinian territory – No new digest announcements identified
Sao Tome and Principe Necrotizing Cellulitis (2017) – No new digest announcements identified
Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Ukraine – No new digest announcements identified
Zimbabwe – No new digest announcements identified

WHO Grade 1 Emergencies [to 16 Feb 2019]
Afghanistan
Chad
Indonesia – Sulawesi earthquake 2018
Kenya
Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Mali
Namibia – viral hepatitis
Peru
Philippines – Tyhpoon Mangkhut
Tanzania

::::::

WHO AFRO Outbreaks – Week 06: 04 – 10 February 2019
The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 60 events in the region. This week’s edition covers key new and ongoing events, including:
:: Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Lassa fever in Nigeria
:: Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Measles in Madagascar
:: Humanitarian crisis in Central African Republic

UN OCHA – L3 Emergencies
The UN and its humanitarian partners are currently responding to three ‘L3’ emergencies. This is the global humanitarian system’s classification for the response to the most severe, large-scale humanitarian crises.
Yemen – No new digest announcements identified
Syrian Arab Republic – No new digest announcements identified

UN OCHA – Corporate Emergencies
When the USG/ERC declares a Corporate Emergency Response, all OCHA offices, branches and sections provide their full support to response activities both at HQ and in the field.
Ethiopia – No new digest announcements identified
Somalia – No new digest announcements identified

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Posted on 11 February 2019 by davidrcurry

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 9 February 2019

David R. Curry
Editor
GE2P2 Global Foundation – Governance, Evidence, Ethics, Policy, Practice
david.r.curry@ge2p2center.net

PDF: The Sentinel_ period ending 9 Feb 2019

Democracy in Retreat: “Freedom in the World 2019” — Freedom House

Posted on 11 February 2019 by davidrcurry

Human Rights

Democracy in Retreat: “Freedom in the World 2019”
Challenges to American democracy are testing the stability of its constitutional system and threatening to undermine political rights and civil liberties worldwide.
Freedom House – February 2019
Full Report: http://www.freedomintheworld.org/
Summary PDF: https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/freedom-world-2019/democracy-in-retreat

In 2018, Freedom in the World recorded the 13th consecutive year of decline in global freedom. The reversal has spanned a variety of countries in every region, from long-standing democracies like the United States to consolidated authoritarian regimes like China and Russia. The overall losses are still shallow compared with the gains of the late 20th century, but the pattern is consistent and ominous. Democracy is in retreat.

In states that were already authoritarian, earning Not Free designations from Freedom House, governments have increasingly shed the thin façade of democratic practice that they established in previous decades, when international incentives and pressure for reform were stronger. More authoritarian powers are now banning opposition groups or jailing their leaders, dispensing with term limits, and tightening the screws on any independent media that remain. Meanwhile, many countries that democratized after the end of the Cold War have regressed in the face of rampant corruption, antiliberal populist movements, and breakdowns in the rule of law. Most troublingly, even long-standing democracies have been shaken by populist political forces that reject basic principles like the separation of powers and target minorities for discriminatory treatment.

Some light shined through these gathering clouds in 2018. Surprising improvements in individual countries—including Malaysia, Armenia, Ethiopia, Angola, and Ecuador—show that democracy has enduring appeal as a means of holding leaders accountable and creating the conditions for a better life. Even in the countries of Europe and North America where democratic institutions are under pressure, dynamic civic movements for justice and inclusion continue to build on the achievements of their predecessors, expanding the scope of what citizens can and should expect from democracy. The promise of democracy remains real and powerful. Not only defending it but broadening its reach is one of the great causes of our time…

…As part of this year’s report, Freedom House offered a special assessment of the state of democracy in the United States midway through the term of President Donald Trump. While democracy in America remains robust by global standards, it has weakened significantly over the past eight years, and the current president’s ongoing attacks on the rule of law, fact-based journalism, and other principles and norms of democracy threaten further decline.

Having observed similar patterns in other nations where democracy was ultimately overtaken by authoritarianism, Freedom House warns that the resilience of US democratic institutions in the face of such an assault cannot be taken for granted.

“The greatest danger comes from the fact that American democracy is not infinitely durable, especially if a president shows little respect for its tenets,” said Michael J. Abramowitz, president of Freedom House. “We have seen democratic institutions gradually succumb to sustained pressure elsewhere in the world, in places like Hungary, Turkey, and Venezuela. Antidemocratic rhetoric and the rejection of democratic constraints on power can be first steps toward real restrictions on freedom.”

“Challenges to democracy in the United States have outsized effects beyond American borders,” Abramowitz added. “Other nations watch what is happening in the United States and take cues from its leaders’ behavior. The ongoing deterioration of American democracy will accelerate the decline of democracy around the world.”…

KEY GLOBAL FINDINGS
Of the 195 countries assessed, 86 (44 percent) were rated Free, 59 (30 percent) Partly Free, and 50 (26 percent) Not Free.
The United States currently receives a score of 86 out of 100 points. While this places it below other major democracies such as France, Germany, and the United Kingdom, it is still firmly in the Free category….

Worst of the Worst
Of the 50 countries designated as Not Free, the following 13 have the worst aggregate scores for political rights and civil liberties (beginning with the least free): Syria, South Sudan, Eritrea, Turkmenistan, North Korea, Equatorial Guinea, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Central African Republic, and Libya…

Towards universal social protection for children: Achieving SDG 1.3 — ILO-UNICEF

Posted on 11 February 2019 by davidrcurry

Child Protection

Towards universal social protection for children: Achieving SDG 1.3
ILO-UNICEF Joint Report on Social Protection for Children
06 February 2019 :: 52 pages
PDF: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_protect/—soc_sec/documents/publication/wcms_669336.pdf
Key Messages
:: Social protection systems, and in particular social protection floors, play a crucial role in addressing child poverty and socio-economic vulnerabilities. Evidence clearly shows impacts of social protection, and cash transfers in particular, on poverty, food security, health and access to education – thus helping to ensure that children can realize their full potential, breaking the vicious cycle of poverty and vulnerability, and realizing their rights to social security.

:: The impacts of poverty on children are devastating, and yet they are twice as likely to live in poverty as adults. One in five children – 385 million – are living in extreme poverty on less than PPP USD 1.90 a day, and almost one in two – 689 million – are living in multidimensionally poor households. Across both measures children are twice as likely to live in poverty as adults. Child poverty is also an urgent concern globally, with a staggering 45 per cent of children living on less than PPP USD 3.10 a day. Moreover, 27 out of 29 OECD countries with data have child poverty rates using relative poverty lines that are above 10 per cent.

:: The vast majority of children still have no effective social protection coverage. Effective coverage figures for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) indicator 1.3.1 show that 35 per cent of children globally receive social protection benefits, with significant regional disparities: while 87 per cent of children in Europe and Central Asia and 66 per cent in the Americas receive benefits, this is the case for only 28 per cent of children in Asia and the Pacific and 16 per cent in Africa.

:: A positive trend is the expansion of cash transfers for children. Countries which have made great strides towards universal social protection coverage include Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Mongolia. Yet, in many countries, social protection programmes for children struggle with limited coverage, inadequate benefit levels, fragmentation and weak institutionalization. Recent years have witnessed a groundswell of interest in universal child grants (UCGs), with a number of countries outside the OECD expressing an interest in adopting UCGs or quasi-UCGs.

:: There is significant expenditure and investment in social protection for children, but more is needed. Data on social protection expenditure for children aged 0–14 in 139 countries show that, on average, 1.1 per cent of GDP is spent on child benefits; again there are large regional disparities, from 0.1 per cent in North Africa and the Arab States to 2.5 per cent in Europe. To extend social protection for children, more fiscal resources are needed. This is affordable even in the poorest countries.

:: Despite this important progress, some countries are cutting allowances. A number of countries undergoing fiscal consolidation policies are reducing family and child benefits and allowances, often narrow-targeting child benefits to the most poor and thus excluding vulnerable children from their legitimate right to social protection. Efforts need to be made to ensure that short-term fiscal
adjustment does not undermine progress.

:: Recommendations: Towards the aim of achieving SDG 1.3 for children, this report makes the following recommendations.
:: Rapid expansion of child and family benefits for children, including the progressive realization of
universal child grants as a practical means to rapidly increase coverage.
:: Ensure that universal approaches to child and family benefits are part of a social protection system that connects to other crucial services beyond cash, and addresses life-cycle risks.
:: Institutionalize monitoring and reporting on social protection for children, including establishing a
periodic interagency report.

The Rockefeller Foundation Establishes Atlas AI – New Startup to Generate Actionable Intelligence on Global Development Challenges

Posted on 11 February 2019 by davidrcurry

Development – AI

The Rockefeller Foundation Establishes Atlas AI – New Startup to Generate Actionable Intelligence on Global Development Challenges
Atlas AI appoints Victoria Coleman as CEO, most recently CTO of Wikimedia Foundation

NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2019 – The Rockefeller Foundation today marked the public launch of Atlas AI, a social enterprise established by the Foundation and a team of Stanford University professors to develop data products to support global development. Atlas AI works at the intersection of development economics, crop science, remote sensing, and artificial intelligence to generate detailed insights on poverty, crop yield and economic trends across Sub-Saharan Africa. Earlier this week, Atlas AI named Victoria Coleman, previously Chief Technology Officer of the Wikimedia Foundation, as the organization’s first Chief Executive Officer.

A B-Corporation founded in partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation in 2018, Atlas AI uses machine learning algorithms and a rich array of ground truth data to estimate economic activity and crop yield from satellite imagery. Atlas AI validates its models against gold standard datasets collected by multilateral partners in the field, and their methods are backed by rigorously peer reviewed scientific research.

“Atlas AI is an innovative model for translating the best research thinking into products and services that accelerate sustainable development. Part of The Rockefeller Foundation’s vision is to unlock AI’s tremendous potential to improve people’s well-being while mitigating downside risks,” said Zia Khan, Vice President of Innovation at The Rockefeller Foundation. “We’re tremendously excited to welcome Victoria as Atlas AI’s new CEO. We conducted an extensive search and she brings a unique combination of skills and experiences to complement a world-class team.”

The reality is that it’s difficult to reach people living at or near the poverty line with critical information and services, especially if they are not online. Fielding a census or survey is time consuming and remarkably expensive—particularly for low-income, fragile, and conflict-affected countries. Atlas AI was founded to solve these challenges, delivering information more quickly and cost-effectively, and with greater accuracy and detail.

Based on years of cutting-edge research, Atlas AI was launched by professors David Lobell, Stefano Ermon, and Marshall Burke of Stanford University to give decision-makers in developing countries access to low-cost, cutting-edge data. Experts in artificial intelligence, data science, and development economics, Lobell, Ermon and Burke had already shown that satellite imagery can be used to map poverty and crop yields in Africa with a combination of economic data, space technology, and machine learning algorithms. Over the last seven months they began building Atlas AI with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, working with partner organizations in Africa to test and operationalize new products, including high-resolution datasets on wealth, consumption, and agricultural yields.

Atlas AI has assembled a team of the best scientists and engineers in the world with the passion and creativity to make a positive difference. Today, Atlas AI announced Victoria Coleman as the organization’s first CEO. As CTO at the Wikimedia Foundation – the non-profit organization behind Wikipedia, one of the world’s largest and most popular web properties – Ms. Coleman set the vision and strategy for technology and operations for Wikimedia projects in collaboration with the Wiki community. Previously, as Vice President Engineering at Yahoo! Inc., she led the company’s web services at scale. Before joining Yahoo!, Ms. Coleman served as Vice President, Emerging Technologies at Nokia. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated a commitment to open data, a crucial part of Atlas AI’s mission. As a public benefit corporation, the company will support an open analytics platform allowing the public to browse economic datasets for the developing world, at sub-national resolution.

While private-sector businesses have been building and deploying artificial intelligence for years, most organizations in the non-profit, civic, and public sectors have yet to robustly apply these techniques towards the complex challenges they address. They have a strong appetite to use applied data to make their work go farther, faster, and ultimately help more people – but they may lack access to the skill sets and resources to do so in their context.

In an expanding effort to build the field of data science for social impact, in January 2019 The Rockefeller Foundation announced the creation of the Data Science for Social Impact collaborative in partnership with the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. The first activity by the collaborative was $20-million in funding to DataKind, a global non-profit that connects data science talent with social organizations – harnessing the power of data science and AI in the service of humanity.

As a science-driven philanthropy focused on partnering for the greatest impact, The Rockefeller Foundation supports the growth and success of Atlas AI so that its cutting-edge data products and services get to those who need them most. The Foundation maintains a seat on Atlas AI’s Board of Directors and will continue to be an active partner focused on long-term stewardship of results-oriented, global human development outcomes.
To learn more about Atlas AI, visit their website

Foundation Center and GuideStar Join Forces to Become a New Nonprofit Entity Named Candid

Posted on 11 February 2019 by davidrcurry

Governance – Knowledge Management :: Not-for-Profit Organizations

Foundation Center and GuideStar Join Forces to Become a New Nonprofit Entity Named Candid
Candid to Offer Most Comprehensive, Global Source of Knowledge About Nonprofit Work

February 5, 2019 (New York, N.Y.)—Foundation Center, the leading source for insight on philanthropy worldwide, and GuideStar, the leading source of information on nonprofit organizations, today announced they have joined forces to become a new nonprofit entity named Candid.

Candid brings together the deep expertise of the two organizations in data, technology, research, and training to serve the entire social sector—nonprofits, foundations, social enterprises, and individual donors—and promote more and smarter giving. Building on more than 85 years of combined experience, Candid will enable new kinds of transparency about who is working where in the world and on what issues. Candid will also promote data standards and tools that can accelerate knowledge sharing and enhance collaboration. Powered with new insights, richer data, and increased access, Candid’s more than 16 million users will be better equipped to make more strategic decisions and better advance their missions.

Bradford Smith, previously president of Foundation Center, will be the president of Candid; Jacob Harold, previously president and CEO of GuideStar, will be Candid’s executive vice president.

“We are combining operations to fulfill a shared vision: connecting people who want to change the world with the resources they need to succeed,” said Bradford Smith, president of Candid. “And our name, Candid, speaks to our deep historical legacy of telling the story of foundations and nonprofits in a fair and objective manner as well as our renewed commitment to provide trusted data and knowledge for the sector.”

“Candid is a new organization but it is rooted in eight decades of experience in and connection to the nonprofit community,” said Jacob Harold, executive vice president of Candid. “With billions of pieces of data and millions of users, Candid will have the scale to weave together the stories of changemakers around the world. Our combined data and networks will allow us to understand the current state of the field in new ways. But, more importantly, Candid will be positioned to help the field imagine better ways of working for a better future.”..

Informed by the needs of users, the Candid team will explore a far-reaching range of new services. Currently in the planning phase, these initiatives will be developed over a period of years and include:
:: weaving together databases to enable much more inclusive search results;
:: enabling results-driven analysis based upon improved program data;
:: expanding and accelerating the adoption of data standards across the field;
:: driving a common profile—and, eventually, a common grant application and reporting framework—by providing a consistent data framework, a next-generation distribution system, and place-based campaigns;
:: providing people working in the social sector with opportunities to develop skills to help them succeed;
:: creating social functionality, including “give lists” and deeper integration into social media platforms;
:: developing a technology and knowledge-driven marketplace for RFPs;
:: creating a fundraising planning tool for nonprofits; and
:: directly integrating data and analysis into the tools that nonprofits, foundations, and their partners use every day.

Candid will be governed by a board composed of the current trustees of Foundation Center and GuideStar. Leading the board will be co-chairs Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker, who has served as the chair of Foundation Center and serves as president & CEO of the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, and Mari Kuraishi, who served as chair of GuideStar and is the new president of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund. Prior to joining the Fund, Kuraishi was the co-founder and president of GlobalGiving…

Harnessing indigenous peoples’ knowledge for a food-secure future in the face of climate change

Posted on 11 February 2019 by davidrcurry

Development :: Heritage Stewardship

Harnessing indigenous peoples’ knowledge for a food-secure future in the face of climate change
04 Feb 19 – IFAD
What: The fourth global meeting of the Indigenous Peoples’ Forum at the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) promotes indigenous peoples’ knowledge and innovations for climate resilience and sustainable development.
When: 9:00 Tuesday 12th to 17:00 Wednesday 13th February, 2019.
Where: IFAD Headquarters, Via Paolo di Dono 44, 00142 Rome, Italian Conference Room.

The Story: The Indigenous Peoples’ Forum was established in 2011 as a permanent process between representatives from indigenous peoples’ organizations, IFAD and governments. This year the Forum is focusing on the promotion of indigenous peoples’ knowledge and innovations for climate resilience and sustainable development to further strengthen rural transformation.

Over two days participants will focus on:
:: Reinforcing indigenous peoples role as custodians of a large part of the world’s biodiversity. Due to their close relationship with the environment, indigenous peoples are uniquely positioned to address and adapt to climate change.
:: Increasing investments to support indigenous organizations, institutions and communities, with a focus on youth and women, that build on their knowledge and innovations to address climate change and/or strengthen climate resilience.
:: Supporting indigenous peoples in securing their lands, territories and resources, including through mapping and advocacy.

Examples:
:: Indigenous peoples’ water-harvesting/irrigation systems increase water supply in water stressed environments. In Tunisia, the Amazigh people use the “jessour system,” which consists of dams and terraces for collecting run-off water, enabling cultivation of olives, fruit trees and grains.
:: Indigenous knowledge is used to rehabilitate the soil, and adapt and react to floods and droughts. In Bangladesh, flood-affected indigenous communities cultivate saline-tolerant varieties of reeds, and saline-tolerant and drought-resistant fruit and timber trees, reducing vulnerability to floods and sea-level rise and ensure longer-term income generation.
:: Indigenous peoples’ community-based forest management sets aside conservation areas, woodcutting and watershed management zones, which have an important role to play in reversing the process of deforestation. The Miskito people of Nicaragua maintain three land-use types (cultivated fields, pastures and forest areas), while in Indonesian Borneo, the Dayak Jalai utilize a shifting mosaic land-use pattern that includes patches of natural and managed forest.

Webcast: https://bit.ly/2S9wJWR

Emergencies

Posted on 11 February 2019 by davidrcurry

Emergencies

POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
Polio this week as of 6 February 2019
:: The 144th Session of the Executive Board concluded on 1 February with a renewed support from the public health leadership for a final push to end polio. Read more about polio eradication efforts and the report by the EB on polio eradication here.
:: The Global Surveillance Action Plan 2018-2020 is now online. The GPSAP aims to support endemic, outbreak, and high-risk countries in evaluating and increasing the sensitivity of their surveillance systems.

Summary of new viruses this week:
:: Afghanistan – Afghanistan- one case of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1);
:: Pakistan – one case of WPV1 and six WPV1-positive environmental samples;
:: Niger – one case of circulating vaccine derived poliovirus (VDPV2). five WPV1 positive environmental samples.

::::::
::::::

Editor’s Note:
WHO has posted a refreshed emergencies page which presents an updated listing of Grade 3,2,1 emergencies as below.

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies [to 9 Feb 2019]
Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo 7 February 2019
…During the last 21 days (16 January – 5 February 2019), 119 new cases have been reported from 13 health zones (Figure 2), including: Katwa (75), Butembo (9), Beni (8), Kyondo (5), Kayna (5), Oicha (4), Manguredjipa (4), Biena (2), Kalunguta (2), Mabalako (2), Masereka (1), Mutwanga (1), and Vuhovi (1)². Current epidemiological analyses points to nosocomial transmission due to poor infection prevention and control (IPC) practices, persistent delays in detection and isolation of new cases, frequent community deaths (and subsequent contact with deceased), and transmission within family and community networks, as the main drivers of ongoing disease transmission. Insecurity and pockets of community resistance have continuously stifled efforts to combat these risks; nevertheless, response teams remain committed to actively strengthening community trust and participation in all affected areas, and are beginning to observe tangible improvements in Katwa and elsewhere….

:: 27: Situation report on the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu 5 February 2019

…Case management
On 24 November 2018, the MoH announced the launch of a randomized control trial for Ebola therapeutics. This is ongoing, with all confirmed cases in ETCs receiving therapy under the compassionate use protocol, together with supportive care.
As of 3 February 2018, 194 patients were admitted to Ebola transit and treatment centres. Among nine treatment ETCs and transit centres (TC), two have bed occupancy of more than 100% (Katwa ETC and Beni TC).
Patient sorting in Beni hospital and Beni ETC is being supervised; community re-integration of two cured cases is ongoing in Kirumba and Kanyabayonga.
…Implementation of ring vaccination protocol
As of 3 February 2019, a cumulative total of 73,309 people have been vaccinated since the start of the outbreak.
The Immunization Commission is being supported in their efforts to persuade contacts to be vaccinated in Kivika, Kambuli and Mukuna in Katwa health zone.

Bangladesh – Rohingya crisis – No new digest announcements identified
Myanmar – No new digest announcements identified
Nigeria – No new digest announcements identified
Somalia – No new digest announcements identified
South Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Syrian Arab Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

::::::

WHO Grade 2 Emergencies [to 9 Feb 2019]
Brazil (in Portugese)
:: Sarampo na Europa: número recorde de pessoas doentes e imunizadas 7 de fevereiro de 2019

Libya
:: WHO warns of increasing attacks on health facilities in Libya
5 February 2019 – The World Health Organization (WHO) warns of increasing attacks on health facilities and workers in both frequency and scale. WHO has documented more than 41 attacks targeting health workers and facilities throughout 2018–2019 across the country. These attacks resulted in 6 health workers and patients killed and 25 health workers injured. An additional seven health workers were also assaulted during this period…

Cameroon – No new digest announcements identified
Central African Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Ethiopia – No new digest announcements identified
Hurricane Irma and Maria in the Caribbean – No new digest announcements identified
Iraq – No new digest announcements identified
MERS-CoV – No new digest announcements identified
Niger – No new digest announcements identified
occupied Palestinian territory – No new digest announcements identified
Sao Tome and Principe Necrotizing Cellulitis (2017) – No new digest announcements identified
Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Ukraine – No new digest announcements identified
Zimbabwe – No new digest announcements identified

::::::

WHO Grade 1 Emergencies [to 9 Feb 2019]
Afghanistan
Chad
Indonesia – Sulawesi earthquake 2018
Kenya
Lao People’s Democratic Republic
Mali
Namibia – viral hepatitis
Peru
Philippines – Tyhpoon Mangkhut
Tanzania

::::::

WHO AFRO Outbreaks – Week 05: 26 January – 01 February 2019
The WHO Health Emergencies Programme is currently monitoring 60 events in the region. This week’s edition covers key new and ongoing events, including:
:: Ebola virus disease in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Lassa fever in Nigeria
:: Cholera in Burundi
:: Humanitarian crisis in Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia.

::::::
::::::
UN OCHA – L3 Emergencies
The UN and its humanitarian partners are currently responding to three ‘L3’ emergencies. This is the global humanitarian system’s classification for the response to the most severe, large-scale humanitarian crises.
Yemen
:: Yemen: Hajjah Governorate – Flash Update 2 | 28 January-3 Feb …
Syrian Arab Republic – No new digest announcements identified

::::::

Somalia
:: Humanitarian Bulletin Somalia, 1 January – 5 February 2019 …

::::::
::::::

Editor’s Note:
WHO has posted a refreshed emergencies page which presents an updated listing of Grade 3,2,1 emergencies as below.

:: 27: Situation report on the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu 5 February 2019

::::::

WHO Grade 2 Emergencies [to 9 Feb 2019]
Brazil (in Portugese)
:: Sarampo na Europa: número recorde de pessoas doentes e imunizadas 7 de fevereiro de 2019

::::::

Somalia
:: Humanitarian Bulletin Somalia, 1 January – 5 February 2019 …

Posted on 3 February 2019 by davidrcurry

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 2 February 2019

David R. Curry
Editor
GE2P2 Global Foundation – Governance, Evidence, Ethics, Policy, Practice
david.r.curry@ge2p2center.net

PDF: The Sentinel_ period ending 2 Feb 2019

UNICEF appeals for $3.9 billion in emergency assistance for 41 million children affected by conflict or disaster

Posted on 3 February 2019 by davidrcurry

Child Protection/Emergency Assistance – Financing

UNICEF appeals for $3.9 billion in emergency assistance for 41 million children affected by conflict or disaster
GENEVA/NEW YORK, 29 January 2019 – Millions of children living in countries affected by conflict and disaster lack access to vital child protection services, putting their safety, well-being and futures at risk, UNICEF warned today as it appealed for $3.9 billion to support its work for children in humanitarian crises.

UNICEF’s Humanitarian Action for Children sets out the agency’s 2019 appeal and its efforts to provide 41 million children with access to safe water, nutrition, education, health and protection in 59 countries across the globe. Funding for child protection programmes accounts for $385 million of the overall appeal, including almost $121 million for protection services for children affected by the Syria crisis.

“Today millions of children living through conflict or disaster are suffering horrific levels of violence, distress and trauma,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “The impact of our child protection work cannot be overstated. When children do not have safe places to play, when they cannot be reunited with their families, when they do not receive psychosocial support, they will not heal from the unseen scars of war.”

UNICEF estimates that more than 34 million children living through conflict and disaster lack access to protection or child protection services, including 6.6 million children in Yemen, 5.5 million children in Syria and 4 million children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

Child protection services include all efforts to prevent and respond to abuse, neglect, exploitation, trauma and violence. UNICEF also works to ensure that the protection of children is central to all other areas of the organisation’s humanitarian programmes, including water, sanitation and hygiene, education and other areas of work by identifying, mitigating and responding to potential dangers to children’s safety and wellbeing.

However, funding constraints, as well as other challenges including warring parties’ growing disregard for international humanitarian law and the denial of humanitarian access, mean that aid agencies’ capacity to protect children is severely limited. In the DRC, for example, UNICEF received just a third of the $21 million required for child protection programmes in 2018, while around one-fifth of child protection funding for Syrian children remained unmet.

“Providing these children with the support they need is critical, but without significant and sustained international action, many will continue to fall through the cracks,” said Manuel Fontaine, UNICEF Director of Emergency Programmes. “The international community should commit to supporting the protection of children in emergencies.”

2019 marks the 30th anniversary of the landmark Convention on the Rights of the Child and the 70th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions, yet today, more countries are embroiled in internal or international conflict than at any other time in the past three decades, threatening the safety and wellbeing of millions of children.

UNICEF’s appeal comes one month after the children’s agency said that the world is failing to protect children living in conflict around the world, with catastrophic consequences. Children who are continuously exposed to violence or conflict, especially at a young age, are at risk of living in a state of toxic stress – a condition that, without the right support can lead to negative life-long consequences for their cognitive, social and emotional development. Some children impacted by war, displacement and other traumatic events – such as sexual and gender-based violence – require specialized care to help them cope and recover.

The five largest individual appeals are for:
:: Syrian refugees and host communities in Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey (US$904 million);
:: Yemen (US$ 542.3 million);
:: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (US$ 326.1 million);
:: Syria (US$ 319.8 million) and
:: South Sudan (US$ 179.2 million).

Human trafficking and labor exploitation: Toward identifying, implementing, and evaluating effective responses

Posted on 3 February 2019 by davidrcurry

Featured Journal Content

PLoS Medicine
http://www.plosmedicine.org/
(Accessed 2 Feb 2019)
Editorial
Human trafficking and labor exploitation: Toward identifying, implementing, and evaluating effective responses
Ligia Kiss, Cathy Zimmerman
| published 29 Jan 2019 PLOS Medicine
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002740

Global estimates suggest that about 25 million people are subjected to “modern slavery” in the form of forced labor or human trafficking [1]. These men, women, and children are often migrant workers who are exploited in diverse sectors, such as agriculture, mining, fishing, factory work, domestic work, and forced sex work [1,2]. Although the eradication of modern slavery is among the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals [3], development of effective responses for trafficking prevention and assistance for victims remains elusive in this nascent field of health research. We believe that intensified efforts against trafficking require a greater understanding of modifiable factors and the causal pathways that lead to trafficking in different contexts and for individual populations.

Human trafficking frequently involves multiple forms of abuse, including deception, coercion, extortion, threats, and, for many, physical or sexual violence. A growing body of research shows that survivors of extreme exploitation often suffer severe and enduring health consequences [4–7]. Trafficking is associated with physical injuries including fractures, lacerations and lost limbs [5,8], chronic pain and headaches, significant weight loss [7,9], and symptoms of infectious and chronic diseases [8]. Sexual and reproductive health problems are common among women who are sexually exploited and abused while trafficked [4,9]. For trafficking survivors, persistent health problems include mental health consequences, especially symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety, and suicidality [4,5,9,10].

Despite the significant health burden of human trafficking, only recently have health professionals begun to engage in responses to trafficking [2,11]. Findings from the study of violence against women suggest that healthcare providers are often a first nonfamily point of contact for victims of abuse. Recognizing that a healthcare setting can be a unique opportunity for well-trained providers to identify, assist, and refer trafficking survivors to necessary services [8,12,13], some governmental and intergovernmental agencies have begun to develop guidance. For example, the United Kingdom Department of Health has invested in research to support medical responses [9], whereas the United States Department of Health and Human Services recently launched the SOAR (i.e., Stop, Observe, Ask, Respond) training course [8,14], and international training tools are available to support healthcare providers to care for trafficked persons [13].

From a policy perspective, there has been disappointingly little engagement with modern slavery as a health concern by government health departments, such as health ministries, or by international agencies, including WHO. Evidence for prevention strategies is still scarce—particularly intervention-focused research and evaluations [13–16]. Given the scale of the problem and concomitant harms, human trafficking and modern slavery should be treated as a global health concern. Prevention and intervention approaches should, therefore, draw on and learn from approaches and methods used in the evaluation of other population health risks such as violence, smoking, and obesity.

In the first generation of research on human trafficking and modern slavery, efforts focused primarily on law enforcement initiatives, and research included case studies, in-depth research on surviving victims, and methods to assess global prevalence [17]. This work was important in the identification, definition, and description of the phenomena. Reports suggested the wide range of sectors that employ trafficked labor, highlighted the suffering of victims, advanced law enforcement responses, and indicated the global magnitude of the problem. However, this work was of little benefit to prevention initiatives—which, from a public health perspective, are badly needed to make substantial population gains in the reduction of labor exploitation and its consequences.

However, investment in obtaining prevention evidence is growing. For instance, emerging findings from the field suggest that there may be limited benefit in “awareness-raising” interventions [16,18] and indicate possible unintended harm from training courses that are not solidly grounded in contextual evidence [19]. These findings confirm the need for a systematic integrated approach across the migration pathway that addresses structural conditions in addition to individual-level behaviors and risks [20–23].

To make genuine progress in prevention, we must begin by developing more robust evidence on what defines extreme forms of labor exploitation. For instance, various forms of exploitation (under the umbrella terms of “human trafficking” and “modern slavery”) have different population distributions, and each of these phenomena is likely to affect subgroups differently. Similarly, trafficking-related acts are very diverse, ranging from those related to forced sex work to abuses occurring in other sectors using forced and exploited labor, during which severe occupational hazards may occur [1,24].

Researchers urgently need to address intervention-focused questions about modifiable factors in the causal pathways to human trafficking in different contexts and for different populations [2]. Therefore, serious consideration must be given to the structures and practices that enable exploitation and leave individuals with extremely limited ability to alter their circumstances [16]. For example, complex structural factors exist and interact to drive labor exploitation, including growing income inequalities, the increasing power of corporations alongside diminishing power of workers, extortionate labor recruitment practices, and governance structures that favor businesses or employers over workers’ rights.

To begin the second generation of research and evaluation of what works to reduce exploitation, we need to move beyond focusing solely on individual behaviors to incorporate questions about how larger forces contribute to or prevent extreme exploitation. Emerging fields of intervention research include the examination of social protections, such as cash transfer schemes, transparent labor recruitment methods, worker-driven social responsibility reporting (as distinct from existing corporate social responsibility programs), and fairer labor immigration legislation in destination locations.

Trafficking research for prevention is still in the early stages. To achieve meaningful advancements, researchers and practitioners will have to work together to develop intervention frameworks that recognize the genuine complexity and real-world challenges of addressing human trafficking. Intervention and evaluation designs are needed that are grounded in evidence on the complexity of determinants and that specify their targeted populations and intended outcomes. Evaluations are required that monitor and document [25] the effects of interventions over time and across subpopulations and the ways in which these interventions operate toward their intended impact.

Moreover, at this early stage in intervention research, investigators and implementers must leave space for regular learning and adaptation to course-correct programs and prevent unintended consequences. These types of dynamic evaluations can also respond to the appeal of realist evaluation, implementation science, or process evaluation to understand how, why, for whom, and under which circumstances interventions work in real-world settings [25–28].

We welcome the increase in well-intended calls for the use of experimental evaluation methods to address human trafficking. However, before interventions are subjected to resource-intensive evaluations, they will benefit from robust theories and implementation strategies that are grounded in evidence about causal processes and outcomes. Researchers should also consider if randomized trials are feasible, acceptable, and capable of answering questions of effectiveness for each specific intervention at its particular stage of development. Experimental designs may be extremely useful once developers, implementers, and evaluators have gathered sufficient evidence to be confident about the isolated contribution of an intervention to changes in the intended outcomes. Before then, resources need to be invested in the development of basic concepts, intervention theory, harm prevention, and appropriate research methods.

Future reductions in the global burden of labor exploitation will depend on researchers and practitioners working collaboratively to translate global good intentions into evidence-informed intervention designs. In this way, progress can extend beyond superficial patch-type responses to human trafficking and modern slavery in very diverse international settings and populations and address the deeper underlying drivers of this truly complex social problem.

2019 : International Year of Indigenous Languages.

Posted on 3 February 2019 by davidrcurry

Heritage Stewardship – Indigenous Languages

More than words: International year kicks off to protect indigenous languages
1 February 2019, New York
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Languages play a crucial role in our daily lives. They also make up our unique cultural identities. Yet, of the about 6,700 languages spoken in the world today, 40 percent are at risk of disappearing. Most of them are indigenous languages. And when a language dies, it can mean the end of a community’s values and traditions. This is where the 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages comes in. UN DESA Voice spoke with Mirian Masaquiza in UN DESA’s Division for Inclusive Social Development (DISD), about the year and its mission to protect and preserve the world’s indigenous languages.

How many indigenous languages are out there and how can we keep track of them?
“At present, 96 per cent of the world’s approximately 6,700 languages are spoken by only 3 per cent of the world’s population. The vast majority of the languages that are under threat are indigenous languages, and most of them would disappear.

States are the ones called to keep track on indigenous languages by recognizing the linguistic rights of indigenous peoples and developing language policies to promote and protect indigenous languages. Also, States should ensure that indigenous languages are adequately reflected in censuses and other data collection tools, such as questionnaires, surveys and participatory assessments.”

The UN has declared 2019 the International Year of Indigenous Languages. What makes them so important?
“The 2019 International Year of Indigenous Languages is very important as it will inspire speakers of indigenous languages to use it in a daily life with pride. Member States and other stakeholders will understand the need to include indigenous languages into specific programmes and activities to promote and protect them. Most importantly, the world will see a revival of a movement that is fighting for the right to use the language of their ancestors.

This international year will continue to raise key issues and concerns associated with indigenous languages on an ad hoc basis. Further, it will be an opportunity to compile and share good practices and tools for language revitalization, considering the different needs based on the different situations of indigenous languages.”

What is threatening the indigenous languages?
“I think that globalization, non-recognition of indigenous peoples and the rise of a small number of culturally dominant languages has led to a situation in which, some indigenous peoples do no longer use their indigenous language or no longer transmit it from parents to their children.
We as human beings should care about indigenous languages in the same way as we should care about the loss of the world’s variety of plants and animals, its biodiversity.”

What can we do to protect them?
“Article 13 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states that indigenous peoples have the right to revitalize, use, develop and transmit to future generations their languages, oral traditions, philosophies, writing systems and literatures and that States shall take effective measures to ensure that this right is protected…

GE2P2 Global :: Knowledge Sharing; Ideas; Operations

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship :: Sustainable Development

Yearly Archives: 2019

Emergencies

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 16 February 2019

ISIL/Da’esh Continues Evolution into Covert Global Network Enjoying Access to Millions of Dollars, Top Anti-Terrorism Official Tells Security Council

United Nations seeks US$920 million for Rohingya humanitarian crisis in 2019

UNHCR and UNICEF urge action in Europe to end childhood statelessness

A DOCUMENT ON HUMAN FRATERNITY FOR WORLD PEACE AND LIVING TOGETHER – APOSTOLIC JOURNEY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Long delays in banning trade in threatened species

Character Disorders among Autocratic World Leaders and the Impact on Health Security, Human Rights, and Humanitarian Care

Emergencies

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 9 February 2019

Democracy in Retreat: “Freedom in the World 2019” — Freedom House

Towards universal social protection for children: Achieving SDG 1.3 — ILO-UNICEF

The Rockefeller Foundation Establishes Atlas AI – New Startup to Generate Actionable Intelligence on Global Development Challenges

Foundation Center and GuideStar Join Forces to Become a New Nonprofit Entity Named Candid

Harnessing indigenous peoples’ knowledge for a food-secure future in the face of climate change

Emergencies

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 2 February 2019

UNICEF appeals for $3.9 billion in emergency assistance for 41 million children affected by conflict or disaster

Human trafficking and labor exploitation: Toward identifying, implementing, and evaluating effective responses

2019 : International Year of Indigenous Languages.

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship :: Sustainable Development __________________________________________________ Week ending 16 February 2019

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship :: Sustainable Development __________________________________________________ Week ending 9 February 2019

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship :: Sustainable Development __________________________________________________ Week ending 2 February 2019

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 16 February 2019

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
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Week ending 9 February 2019

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
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Week ending 2 February 2019