Development Policy Review
May 2016 Volume 34, Issue 3 Pages 321–461
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dpr.2016.34.issue-3/issuetoc

.
Original Articles
Applied ethics and allocation of foreign aid: disparity in pretensions and practice (pages 345–363)
Jónína Einarsdóttir and Geir Gunnlaugsson
Article first published online: 5 APR 2016 | DOI: 10.1111/dpr.12156
Abstract
We explore the applied ethics of development aid and humanitarian assistance, and juxtapose these with claimed objectives and factors that influence the choice of recipients. Despite some diversity among donors, ethical considerations appear not to be a prominent factor for allocation of aid. Although recipients’ need is not entirely ignored, donors’ self-interest and herd behaviour, and recipients’ merits and voting in the United Nations, play crucial roles in allocation decisions. Likely to be shunned are complex emergencies and fragile states, the overlapping settings for action of development and humanitarian aid. Donors should take to heart and put into practice that allocation of aid is an ethical endeavour that should rest on proper needs assessment, established objectives and adopted agreements.

.

Original Articles
‘Going Out’ or Staying In? The Expansion of Chinese NGOs in Africa (pages 423–439)
Jennifer Y.J. Hsu, Timothy Hildebrandt and Reza Hasmath
Article first published online: 5 APR 2016 | DOI: 10.1111/dpr.12157
Abstract
This article examines the overseas behaviour of Chinese non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in two African nations, Ethiopia and Malawi, with varying political regime types. Our findings suggest that, irrespective of regime type, Chinese NGOs have yet to make a substantial impact in either nation. We argue that, despite the strength of the Chinese state and high levels of international development assistance given, domestic politics and regulatory frameworks in host nations still matter a great deal. Our study suggests that the Chinese model of international development will continue to be one in which temporary one-off projects are favoured; and, insofar as social organisations will play a role, they will be in the domain of government-organised NGOs rather than grassroots NGOs.

Eurosurveillance
Volume 21, Issue 16, 21 April 2016
http://www.eurosurveillance.org/Public/Articles/Archives.aspx?PublicationId=11678

.

Review articles
Lessons learnt to keep Europe polio-free: a review of outbreaks in the European Union, European Economic Area, and candidate countries, 1973 to 2013
by T Derrough, A Salekeen

Globalization and Health
http://www.globalizationandhealth.com/
[Accessed 23 April 2016]

.
Review
The Pan-University Network for Global Health: framework for collaboration and review of global health needs
M. S. Winchester, R. BeLue, T. Oni, U. Wittwer-Backofen, D. Deobagkar, H. Onya, T. A. Samuels, S. A. Matthews, C. Stone and C. Airhihenbuwa
Published on: 21 April 2016
Abstract
In the current United Nations efforts to plan for post 2015-Millennium Development Goals, global partnership to address non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has become a critical goal to effectively respond to the complex global challenges of which inequity in health remains a persistent challenge. Building capacity in terms of well-equipped local researchers and service providers is a key to bridging the inequity in global health. Launched by Penn State University in 2014, the Pan University Network for Global Health responds to this need by bridging researchers at more than 10 universities across the globe. In this paper we outline our framework for international and interdisciplinary collaboration, as well the rationale for our research areas, including a review of these two themes. After its initial meeting, the network has established two central thematic priorities: 1) urbanization and health and 2) the intersection of infectious diseases and NCDs. The urban population in the global south will nearly double in 25 years (approx. 2 billion today to over 3.5 billion by 2040). Urban population growth will have a direct impact on global health, and this growth will be burdened with uneven development and the persistence of urban spatial inequality, including health disparities. The NCD burden, which includes conditions such as hypertension, stroke, and diabetes, is outstripping infectious disease in countries in the global south that are considered to be disproportionately burdened by infectious diseases. Addressing these two priorities demands an interdisciplinary and multi-institutional model to stimulate innovation and synergy that will influence the overall framing of research questions as well as the integration and coordination of research.

Health Affairs
April 2016; Volume 35, Issue 4
http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/current

Issue Focus: Patients’ & Consumers’ Use Of Evidence
ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY: The Ethical Imperative And Moral Challenges Of Engaging Patients And The Public With Evidence
Mildred Z. Solomon, Michael K. Gusmano, and Karen J. Maschke
Health Aff April 2016 35:583-589; doi:10.1377/hlthaff.2015.1392
Abstract
Engaging patients and the public with evidence is an ethical imperative because engagement is central to respect for persons and will likely improve health outcomes, facilitate the stewardship of resources, enhance prospects for justice, and build public trust. However, patient and public engagement is also morally complex, because evidence alone is never definitive. As patients and the public engage with evidence, value conflicts will arise and must be managed to achieve trustworthy decision making. We outline value conflicts likely to emerge in the following five settings: clinical care, health care organizations, public health, the regulatory context, and among payers. Using a variety of examples, we offer suggestions about how such conflicts may be managed, including providing more opportunities for democratic deliberation and having more explicit community discussion of how to balance personal choice and community well-being, transparent discussions of cost and quality outcomes, and greater patient engagement in community-based participatory research and the governance of learning health systems.

Health Research Policy and Systems
http://www.health-policy-systems.com/content
[Accessed 23 April 2016]

.
Research
The West African Health Organization’s experience in improving the health research environment in the ECOWAS region
Jude Aidam and Issiaka Sombié
Published on: 20 April 2016
Abstract
Background
The West African Health Organization (WAHO) implemented a research development program in West Africa during 2009–2013 using the Knowledge for Better Health Research Capacity Development Framework, developed by Pang et al. (Bull World Health Organ 81(11):815–820, 2003), on strategies used to improve the research environment. The framework has the following components: stewardship, financing, sustainable resourcing and research utilization. This paper describes how WAHO implemented this research development program in the West African region to help improve the research environment and lessons learnt.
Methods
This is a retrospective review of the regional research development program using a triangulation of activity reports, an independent evaluation and the authors’ experiences with stakeholders. This program was designed to address gaps along the components of the framework and to improve partnership. The activities, results and challenges are summarised for each component of the framework. The independent evaluation was conducted using over 180 semi-structured interviews of key stakeholders in the West African region and activity reports. WAHO and major stakeholders validated these findings during a regional meeting.
Results
All 15 ECOWAS countries benefited from this regional research development program. WAHO provided technical and financial support to eight countries to develop their policies, priorities and plans for research development to improve their research governance. WAHO, along with other technical and financial partners, organised many capacity-strengthening trainings in health systems research methodology, resource mobilization, ethical oversight and on HRWeb, a research information management platform. WAHO helped launch a regional network of health research institutions to improve collaboration between regional participating institutions. Further, WAHO developed strategic research partnerships and mobilised additional funding to support the program. The program supported 24 health research projects. High staff turnover, weak institutional capacities and ineffective collaboration were some of the challenges encountered during program activity implementation.
Conclusion
The regional collaborative approach to health research development using this framework was effective given the challenges in the West African region. The achievements particularly with improved research partnerships and funding helped strengthen local health research environments. This highlights WAHO’s role and the common experiences in the West African region in improving health research.

Humanitarian Exchange Magazine
Number 66 A pril 2016
http://odihpn.org/magazine/humanitarian-innovation/

.
Special Focus: Humanitarian Innovation
by Humanitarian Practice Network and Kim Scriven April 2016
This edition of Humanitarian Exchange, co-edited with ELRHA Humanitarian Innovation Fund (HIF) manager Kim Scriven, focuses on innovation in the humanitarian sector.
:: Kim Scriven provides an overview of the rising interest in and funding for innovation, while highlighting what more needs to be done to improve the evidence base, relocate capacity and develop guidance.
:: In her article, Alice Obrecht proposes three success criteria for innovation based on case studies of HIF-funded innovation projects.
:: Nathaniel A. Raymond and Casey S. Harrity argue for clear ethnical and technical doctrine to guide the use of technology innovation.
:: Rahel Dette and Julia Steets explore the role of technology in monitoring aid in insecure environments.
:: Monica Zikusooka and colleagues report on using technology to conduct simulated field visits in Somalia.
:: Karen Kisakeni Sørensen highlights the challenges of innovating in the midst of armed conflict in her article on the use of technology in mine action in Ukraine.
:: Andrew Schroeder and Patrick Meier explore the opportunities and challenges posed by robotics.
:: Josiah Kaplan and Evan Easton-Calabria look at the opportunities and hazards of military innovation for the humanitarian sector.
:: Ben Ramalingam shares lessons on innovation in the Nepal earthquake response.
:: Elizabeth Gilmour discusses crowd-sourced mapping during the Nepal earthquake response.
:: Ronak Patel and Mihir Bhatt discuss a small-business micro-insurance programme in India.
:: Robert Hakiza and Evan Easton-Calabria elaborate on their research into urban micro-finance programmes run by refugees in Uganda.
:: Caetano Dorea describes the development of a new water filtration product.
:: Eric James and Laura James explore the potential of 3D printing of humanitarian supplies in the field.
:: Paul Currion offers personal reflection on the rise and decline of Humanitarian Information Centres (HICs).

Infectious Diseases of Poverty

[Accessed 23 April 2016]

.
Opinion
The global spread of Zika virus: is public and media concern justified in regions currently unaffected?
Narayan Gyawali, Richard S. Bradbury and Andrew W. Taylor-Robinson
Published on: 19 April 2016

International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction
Volume 16, In Progress (June 2016)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/22124209/16

.
Original Research Article
Responsibility and liability in emergency management to natural disasters: A Canadian example
Pages 12-18
Jonathan Raikes, Gordon McBean
Abstract
Most provincial emergency management legislation (Quebec excepted) fails to include regulatory guidelines as to how local authorities reduce community vulnerability. This exposes individual(s) and groups to greater vulnerability to disasters if the local authority decides not to act or provide inadequate management. In addition, access to financial resources to assist or compensate local governments and/or private landowners for damages endured often come with attachments or do not exist. When damages result from a government’s action or inaction in the event of an emergency, provisions in provincial legislation and court findings have reduced government exposure to civil liability at common law further exposing private landowners to financial risk.
This paper argues that a lack of standards in emergency management legislation, restrictive access to financial assistance and/or compensation and reduced government exposure to civil liability at common law expose private landowners to greater vulnerability to disasters and the liability attached. It is essential that those responsible for proactive/preventative planning for disasters work from a standard playbook, one which sets minimum safeguards for the public. Absent of clear and fulsome compensation guidelines, private landowners will bear an unfair and disproportionate financial risk.

.

Event monitoring in emergency scenarios using energy efficient wireless sensor nodes for the disaster information management
Original Research Article
Pages 33-42
Metin Erd, Frank Schaeffer, Milos Kostic, Leonhard M. Reindl
Abstract
Information gathering in tunnels, buildings, bridges, etc. during disasters is of vital importance in speeding up rescue efforts and for protecting the fire fighters. The collected data can be used by the emergency services in the planning of rescue operations and allocation of human resources at a local level. In this article we present design and implementation of a wireless sensor network, which consists of energy-efficient wireless sensor nodes with an integrated ultrasonic sensor, which establish a collision free data transmission in an emergency scenario. The developed network was tested in a field experiment in an explosion within a building to confirm its functionality and reliability. The wireless sensor network was able to pass critical data to the emergency units to initiate the rescue procedures during this disaster scenario.

.

Social determinants of mid- to long-term disaster impacts on health: A systematic review
Original Research Article
Pages 53-67
Shuhei Nomura, Alexander J.Q. Parsons, Mayo Hirabayashi, Ryo Kinoshita, Yi Liao, Susan Hodgson
Abstract
Disasters cause a wide range of health impacts. Although there remains a need to understand and improve acute disaster management, a stronger understanding of how health is affected in the medium and longer term is also required to inform the design and delivery of measures to manage post-disaster health risks, and to guide actions taken before and during events which will also lead to reduction in health impact. Social determinants exert a powerful influence on different elements of risk, principally vulnerability, exposure and capacity, and thus, on people’s health. As disaster health data and research has tended to focus on the short-term health impacts, no systematic assessment of the social determinants of the mid- to long-term health impacts of disasters has been identified. We assessed the chronic health impacts of disasters and explored the potential socioeconomic determinants of health impact through a systematic review. Our findings, based on 28 studies, highlighted that regardless of health outcomes and event types, the influence of disasters on chronic heath persists beyond the initial disaster period, affecting people’s health for months to years. Using the World Health Organization’s conceptual framework for the social determinants of health, we identified a total of 35 themes across the three conceptual domains (determinants related to the socioeconomic and political context, structural determinants, and intermediate determinants) as potentially influencing disaster impact. Investment to tackle modifiable underlying determinants could aid disaster risk management, improve medium and long-term health outcomes from disasters, and build community resilience.

.

Emergent system behaviour as a tool for understanding disaster resilience: The case of Southern African subsistence agriculture
Original Research Article
Pages 115-122
Christo Coetzee, Dewald Van Niekerk, Emmanuel Raju
Abstract
Prominent international policy documents such as the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 and contemporary academic discourses on disasters reiterate the importance of understanding and prioritising building societal resilience. However, despite its prominent position in current and future disaster risk management, much confusion still exists on what exactly resilience entails and how it can be enhanced. This paper attempts to provide a perspective on this problem from the point of view of Complex Adaptive Systems Theory, with specific focus on the notion of emergence within adaptive systems. The paper explores the presence of emergent behaviour that could generates disaster resilience by reviewing statistical correlations between four agricultural interventions (small-scale irrigation system, farmers’ associative mechanisms, appropriate crop varieties, and cropping techniques) and prominent indicators of disaster resilience (coping strategies and hazard adaptation/avoidance behaviour) in subsistence agricultural activities in Mozambique, Malawi and Madagascar. The results from the analysis illustrates that emergent behaviour in the form of various coping strategies and hazard avoidance behaviour is indeed observable in agricultural communities that use all or a combination of agricultural interventions such as small-scale irrigation systems, farmers’ associative mechanisms, appropriate crop varieties, and cropping techniques. These resilience abilities are newly formed macro-level behaviours that emerge due to the interactions of agricultural interventions at a micro-level.

JAMA
April 19, 2016, Vol 315, No. 15
http://jama.jamanetwork.com/issue.aspx

.
Preliminary Communication
Safety and Immunogenicity of Novel Adenovirus Type 26– and Modified Vaccinia Ankara–Vectored Ebola Vaccines: A Randomized Clinical Trial
Iain D. Milligan, MRCP; Malick M. Gibani, MRCP; Richard Sewell, BA; Elizabeth A. Clutterbuck, PhD; Danielle Campbell, BScN; Emma Plested; Elizabeth Nuthall, BSc; Merryn Voysey, MBiostat; Laura Silva-Reyes, MSc; M. Juliana McElrath, MD, PhD; Stephen C. De Rosa, MD; Nicole Frahm, PhD; Kristen W. Cohen, PhD; Georgi Shukarev, MD; Nicola Orzabal, BSc; Wilbert van Duijnhoven, MSc; Carla Truyers, PhD; Nora Bachmayer, PhD; Daniel Splinter, PhD; Nathaly Samy, MD; Maria Grazia Pau, PhD; Hanneke Schuitemaker, PhD; Kerstin Luhn, PhD; Benoit Callendret, PhD; Johan Van Hoof, MD; Macaya Douoguih, MD, MPH; Katie Ewer, PhD; Brian Angus, MD; Andrew J. Pollard, FRCPCH, PhD; Matthew D. Snape, FRCPCH, MD
Author Affiliations
1Oxford Vaccine Group, Department of Paediatrics, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
2Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
3Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington
4Janssen, Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, Leiden, the Netherlands
5Bavarian Nordic, Martinsried, Germany
6Jenner Institute, Centre for Clinical Vaccinology and Tropical Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
7National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Oxford Biomedical Research Centre, Oxford, United Kingdom
8Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom
Includes: Supplemental Content
JAMA. 2016;315(15):1610-1623. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.4218.

Abstract
Importance
Developing effective vaccines against Ebola virus is a global priority.
Objective
To evaluate an adenovirus type 26 vector vaccine encoding Ebola glycoprotein (Ad26.ZEBOV) and a modified vaccinia Ankara vector vaccine, encoding glycoproteins from Ebola virus, Sudan virus, Marburg virus, and Tai Forest virus nucleoprotein (MVA-BN-Filo).
Design, Setting, and Participants
Single-center, randomized, placebo-controlled, observer-blind, phase 1 trial performed in Oxford, United Kingdom, enrolling healthy 18- to 50-year-olds from December 2014; 8-month follow-up was completed October 2015.
Interventions
Participants were randomized into 4 groups, within which they were simultaneously randomized 5:1 to receive study vaccines or placebo. Those receiving active vaccines were primed with Ad26.ZEBOV (5 × 1010 viral particles) or MVA-BN-Filo (1 × 108 median tissue culture infective dose) and boosted with the alternative vaccine 28 or 56 days later. A fifth, open-label group received Ad26.ZEBOV boosted by MVA-BN-Filo 14 days later.
Main Outcomes and Measures
The primary outcomes were safety and tolerability. All adverse events were recorded until 21 days after each immunization; serious adverse events were recorded throughout the trial. Secondary outcomes were humoral and cellular immune responses to immunization, as assessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and enzyme-linked immunospot performed at baseline and from 7 days after each immunization until 8 months after priming immunizations.
Results
Among 87 study participants (median age, 38.5 years; 66.7% female), 72 were randomized into 4 groups of 18, and 15 were included in the open-label group. Four participants did not receive a booster dose; 67 of 75 study vaccine recipients were followed up at 8 months. No vaccine-related serious adverse events occurred. No participant became febrile after MVA-BN-Filo, compared with 3 of 60 participants (5%; 95% CI, 1%-14%) receiving Ad26.ZEBOV in the randomized groups. In the open-label group, 4 of 15 Ad26.ZEBOV recipients (27%; 95% CI, 8%-55%) experienced fever. In the randomized groups, 28 of 29 Ad26.ZEBOV recipients (97%; 95% CI, 82%- 99.9%) and 7 of 30 MVA-BN-Filo recipients (23%; 95% CI, 10%-42%) had detectable Ebola glycoprotein-specific IgG 28 days after primary immunization. All vaccine recipients had specific IgG detectable 21 days postboost and at 8-month follow-up. Within randomized groups, at 7 days postboost, at least 86% of vaccine recipients showed Ebola-specific T-cell responses.
Conclusions and Relevance
In this phase 1 study of healthy volunteers, immunization with Ad26.ZEBOV or MVA-BN-Filo did not result in any vaccine-related serious adverse events. An immune response was observed after primary immunization with Ad26.ZEBOV; boosting by MVA-BN-Filo resulted in sustained elevation of specific immunity. These vaccines are being further assessed in phase 2 and 3 studies.
Trial Registration
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02313077

The Lancet
Apr 23, 2016 Volume 387 Number 10029 p1693-1788
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

.
Review
The path to eradication: a progress report on the malaria-eliminating countries
Gretchen Newby, Adam Bennett, Erika Larson, Chris Cotter, Rima Shretta, Allison A Phillips, Richard G A Feachem
Summary
In the past several years, as worldwide morbidity and mortality due to malaria have continued to decrease, the global malaria community has grown increasingly supportive of the idea of malaria eradication. In 2015, three noteworthy global documents were released—the WHO’s Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 2016–2030, the Roll Back Malaria Partnership’s Action and Investment to defeat Malaria 2016–2030, and From Aspiration to Action: What Will It Take to End Malaria?—that collectively advocate for malaria elimination and eradication and outline key operational, technical, and financial strategies to achieve progress toward malaria eradication. In light of this remarkable change in global attitudes toward malaria elimination and eradication, and as the malaria community debates how and when to embark on this ambitious goal, it is important to assess current progress along the path to eradication. Although low-income, high-burden countries are often the focus when discussing the substantial challenges of eradication, the progress toward elimination in middle-income, low-burden countries is a major driver of global progress and deserves better recognition. Additionally, although global support and guidance is essential for success, malaria elimination and eradication efforts will ultimately be driven at the country level and achieved in a collaborative manner, region by region. In this Review, we examine the present status of the 35 malaria-eliminating countries, summarise existing national and regional elimination goals and the regional frameworks that support them, and identify the most crucial enabling factors and potential barriers to achieving eradication by a theoretical end date of 2040.

.

Public Health
Averting a malaria disaster: will insecticide resistance derail malaria control?
Janet Hemingway, Hilary Ranson, Alan Magill, Jan Kolaczinski, Christen Fornadel, John Gimnig, Maureen Coetzee, Frederic Simard, Dabiré K Roch, Clément Kerah Hinzoumbe, John Pickett, David Schellenberg, Peter Gething, Mark Hoppé, Nicholas Hamon
Summary
World Malaria Day 2015 highlighted the progress made in the development of new methods of prevention (vaccines and insecticides) and treatment (single dose drugs) of the disease. However, increasing drug and insecticide resistance threatens the successes made with existing methods. Insecticide resistance has decreased the efficacy of the most commonly used insecticide class of pyrethroids. This decreased efficacy has increased mosquito survival, which is a prelude to rising incidence of malaria and fatalities. Despite intensive research efforts, new insecticides will not reach the market for at least 5 years. Elimination of malaria is not possible without effective mosquito control. Therefore, to combat the threat of resistance, key stakeholders need to rapidly embrace a multifaceted approach including a reduction in the cost of bringing new resistance management methods to market and the streamlining of associated development, policy, and implementation pathways to counter this looming public health catastrophe.

Nature
Volume 532 Number 7599 pp282-408 21 April 2016
http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue.html

.
Editorials
Monkeying around
China, with its freedom from the ethical pressures experienced by researchers elsewhere, is poised to become the go-to country for work on non-human primates.

.
World View
The Paris Agreement has solved a troubling problem
By endorsing a limit of 1.5 °C, the climate negotiations have effectively defined what society considers dangerous, says Simon L. Lewis.

.
Comment
Track climate pledges of cities and companies
Data transparency is key to accounting for how local governments and the private sector are contributing to global emissions reduction, say Angel Hsu and colleagues.

New England Journal of Medicine
April 21, 2016 Vol. 374 No. 16
http://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

.
Perspective
Partnerships, Not Parachutists, for Zika Research
David L. Heymann, M.D., Joanne Liu, M.D., and Louis Lillywhite, M.B., B.Ch.
[Free full-text]
N Engl J Med 2016; 374:1504-1505 April 21, 2016 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1602278
Initial text
When the director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that the recently reported clusters of microcephaly and other neurologic disorders represent a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC), she called for increased research into their cause, including the question of whether the Zika virus is the source of the problem.1 The declaration provides an opportunity to step up the pace of research in order to find the answer to some important questions more quickly. It could not only facilitate the accumulation of knowledge about the relationship between the Zika virus and microcephaly, but also accelerate the study of newer technologies for mosquito control, which could have far-reaching effects on global health security beyond controlling Zika infections.
But to answer these research questions effectively and maximize their contribution to enhancing health security, we believe it is critical that research be conducted collaboratively. Building and strengthening public health capacities (in part through collaborative research) are central to the International Health Regulations, an international agreement of all WHO member countries designed to strengthen health security…

.

Perspective
Zika Virus as a Cause of Neurologic Disorders
Nathalie Broutet, M.D., Ph.D., Fabienne Krauer, M.Sc., Maurane Riesen, M.Sc., Asheena Khalakdina, Ph.D., Maria Almiron, M.Sc., Sylvain Aldighieri, M.D., Marcos Espinal, M.D., Nicola Low, M.D., and Christopher Dye, D.Phil.
N Engl J Med 2016; 374:1506-1509 April 21, 2016 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMp1602708
Final text
… Even with limited evidence linking Zika virus to neurologic disorders, the severe potential risks demand decisive, immediate action to protect public health. The WHO recommends applying key interventions such as intensive mosquito control; personal protection against mosquito bites; provision of appropriate clinical care for all patients with Guillain–Barré syndrome and for women before, during, and after pregnancy; and prevention of Zika virus transmission through sexual contact or blood transfusion.4 Most of these are not new interventions, but they do need strengthening. Populations must be informed of the potential current and future risks of neurologic disorders, wherever the virus is being or could be locally transmitted and in other regions inhabited by the mosquito vectors. As the putative link between Zika virus and neurologic disorders is reinforced, refined, or even refuted, public health measures will be adjusted accordingly.

.

Review Article
Zika Virus
Lindsey R. Baden, M.D., editor; Lyle R. Petersen, M.D., M.P.H., Denise J. Jamieson, M.D., M.P.H., Ann M. Powers, Ph.D., and Margaret A. Honein, Ph.D., M.P.H.
N Engl J Med 2016; 374:1552-1563 April 21, 2016 DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra1602113

PLOS Currents: Disasters
http://currents.plos.org/disasters/
[Accessed 23 April 2016]

.
Effectiveness of Interventions, Programs and Strategies for Gender-based Violence Prevention in Refugee Populations: An Integrative Review
April 19, 2016 · Brief Report
Background: Gender based violence (GBV) remains one of the most serious threats to the health and safety of women and girls worldwide. The problem is even more pronounced in refugee populations where women and girls are at increased risk of violence. In 2015, UNHCR reported the highest number of forcibly displaced people in recorded history. Despite growing need, there have been few rigorous evaluations of interventions aimed at primary GBV prevention and no systematic reviews of GBV prevention efforts specifically focused on refugee populations; reviews to date have primarily examined prevention of conflict related sexual violence, with very limited focus on other forms of GBV such as intimate partner violence
Methods: This study reviewed the scientific literature addressing strategies for primary prevention of GBV and their effectiveness among refugee populations over the past ten years (2006 to 2015). Narrative content analysis methods were used to extract findings related to prevention activities/programs recommended by the global humanitarian community, such as sociocultural norms change, rebuilding family and community support structures, improving accountability systems, designing effective services and facilities, working with formal and traditional legal systems, monitoring and documenting GBV, and/or engaging men and boys in GBV prevention and response.
Results: Study findings indicate that a range of GBV prevention activities recommended by the global humanitarian community are currently being applied in a variety of settings. However, there remains a limited body of evidence on the effectiveness of GBV prevention programs, interventions, and strategies, especially among refugee populations.
Conclusion: Commonly agreed upon standards or guidelines for evaluation of GBV prevention programming, and publication of evaluations conducted using these guidelines, could assist humanitarian stakeholders to build and disseminate an evidence base of effective GBV prevention interventions, programs and strategies. Evaluation of GBV prevention efforts, especially among refugee populations, must be given higher priority to justify continuation or revision of recommended GBV activities/programs being implemented in diverse humanitarian settings.

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 23 April 2016]

.
Research Article
Explaining Disparities in Use of Skilled Birth Attendants in Developing Countries: A Conceptual Framework
Patience A. Afulani, Cheryl Moyer
Research Article | published 22 Apr 2016 | PLOS ONE
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0154110

.

Effect of Village Health Team Home Visits and Mobile Phone Consultations on Maternal and Newborn Care Practices in Masindi and Kiryandongo, Uganda: A Community-Intervention Trial
Richard Mangwi Ayiasi, Patrick Kolsteren, Vincent Batwala, Bart Criel, Christopher Garimoi Orach
Research Article | published 21 Apr 2016 | PLOS ONE

PNAS – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/
(Accessed 23 April 2016)

.
Commentary: Averting a global fisheries disaster
Boris Worm
PNAS 2016 ; published ahead of print April 19, 2016, doi:10.1073/pnas.1604008113
Oceans cover 71% of Earth’s surface and support an estimated 3 billion people with food and vital micronutrients (1). Consequently, the fate of the ocean and its living resources is a first-order question in ecology and environmental science (2). In this context, a 2006 panel of ecologists and fisheries scientists empirically charted the consequences of an ongoing depletion of marine biodiversity, such as declining fisheries, reduced water quality, loss of habitat, and less resilient ecosystems (3). The paper became widely known, however, for a scenario of global fisheries collapse derived from extrapolating catch trends to the year 2048. This projection served as a flash point in the ongoing discussion about the sustainability of global fisheries, or lack thereof (4). A polarized debate ensued, which was productively addressed by a subsequent panel that highlighted solutions for rebuilding depleted fisheries, where appropriate governance structures exist (5). That work, however, along with several follow-up papers (6⇓–8), did not revisit the original projections. A new paper in PNAS (9) now uses updated methodology and an innovative combination of available data on catch trends, life history, and stock assessments to revisit the prospect of a global fisheries disaster, and what may be required to avert it.

The analysis of Costello et al. (9) confirms that the average state of global fish stocks is poor and declining. Of 4,714 fisheries assessed in the year 2012, only 32% remained at or above the biomass target that supports maximum sustainable yield (BMSY), whereas 68% have slipped below that critical threshold. This compares to 63% of assessed stocks tracking below BMSY in 2006 (5). Even more concerning is the finding that only 35% of stocks are currently fished at …

.

Biological Sciences – Ecology:
Predicting the spread of marine species introduced by global shipping
Hanno Seebens, Nicole Schwartz, Peter J. Schupp, and Bernd Blasius
PNAS 2016 ; published ahead of print April 18, 2016, doi:10.1073/pnas.152442711
Significance
Predicting the arrival of alien species remains a big challenge, which is assumed to be a consequence of the complexity of the invasion process. Here, we demonstrate that spreading of alien marine species can be predicted by a simple model using only global shipping intensities, environmental variables, and species occurrence data. We provide species lists of the next potentially invading species in a local habitat or species causing harmful algal blooms with their associated probability of invasion. This will help to improve mitigation strategies to reduce the further introduction of alien species. Although this study focuses on marine algae, the model approach can be easily adopted to other taxonomic groups and their respective drivers of invasion.
Abstract
The human-mediated translocation of species poses a distinct threat to nature, human health, and economy. Although existing models calculate the invasion probability of any species, frameworks for species-specific forecasts are still missing. Here, we developed a model approach using global ship movements and environmental conditions to simulate the successive global spread of marine alien species that allows predicting the identity of those species likely to arrive next in a given habitat. In a first step, we simulated the historical stepping-stone spreading dynamics of 40 marine alien species and compared predicted and observed alien species ranges. With an accuracy of 77%, the model correctly predicted the presence/absence of an alien species in an ecoregion. Spreading dynamics followed a common pattern with an initial invasion of most suitable habitats worldwide and a subsequent spread into neighboring habitats. In a second step, we used the reported distribution of 97 marine algal species with a known invasion history, and six species causing harmful algal blooms, to determine the ecoregions most likely to be invaded next under climate warming. Cluster analysis revealed that species can be classified according to three characteristic spreading profiles: emerging species, high-risk species, and widespread species. For the North Sea, the model predictions could be confirmed because two of the predicted high-risk species have

.

Knowledge Systems for Sustainable Development Special Feature Sackler Colloquium –
Perspective: Crafting usable knowledge for sustainable development
William C. Clark, Lorrae van Kerkhoff, Louis Lebel, and Gilberto C. Gallopin
PNAS 2016 ; published ahead of print April 18, 2016, doi:10.1073/pnas.1601266113
Abstract
This paper distills core lessons about how researchers (scientists, engineers, planners, etc.) interested in promoting sustainable development can increase the likelihood of producing usable knowledge. We draw the lessons from both practical experience in diverse contexts around the world and from scholarly advances in understanding the relationships between science and society. Many of these lessons will be familiar to those with experience in crafting knowledge to support action for sustainable development. However, few are included in the formal training of researchers. As a result, when scientists and engineers first venture out of the laboratory or library with the goal of linking their knowledge with action, the outcome has often been ineffectiveness and disillusionment. We therefore articulate here a core set of lessons that we believe should become part of the basic training for researchers interested in crafting usable knowledge for sustainable development. These lessons entail at least four things researchers should know, and four things they should do. The knowing lessons involve understanding the coproduction relationships through which knowledge making and decision making shape one another in social–environmental systems. We highlight the lessons that emerge from examining those coproduction relationships through the ICAP lens, viewing them from the perspectives of Innovation systems, Complex systems, Adaptive systems, and Political systems. The doing lessons involve improving the capacity of the research community to put its understanding of coproduction into practice. We highlight steps through which researchers can help build capacities for stakeholder collaboration, social learning, knowledge governance, and researcher training.

Reproductive Health
http://www.reproductive-health-journal.com/content
[Accessed 23 April 2016]

.
Research
Maternal death and obstetric care audits in Nigeria: a systematic review of barriers and enabling factors in the provision of emergency care
Maternal death reviews and obstetric audits identify causes and circumstances related to occurrence of a maternal death or serious complication and inform improvements in quality of care.
Julia Hussein, Atsumi Hirose, Oluwatoyin Owolabi, Mari Imamura, Lovney Kanguru and Friday Okonofua
Reproductive Health 2016 13:47
Published on: 22 April 2016

.

Study protocol
Taking stock: protocol for evaluating a family planning supply chain intervention in Senegal
In Senegal, only 12 % of women of reproductive age in union (WRAU) were using contraceptives and another 29 % had an unmet need for contraceptives in 2010–11. One potential barrier to accessing contraceptives …
Francesca L. Cavallaro, Diane Duclos, Rebecca F. Baggaley, Loveday Penn-Kekana, Catherine Goodman, Alice Vahanian, Andreia C. Santos, John Bradley, Lucy Paintain, Jérémie Gallien, Antonio Gasparrini, Leah Hasselback and Caroline A. Lynch
Reproductive Health 2016 13:45
Published on: 21 April 2016

.

Editorial
We need to stop female genital mutilation!
José M. Belizán, Suellen Miller and Natasha Salaria
Reproductive Health 2016 13:43
Published on: 18 April 2016

.

Commentary
The ongoing violence against women: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) comprises different practices involving cutting, pricking, removing and sometimes sewing up external female genitalia for non-medical reasons.
Jacinta K. Muteshi, Suellen Miller and José M. Belizán
Reproductive Health 2016 13:44
Published on: 18 April 2016

Science
22 April 2016 Vol 352, Issue 6284
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

.
In Depth
Refugee crisis brings new health challenges
By Kai Kupferschmidt
Science22 Apr 2016 : 391-392
Imported pathogens are a much bigger threat to migrants than they are to Europeans.
Summary
More than a million refugees and migrants entered Europe last year, mostly from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. This exodus is creating new challenges for European public health officials. Many of the migrants come from countries where public health systems are in disarray, and some are infected with pathogens that are rare, or even unheard of, in Europe. Germany saw a 30% increase in the number of tuberculosis cases in 2015; doctors also need to be prepared for diseases they have never seen before. Still, scientists say that the influx of unusual infections is far less a threat to native-born Europeans than to the health of the refugees themselves.

.

Policy Forum
Filling in biodiversity threat gaps
By L. N. Joppa, B. O’Connor, P. Visconti, C. Smith, J. Geldmann, M. Hoffmann, J. E. M. Watson, S. H. M. Butchart, M. Virah-Sawmy, B. S. Halpern, S. E. Ahmed, A. Balmford, W. J. Sutherland, M. Harfoot, C. Hilton-Taylor, W. Foden, E. Di Minin, S. Pagad, P. Genovesi, J. Hutton, N. D. Burgess
Science22 Apr 2016 : 416-418
Only 5% of global threat data sets meet a “gold standard”
Summary
The diversity of life on Earth—which provides vital services to humanity (1)—stems from the difference between rates of evolutionary diversification and extinction. Human activities have shifted the balance (2): Species extinction rates are an estimated 1000 times the “background” rate (3) and could increase to 10,000 times the background rate should species threatened with extinction succumb to pressures they face (4). Reversing these trends is a focus of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s 2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and its 20 Aichi Targets and is explicitly incorporated into the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We identify major gaps in data available for assessing global biodiversity threats and suggest mechanisms for closing them.

.

Perspectives
Waste not, want not, emit less
By Jessica Aschemann-Witzel
Science22 Apr 2016 : 408-409
Reducing food waste in the supply chain and at home can help to reduce carbon emissions
Summary
Ensuring a sufficient supply of quality food for a growing human population is a major challenge, aggravated by climate change and already-strained natural resources. Food security requires production of some food surpluses to safeguard against unpredictable fluctuations (1). However, when food is wasted, not only has carbon been emitted to no avail, but disposal and decomposition in landfills create additional environmental impacts. Decreasing the current high scale of food waste is thus crucial for achieving resource-efficient, sustainable food systems (2). But, although avoiding food waste seems an obvious step toward sustainability, especially given that most people perceive wasting food as grossly unethical (3), food waste is a challenge that is not easily solved.

Sustainability
Volume 8, Issue 3 (March 2016)
http://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/8/2

.
Editorial:
Introduction to the Special Issue on the Sustainable Asia Conference 2015
by Yongrok Choi, Malin Song and Seunghwan Myeong
Sustainability 2016, 8(3), 266; doi:10.3390/su8030266
Abstract:
Of late, Asian countries have been experiencing serious environmental disasters, such as the particulate matter (PM) smog in China, a yellow sand storm in Korea, and the Fukuyama nuclear power station shutdown in Japan. Since its inauguration in 2009, the Sustainable Asia Conference (SAC) has evolved into one of the leading international conferences for coping with these environmental challenges and presenting novel and fundamental advances in sustainable development for Asia. This editorial for SAC 2015 will highlight the contents and new methodologies put forth by selected papers, presenting diverse implications in sustainable policies and business strategies.

.

Article:
New Key Performance Indicators for a Smart Sustainable City
Sustainability 2016, 8(3), 206; doi:10.3390/su8030206
by Minako Hara, Tomomi Nagao, Shinsuke Hannoe and Jiro Nakamura
Received: 30 September 2015 / Revised: 5 February 2016 / Accepted: 18 February 2016 / Published: 3 March 2016
Abstract:
We propose key performance indicators (KPIs) based on the Gross Social Feel-Good Index to evaluate a smart sustainable city and report the results of a field trial in a city located almost at the center of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area. We developed KPIs based on the following concepts: (1). The triple bottom line is the basic evaluation criteria; (2). The same unit is used for every evaluation criterion; (3). The KPIs can be used to assess a diverse range of smart sustainable cities with different goals. With the proposed KPIs of smart sustainable cities, indicators are divided into four layers for simplicity: the triple bottom line and “satisfaction” lie in the first layer. Since the notion of “society” is broad, it is further split into “safety”, “health”, and “comfort”, which are positioned in the second layer. The third layer includes indicators such as “information security” and “ubiquitous society” from the perspective of information communication technology (ICT). We conducted a trial evaluation by applying the proposed KPIs to individual ICT solutions of “Internet Protocol announcements”, “Wi-Fi around the station” and “information transmission and control” which have already been installed in a smart sustainable city.

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health ::
Holistic Development :: Sustainable Resilience
__________________________________________________
Week ending 16 April 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 16 April 2016

blog edition: comprised of the 35+ entries  posted below.

Editor’s Note:
As we approach the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul on 23-24 May 2016, we are encountering analyses on the state of humanitarian response and humanitarianism overall. Below are summaries of new reports by ODI and ActionAid International on behalf of the Transforming Surge Capacity Project.

World Humanitarian Summit: https://consultations.worldhumanitariansummit.org/whs_about

.

Time to let go: remaking humanitarian action for the modern era
ODI – Humanitarian Policy Group
Research reports and studies – April 2016 :: 84 pages
Team leader and main author: Christina Bennett; Editor and co-author: Matthew Foley
Pdf: http://www.odi.org/sites/odi.org.uk/files/resource-documents/time_to_let_go_report.pdf

Foreword
This report reflects a growing sense, both from our own research on the ‘changing humanitarian landscape’ and in conversations with colleagues, that the ‘traditional’ humanitarian sector is on the cusp of a decisive moment in its history.

For three-quarters of a century, the stalwarts of humanitarian assistance and emergency relief – Western donors and non-governmental organisations, the Red Cross Movement and UN agencies – have seen themselves as the essential heart of humanitarian action: indispensable players, both as implementing agencies and as the arbiters of the norms and standards governing the conduct of relief.

What became increasingly plain as our research progressed was that this centrality and indispensability was, if not an illusion, then at least a very partial picture of the reality of global humanitarian assistance. Northern NGOs, the UN system and the Red Cross are by no means redundant – the billions of dollars still being channelled through them is testament to that – but they are just one part of a much broader universe of assistance made up of a myriad of other actors, with their own distinctive traditions and cultures of care.

Drawing on recent HPG research, this report – a collective effort by the HPG team, as well as the fruit of insights from thinkers and doers in humanitarianism from around the world – reflects on this complexity, and sketches out some of its implications, both for the practical business of emergency assistance and for the principles, ethos and culture that underpin it.

If humanitarianism really is the broad church we believe it to be, what does the concept of ‘humanitarian’ even mean? How should we respond to these challenges, and is change desirable or even possible? These are very large questions, and this report cannot provide complete answers. Hopefully, though, it will contribute to a fuller and more constructive debate on the future direction of humanitarian policy and practice.
Sara Pantuliano
Director, Humanitarian Policy Group
April 2016

.

Press Release
Time to let go: remaking humanitarian action for the modern era
As the international humanitarian system faces a crisis of legitimacy, the Humanitarian Policy Group’s landmark report proposes a new model of humanitarian action.

…The humanitarian sector is suffering a crisis of legitimacy.

Despite a decade of system-wide reforms, the sector is failing to adapt to meet the needs of people in crises. As humanitarian emergencies become more frequent, more complex and last longer, the need for radical change is ever growing.

Drawing on four years of research, this report argues that the humanitarian system needs to let go of some fundamental – but outdated – assumptions, structures and behaviours to respond effectively to modern day crises. It argues for a new model of humanitarian action, one that requires letting go of the current paradigm.

First, the UN and large international NGOs need to let go of power and control, to enable national and local aid organisations to lead crisis response.

Second, the humanitarian system needs to let go of the incentives that place organisational drives for greater resources and visibility above the needs of crisis-affected people.

Third, the humanitarian system needs to let go of its own exceptionalism and accept that different forms of relief – from development organisations, religious organisations and private sector companies – can co-exist and can be equally legitimate…