The Lancet
Jan 30, 2016 Volume 387 Number 10017 p403-504
http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current

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Editorial
Ebola’s legacy: UK deficits and their global lessons
The Lancet
Summary
A devastating report on the UK’s lessons from Ebola was published this week by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee. Much of the blame for the world’s lacklustre response to Ebola has been laid at the door of WHO. But the committee also found surprising weaknesses in the UK’s application of science to global health emergencies. It makes important recommendations for corrective action. Although targeted towards the UK, the committee’s findings will also likely apply to other high-income countries involved in the response to Ebola.

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Articles
Global, regional, and national levels and trends in maternal mortality between 1990 and 2015, with scenario-based projections to 2030: a systematic analysis by the UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group
Leontine Alkema, Doris Chou, Daniel Hogan, Sanqian Zhang, Ann-Beth Moller, Alison Gemmill, Doris Ma Fat, Ties Boerma, Marleen Temmerman, Colin Mathers, Lale Say, United Nations Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group collaborators, technical advisory group
Summary
Background
Millennium Development Goal 5 calls for a 75% reduction in the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) between 1990 and 2015. We estimated levels and trends in maternal mortality for 183 countries to assess progress made. Based on MMR estimates for 2015, we constructed projections to show the requirements for the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of less than 70 maternal deaths per 100 000 livebirths globally by 2030.
Methods
We updated the UN Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (MMEIG) database with more than 200 additional records (vital statistics from civil registration systems, surveys, studies, or reports). We generated estimates of maternal mortality and related indicators with 80% uncertainty intervals (UIs) using a Bayesian model. The model combines the rate of change implied by a multilevel regression model with a time-series model to capture data-driven changes in country-specific MMRs, and includes a data model to adjust for systematic and random errors associated with different data sources.
Results
We had data for 171 of 183 countries. The global MMR fell from 385 deaths per 100 000 livebirths (80% UI 359–427) in 1990, to 216 (207–249) in 2015, corresponding to a relative decline of 43·9% (34·0–48·7), with 303 000 (291 000–349 000) maternal deaths worldwide in 2015. Regional progress in reducing the MMR since 1990 ranged from an annual rate of reduction of 1·8% (0·0–3·1) in the Caribbean to 5·0% (4·0–6·0) in eastern Asia. Regional MMRs for 2015 ranged from 12 deaths per 100 000 livebirths (11–14) for high-income regions to 546 (511–652) for sub-Saharan Africa. Accelerated progress will be needed to achieve the SDG goal; countries will need to reduce their MMRs at an annual rate of reduction of at least 7·5%.
Interpretation
Despite global progress in reducing maternal mortality, immediate action is needed to meet the ambitious SDG 2030 target, and ultimately eliminate preventable maternal mortality. Although the rates of reduction that are needed to achieve country-specific SDG targets are ambitious for most high mortality countries, countries that made a concerted effort to reduce maternal mortality between 2000 and 2010 provide inspiration and guidance on how to accomplish the acceleration necessary to substantially reduce preventable maternal deaths.
Funding
National University of Singapore, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, USAID, and the UNDP/UNFPA/UNICEF/WHO/World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction.

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Series
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect
Cesar G Victora, Rajiv Bahl, Aluísio J D Barros, Giovanny V A França, Susan Horton, Julia Krasevec, Simon Murch, Mari Jeeva Sankar, Neff Walker, Nigel C Rollins, The Lancet Breastfeeding Series Group

Breastfeeding
Why invest, and what it will take to improve breastfeeding practices?
Nigel C Rollins, Nita Bhandari, Nemat Hajeebhoy, Susan Horton, Chessa K Lutter, Jose C Martines, Ellen G Piwoz, Linda M Richter, Cesar G Victora, The Lancet Breastfeeding Series Group

New England Journal of Medicine
January 28, 2016 Vol. 374 No. 4
http://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

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Editorial
Sharing Clinical Trial Data — A Proposal from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors
Darren B. Taichman, M.D., Ph.D., Joyce Backus, M.S.L.S., Christopher Baethge, M.D., Howard Bauchner, M.D., Peter W. de Leeuw, M.D., Jeffrey M. Drazen, M.D., John Fletcher, M.B., B.Chir., M.P.H., Frank A. Frizelle, M.B., Ch.B., F.R.A.C.S., Trish Groves, M.B., B.S., M.R.C.Psych., Abraham Haileamlak, M.D., Astrid James, M.B., B.S., Christine Laine, M.D., M.P.H., Larry Peiperl, M.D., Anja Pinborg, M.D., Peush Sahni, M.B., B.S., M.S., Ph.D., and Sinan Wu, M.D.
N Engl J Med 2016; 374:384-386
January 28, 2016
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMe1515172

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) believes that there is an ethical obligation to responsibly share data generated by interventional clinical trials because participants have put themselves at risk. In a growing consensus, many funders around the world — foundations, government agencies, and industry — now mandate data sharing. Here we outline the ICMJE’s proposed requirements to help meet this obligation. We encourage feedback on the proposed requirements. Anyone can provide feedback at http://www.icmje.org by 18 April 2016.

The ICMJE defines a clinical trial as any research project that prospectively assigns people or a group of people to an intervention, with or without concurrent comparison or control groups, to study the cause-and-effect relationship between a health-related intervention and a health outcome. Further details may be found in the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals at http://www.icmje.org.

As a condition of consideration for publication of a clinical trial report in our member journals, the ICMJE proposes to require authors to share with others the deidentified individual-patient data (IPD) underlying the results presented in the article (including tables, figures, and appendices or supplementary material) no later than 6 months after publication. The data underlying the results are defined as the IPD required to reproduce the article’s findings, including necessary metadata. This requirement will go into effect for clinical trials that begin to enroll participants beginning 1 year after the ICMJE adopts its data-sharing requirements. (The ICMJE plans to adopt data-sharing requirements after considering feedback received to the proposals made here.)

Enabling responsible data sharing is a major endeavor that will affect the fabric of how clinical trials are planned and conducted and how their data are used. By changing the requirements of the manuscripts we will consider for publication in our journals, editors can help foster this endeavor. As editors, our direct influence is logically, and practically, limited to those data underpinning the results and analyses we publish in our journals.

The ICMJE also proposes to require that authors include a plan for data sharing as a component of clinical trial registration. This plan must include where the researchers will house the data and, if not in a public repository, the mechanism by which they will provide others access to the data, as well as other data-sharing plan elements outlined in the 2015 Institute of Medicine Report (e.g., whether data will be freely available to anyone upon request or only after application to and approval by a learned intermediary, whether a data use agreement will be required).1 ClinicalTrials.gov has added an element to its registration platform to collect data-sharing plans. We encourage other trial registries to similarly incorporate mechanisms for the registration of data-sharing plans. Trialists who want to publish in ICMJE member journals (or nonmember journals that choose to follow these recommendations) should choose a registry that includes a data-sharing plan element as a specified registry item or allows for its entry as a free-text statement in a miscellaneous registry field. As a condition of consideration for publication in our member journals, authors will be required to include a description of the data-sharing plan in the submitted manuscript. Authors may choose to share the deidentified IPD underlying the results presented in the article under less restrictive, but not more restrictive, conditions than were indicated in the registered data-sharing plan.

The ICMJE already requires the prospective registration of all clinical trials prior to enrollment of the first participant. This requirement aims, in part, to prevent selective publication and selective reporting of research outcomes, and to prevent unnecessary duplication of research effort. Including a commitment to a data-sharing plan is a logical addition to trial registration that will further each of these goals. Prospective trial registration currently includes documenting the planned primary and major secondary end points to be assessed, which enables identification of incomplete reporting as well as post hoc analyses. Declaring the plan for sharing data prior to their collection will further enhance transparency in the conduct and reporting of clinical trials by exposing when data availability following trial completion differs from prior commitments.

Sharing clinical trial data, including deidentified IPD, requires planning to ensure appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board approval and the informed consent of study participants. Accordingly, we will defer these requirements for 1 year to allow investigators, trial sponsors, and regulatory bodies time to plan for their implementation.

Just as the confidentiality of trial participants must be protected (through the deidentification of IPD), and the needs of those reasonably requesting data met (through the provision of useable data), the reasonable rights of investigators and trial sponsors must also be protected. The ICMJE proposes the following to safeguard these rights. First, ICMJE editors will not consider the deposition of data in a registry to constitute prior publication. Second, authors of secondary analyses using these shared data must attest that their use was in accordance with the terms (if any) agreed to upon their receipt. Third, they must reference the source of the data using a unique identifier of a clinical trial’s data set to provide appropriate credit to those who generated it and allow searching for the studies it has supported. Fourth, authors of secondary analyses must explain completely how theirs differ from previous analyses. In addition, those who generate and then share clinical trial data sets deserve substantial credit for their efforts. Those using data collected by others should seek collaboration with those who collected the data. However, because collaboration will not always be possible, practical, or desired, an alternative means of providing appropriate credit needs to be developed and recognized in the academic community. We welcome ideas about how to provide such credit.

Data sharing is a shared responsibility. Editors of individual journals can help foster data sharing by changing the requirements of the manuscripts they will consider for publication in their journals. Funders and sponsors of clinical trials are in a position to support and ensure adherence to IPD-sharing obligations. If journal editors become aware that IPD-sharing obligations are not being met, they may choose to request additional information; to publish an expression of concern; to notify the sponsors, funders, or institutions; or in certain cases, to retract the publication.

In the rare situation in which compliance with these requirements is impossible, editors may consider authors’ requests for exceptions. If an exception is made, the reason(s) must be explained in the publication.

Sharing data will increase confidence and trust in the conclusions drawn from clinical trials. It will enable the independent confirmation of results, an essential tenet of the scientific process. It will foster the development and testing of new hypotheses. Done well, sharing clinical trial data should also make progress more efficient by making the most of what may be learned from each trial and by avoiding unwarranted repetition. It will help to fulfill our moral obligation to study participants, and we believe it will benefit patients, investigators, sponsors, and society.

PLOS Currents: Disasters
http://currents.plos.org/disasters/
[Accessed 30 January 2016]

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Evacuation During Hurricane Sandy: Data from a Rapid Community Assessment
January 29, 2016 · Research Article
Introduction: In anticipation of Hurricane Sandy in 2012 New York City officials issued mandatory evacuation orders for evacuation Zone A. However, only a small proportion of residents complied. Failure to comply with evacuation warnings can result in severe consequences including injury and death. To better ascertain why individuals failed to heed pre¬-emptive evacuation warnings for Hurricane Sandy we assessed factors that may have affected evacuation among residents in neighborhoods severely affected by the storm.
Methods: Data from a mental health needs assessment survey conducted among adult residents in South Brooklyn, the Rockaways, and Staten Island from December 13-¬18, 2012 was assessed. Several disasters related questions were evaluated, and prevalence estimates of evacuation and evacuation timing by potential factors that may influence evacuation were estimated. Measures of association were assessed using chi-¬square and t-¬test.
Results: Our sample consisted of 420 residents of which, only 49% evacuated at any time for Sandy. Evacuation was higher among those who witnessed trauma to others related to the World Trade Center attacks (66% vs. 40%, p=0.024). Those who reported extensive household damage after Sandy, had a higher rate of evacuation than those with minimal damage (83% vs. 30%, p<0.001). Among those who evacuated, evacuation before the storm was lower among residents living on higher floors (56% vs. 22%, p=0.022).
Discussion: Given that warnings to evacuate were issued before Sandy made landfall, evacuation among residents in South Brooklyn, the Rockaways and Staten Island, while higher than the overall Zone A evacuation rate, was less than optimal. Continued research on evacuation behaviors is needed, particularly on how timing affects evacuation. A better understanding may help to reduce barriers, and improve evacuation compliance.

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Immediate Needs and Concerns among Pregnant Women During and after Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda)
January 25, 2016 · Research Article
Introduction: Pregnant and postpartum women are especially vulnerable to natural disasters. These women suffer from increased risk of physical and mental issues including pregnant related problems. Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), which hit the Philippines affected a large number of people and caused devastating damages. During and after the typhoon, pregnant women were forced to live in particularly difficult circumstances. The purpose of this study was to determine concerns and problems regarding public health needs and coping mechanisms among pregnant women during and shortly after the typhoon.
Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional design utilizing focus group discussions (FGDs). Participants were 53 women (mean age: 26.6 years old; 42 had children) from four affected communities who were pregnant at the time of the typhoon. FGDs were conducted 4 months after the typhoon, from March 19 to 28, 2014, using semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed using the qualitative content analysis.
Result: Three themes were identified regarding problems and concerns during and after the typhoon: 1) having no ideas what is going to happen during the evacuation, 2) lacking essentials to survive, and 3) being unsure of how to deal with health concerns. Two themes were identified as means of solving issues: 1) finding food for survival and 2) avoiding diseases to save my family. As the pregnant women already had several typhoon experiences without any major problems, they underestimated the catastrophic nature of this typhoon. During the typhoon, the women could not ensure their safety and did not have a strong sense of crisis management. They suffered from hunger, food shortage, and poor sanitation. Moreover, though the women had fear and anxiety regarding their pregnancy, they had no way to resolve these concerns. Pregnant women and their families also suffered from common health problems for which they would usually seek medical services. Under such conditions, the pregnant woman cooperated with others for survival and used their knowledge of disease prevention.
Discussion: Pregnant women experienced difficulties with evacuation, a lack of minimum survival needs, and attending to their own health issues. Pregnant women were also concerned about needs and health issues of their families, particular, when they had small children. Collecting accurate information regarding the disaster and conducting self-sustainable preparation prior to the disaster among pregnant women will help them to protect their pregnancy status, thereby improving their families’ chance of survival during and after disasters

PLoS Currents: Outbreaks
http://currents.plos.org/outbreaks/
(Accessed 30 January 2016)

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Historical Parallels, Ebola Virus Disease and Cholera: Understanding Community Distrust and Social Violence with Epidemics
January 26, 2016 · Discussion
In the three West African countries most affected by the recent Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak, resistance to public health measures contributed to the startling speed and persistence of this epidemic in the region. But how do we explain this resistance, and how have people in these communities understood their actions? By comparing these recent events to historical precedents during Cholera outbreaks in Europe in the 19th century we show that these events have not been new to history or unique to Africa. Community resistance must be analysed in context and go beyond simple single-variable determinants. Knowledge and respect of the cultures and beliefs of the afflicted is essential for dealing with threatening disease outbreaks and their potential social violence.

PLoS Medicine
http://www.plosmedicine.org/
(Accessed 30 January 2016)

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Editorial
Can Data Sharing Become the Path of Least Resistance?
The PLOS Medicine Editors
Published: January 26, 2016
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1001949
Initial text
The year 2016 could be the year when medical research converges on data sharing as a universal standard, if recent events, reflected in several PLOS Medicine articles this month, are a good indication. Attaining that standard, however, may take a little longer…

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Strategies to Prevent Cholera Introduction during International Personnel Deployments: A Computational Modeling Analysis Based on the 2010 Haiti Outbreak
Joseph A. Lewnard, Marina Antillón, Gregg Gonsalves, Alice M. Miller, Albert I. Ko, Virginia E. Pitzer
Research Article | published 26 Jan 2016 | PLOS Medicine
10.1371/journal.pmed.1001947
Abstract
Background
Introduction of Vibrio cholerae to Haiti during the deployment of United Nations (UN) peacekeepers in 2010 resulted in one of the largest cholera epidemics of the modern era. Following the outbreak, a UN-commissioned independent panel recommended three pre-deployment intervention strategies to minimize the risk of cholera introduction in future peacekeeping operations: screening for V. cholerae carriage, administering prophylactic antimicrobial chemotherapies, or immunizing with oral cholera vaccines. However, uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of these approaches has forestalled their implementation by the UN. We assessed how the interventions would have impacted the likelihood of the Haiti cholera epidemic.
Methods and Findings
We developed a stochastic model for cholera importation and transmission, fitted to reported cases during the first weeks of the 2010 outbreak in Haiti. Using this model, we estimated that diagnostic screening reduces the probability of cases occurring by 82% (95% credible interval: 75%, 85%); however, false-positive test outcomes may hamper this approach. Antimicrobial chemoprophylaxis at time of departure and oral cholera vaccination reduce the probability of cases by 50% (41%, 57%) and by up to 61% (58%, 63%), respectively. Chemoprophylaxis beginning 1 wk before departure confers a 91% (78%, 96%) reduction independently, and up to a 98% reduction (94%, 99%) if coupled with vaccination. These results are not sensitive to assumptions about the background cholera incidence rate in the endemic troop-sending country. Further research is needed to (1) validate the sensitivity and specificity of rapid test approaches for detecting asymptomatic carriage, (2) compare prophylactic efficacy across antimicrobial regimens, and (3) quantify the impact of oral cholera vaccine on transmission from asymptomatic carriers.
Conclusions
Screening, chemoprophylaxis, and vaccination are all effective strategies to prevent cholera introduction during large-scale personnel deployments such as that precipitating the 2010 Haiti outbreak. Antimicrobial chemoprophylaxis was estimated to provide the greatest protection at the lowest cost among the approaches recently evaluated by the UN.

PLoS One
http://www.plosone.org/
[Accessed 30 January 2016]

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Assessing Progress towards Public Health, Human Rights, and International Development Goals Using Frontier Analysis
Jeanne Luh, Ryan Cronk, Jamie Bartram
Research Article | published 26 Jan 2016 | PLOS ONE
10.1371/journal.pone.0147663
71/journal.pone.0145548
Abstract
Indicators to measure progress towards achieving public health, human rights, and international development targets, such as 100% access to improved drinking water or zero maternal mortality ratio, generally focus on status (i.e., level of attainment or coverage) or trends in status (i.e., rates of change). However, these indicators do not account for different levels of development that countries experience, thus making it difficult to compare progress between countries. We describe a recently developed new use of frontier analysis and apply this method to calculate country performance indices in three areas: maternal mortality ratio, poverty headcount ratio, and primary school completion rate. Frontier analysis is used to identify the maximum achievable rates of change, defined by the historically best-performing countries, as a function of coverage level. Performance indices are calculated by comparing a country’s rate of change against the maximum achievable rate at the same coverage level. A country’s performance can be positive or negative, corresponding to progression or regression, respectively. The calculated performance indices allow countries to be compared against each other regardless of whether they have only begun to make progress or whether they have almost achieved the target. This paper is the first to use frontier analysis to determine the maximum achievable rates as a function of coverage level and to calculate performance indices for public health, human rights, and international development indicators. The method can be applied to multiple fields and settings, for example health targets such as cessation in smoking or specific vaccine immunizations, and offers both a new approach to analyze existing data and a new data source for consideration when assessing progress achieved.

Science
29 January 2016 Vol 351, Issue 6272
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

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EDITORIAL
Global science engagement
Geraldine Richmond
Summary
In rural Laos, more than 50% of newborns will be stunted by age 2 due to chronic malnourishment. Worldwide, 161 million children under the age of 5, many of them in Africa and Asia, suffered irreversible stunting as of 2013. The developed world is not immune. As recently as 2010, stunting affected 8 to 9% of babies enrolled in U.S. federal food-subsidy programs. Next week in Washington, DC, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS is the publisher of Science) will convene its annual meeting (11 to 15 February), where world leaders will discuss food security and other major challenges that lie ahead in both the science and international policy arenas.

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Policy Forum
Conservation Ecology
How can higher-yield farming help to spare nature?
Ben Phalan1,*, Rhys E. Green1,2, Lynn V. Dicks1, Graziela Dotta3, Claire Feniuk1, Anthony Lamb1, Bernardo B. N. Strassburg4,5, David R. Williams1, Erasmus K. H. J. zu Ermgassen1,
Andrew Balmford1
Summary
Expansion of land area used for agriculture is a leading cause of biodiversity loss and greenhouse gas emissions, particularly in the tropics. One potential way to reduce these impacts is to increase food production per unit area (yield) on existing farmland, so as to minimize farmland area and to spare land for habitat conservation or restoration. There is now widespread evidence that such a strategy could benefit a large proportion of wild species, provided that spared land is conserved as natural habitat (1). However, the scope for yield growth to spare land by lowering food prices and, hence, incentives for clearance (“passive” land sparing) can be undermined if lower prices stimulate demand and if higher yields raise profits, encouraging agricultural expansion and increasing the opportunity cost of conservation (2, 3). We offer a first description of four categories of “active” land-sparing mechanisms that could overcome these rebound effects by linking yield increases with habitat protection or restoration (table S1). The effectiveness, limitations, and potential for unintended consequences of these mechanisms have yet to be systematically tested, but in each case, we describe real-world interventions that illustrate how intentional links between yield increases and land sparing might be developed.

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health ::
Holistic Development :: Sustainable Resilience
__________________________________________________
Week ending 23 January 2016

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

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

pdf version: The Sentinel_ week ending 23 January 2016

blog edition: comprised of the 35+ entries  posted below on 24 January 2016

An appeal to end the suffering in Syria
21 January 2016, ongoing
More than 120 humanitarian organizations and United Nations agencies issued a joint appeal today urging the world to raise their voices and call for an end to the Syria crisis and to the suffering endured by millions of civilians. The appeal also outlines a series of immediate, practical steps that can improve humanitarian access and the delivery of aid to those in need inside Syria. You are invited to “sign” the appeal simply by liking, sharing, and retweeting it.

Three years ago, the leaders of UN humanitarian agencies issued an urgent appeal to those who could end the conflict in Syria. They called for every effort to save the Syrian people. “Enough”, they said, of the suffering and bloodshed.

That was three years ago.

Now, the war is approaching its sixth brutal year. The bloodshed continues. The suffering deepens.

So today, we — leaders of humanitarian organisations and UN agencies — appeal not only to governments but to each of you — citizens around the world — to add your voices in urging an end to the carnage. To urge that all parties reach agreement on a ceasefire and a path to peace.

More than ever before, the world needs to hear a collective public voice calling for an end to this outrage. Because this conflict and its consequences touch us all.

It touches those in Syria who have lost loved ones and livelihoods, who have been uprooted from their homes, or who live in desperation under siege. Today, some 13.5 million people inside Syria need humanitarian assistance. That is not simply a statistic. These are 13.5 million individual human beings whose lives and futures are in jeopardy.

It touches the families who, with few options for a better future, set out on perilous journeys to foreign lands in search of refuge. The war has seen 4.6 million people flee to neighbouring countries and beyond.

It touches a generation of children and young people who — deprived of education and traumatized by the horrors they have experienced — increasingly see their future shaped only by violence.

It touches those far beyond Syria who have seen the violent repercussions of the crisis reach the streets, offices and restaurants closer to their homes.

And it touches all those around the world whose economic wellbeing is affected, in ways visible and invisible, by the conflict.

Those with the ability to stop the suffering can — and therefore should — take action now. Until there is a diplomatic solution to the fighting, such action should include:
– Unimpeded and sustained access for humanitarian organizations to bring immediate relief to all those in need inside Syria
– Humanitarian pauses and unconditional, monitored ceasefires to allow food and other urgent assistance to be delivered to civilians, vaccinations and other health campaigns, and for children to return to school
– A cessation of attacks on civilian infrastructure — so that schools and hospitals and water supplies are kept safe
– Freedom of movement for all civilians and the immediate lifting of all sieges by all parties

These are practical actions. There is no practical reason they could not be implemented if there is the will to do so.

In the name of our shared humanity… for the sake of the millions of innocents who have already suffered so much… and for the millions more whose lives and futures hang in the balance, we call for action now….Now.

U.S. – Strengthening the International Response to the Global Refugee Crisis
Fact Sheet
Department of State – Office of the Spokesperson
Washington, DC
January 22, 2016

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced today in Davos, Switzerland, that the United States is seeking significant new international commitments to strengthen the international response to the global refugee crisis. This effort responds to the growing numbers and needs of refugee populations around the world, and reflects our sense of urgency about expanding the humanitarian safety net and creating more long-term, durable opportunities for refugees.

The United States will work with partners to advance the initiative over the coming months, culminating in a high-level event to be hosted by President Obama on the margins of the 71st session of the UN General Assembly. Event participants will be asked to make commitments in the following areas:

Broader and Deeper Commitment to Funding UN Humanitarian Appeals:
In order to create a stronger and more sustainable funding base for UN humanitarian appeals, we are seeking commitments to regular contributions from at least 10 new nations. In tandem with that effort, we will seek at least a 30 percent increase in financing for global humanitarian appeals, from $10 billion in 2015 to $13 billion this year.

Expanded Resettlement and Other Legal Channels for Humanitarian Admissions:
In order to create a brighter future for some of the world’s most vulnerable people, our goal is for nations with existing legal pathways for refugee admission to make commitments that double the global number of resettled refugees and those afforded other legal channels of admission, and for nations without such programs to establish them.

Facilitating Refugee Inclusion and Self-Reliance:
In order to enable refugees to meet their own needs and contribute to communities that host them, the United States seeks commitments to increase the number of refugees worldwide in school by one million, and the number of refugees granted the legal right to work by one million. We believe that at least 10 nations must strengthen their refugee policies and practices to help reach these goals.

The United States will announce significant new commitments over the coming months and will strongly encourage other nations to do the same. The President’s Summit will convene those nations that have made significant new commitments toward achieving the Summit’s core goals throughout the course of 2016, encouraging the international community to do more than we have in the past.

New multi-year initiative launched to step up global response to trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants
21 January 2016, Brussels – The European Union (EU) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) today launched the Global Action to Prevent and Address Trafficking in Persons and the Smuggling of Migrants. A four-year joint initiative between the EU and UNODC, the programme will be implemented in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) through to 2019.

The programme forms part of a joint response to assist countries to develop and implement effective responses to trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants. UNODC, together with IOM and UNICEF, will focus efforts on assistance to governmental authorities, civil society organizations, victims of trafficking and smuggled migrants.

John Brandolino, UNODC’s Director of the Division for Treaty Affairs, welcomed this initiative and stated that the global action signalled the continuing positive relationship between UNODC and the EU. Mr. Brandolino further added that “UNODC’s collaboration with IOM and UNICEF is key to successful global action. It will help provide a comprehensive prevention and protection approach to addressing the issue of trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants.”

Fernando Frutuoso de Melo, Director General of the European Union’s Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development, added: “Trafficking in human beings is one of the most severe violations of human rights. This new project will help with the prevention efforts and will support the fight against this scourge.”

The programme is expected to be delivered across Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America in 13 countries, namely: Belarus, Brazil, Colombia, Egypt, Kyrgyzstan, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Mali, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, South Africa and Ukraine.

Too important to fail—addressing the humanitarian financing gap
High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing
Report to the Secretary-General
January 2016 :: 41 pages
Report Pdf

[Excerpts from Executive Summary]
The world today spends around US$ 25 billion to provide life-saving assistance to 125 million people devastated by wars and natural disasters. While this amount is twelve times greater than fifteen years ago, never before has generosity been so insufficient. Over the last years conflicts and natural disasters have led to fast-growing numbers of people in need and a funding gap for humanitarian action of an estimated US$ 15 billion. This is a lot of money, but not out of reach for a world producing US$ 78 trillion of annual GDP. Closing the humanitarian
financing gap would mean no one having to die or live without dignity for the lack of money. It would be a victory for humanity at a time when it is much needed.

The UN Secretary-General has appointed a nine-person group of experts (“the panel”) to work on finding solutions about this widening financial gap. The panel identified and examined three important and interdependent aspects of the humanitarian financing challenge: reducing the needs, mobilising additional funds through either traditional or innovative mechanisms, and improving the efficiency of humanitarian assistance.

The panel’s work aims to help inform and shape the objectives of the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) in Istanbul in May 2016. It is also highly relevant in the context of adopting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)—only by focusing the world’s attention on the rapidly growing numbers of people in desperate need will we be able to achieve the SDGs…

…Improve delivery: a Grand Bargain on efficiency
The panel concurs with a widely shared view among stakeholders that systemic change in humanitarian aid delivery is needed in order to raise new money and use it more effectively. Greater efficiency will create a virtuous circle by drawing in more funding. Since the status quo is not an option, the panel calls on donors and implementing organisations to come together in a Grand Bargain. As part of that agreement, donors would not simply give more but give better, by being more flexible, and aid organisations would reciprocate with greater transparency and cost-consciousness.

The elements of a Grand Bargain include provision of more cash-based assistance, where appropriate, and recognition of the comparative advantages of local, national and international implementing organisations for delivery of services. To improve response time the panel suggests the creation of a repository of pre-qualified organisations to dispense with repeated screening of NGOs, as well as more work on strengthening local capacity.

The panel wants donors to commit to more multiyear funding and less earmarking, since flexible funding is the lifeblood of humanitarian operations. And donors should simplify and harmonise their reporting requirements, leaving aid workers more time to perform their life-saving activities. And we need greater transparency from implementing organisations so that everyone can “follow the money” on its journey from donor to recipient. A global data platform to provide open and transparent data would help reduce transaction costs and increase effectiveness.

By committing to joint needs assessments, such as those carried out in northern Syria and during the Nepal earthquake, humanitarian organisations would increase donors’ trust. True transparency is within our grasp thanks to digital technology and this should be extended to include communities receiving aid: humanitarian organisations can learn and improve by listening to the people they serve.

If we are to move towards a model of collaborative efficiency, the panel would like government donors and aid organisations to agree to a Grand Bargain. By doing so, they will clearly demonstrate a common commitment to the greater good.

The panel presents this report conscious that the implementation of its recommendations will depend upon the will of many to carry them forward. Panel members are committed to continuing to offer their assistance in the process of making these proposals a reality.
[Table, Excerpt from Grand Bargain discussion, p.24]
The panel recommends:
That by the World Humanitarian Summit donors and aid organisations work towards a collective roadmap for stretching available money to reach more people in need.

The main elements of a Grand Bargain are:
For aid organisations and donors to work more closely together towards:
…More financial transparency.
…More support and funding tools to national first responders.
…Scale up use of cash-based programming and more coordination in its delivery.

For aid organisations to commit to:
…Reduce duplication and management costs.
…Periodic functional expenditure reviews.
…More joint and impartial needs assessments.
…A Participation Revolution: listen more to and include beneficiaries in decisions that affect them.

For donors to commit to:
…More multi-year humanitarian funding.
…Less earmarks to humanitarian aid organisations.
…More harmonized and simplified reporting requirements.
Panel Members
Co-Chairs
Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, Bulgaria, Vice President for Budget and Human Resources, the European Commission
HRH Sultan Nazrin Shah, Malaysia, Ruler of Perak, Malaysia
Panelists in alphabetical order
Ms. Hadeel Ibrahim, the United Kingdom, Executive Director, Mo Ibrahim Foundation
Mr. Badr Jafar, the United Arab Emirates, Managing Director, the Crescent Group
Mr. Walt Macnee, Canada, Vice Chairman, MasterCard
Mr. Trevor Manuel, South Africa, Senior Advisor, Rothschild Group
Ms. Linah Mohohlo, Botswana, Governor, Bank of Botswana
Mr. Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, Sri Lanka, Secretary-General, CIVICUS
Ms. Margot Wallström, Sweden, Minister for Foreign Affairs

The Rockefeller Foundation Announces $130 Million Initiative to Reduce Global Food Loss and Waste
January 21, 2016
DAVOS, SWITZERLAND—Today, as part of the World Economic Forum’s 2016 Annual Meeting, The Rockefeller Foundation announced the launch of YieldWise, a seven-year, $130 million initiative that will demonstrate how food loss and waste can be cut in half globally, continuing the Foundation’s long legacy in strengthening food security and advancing healthier, more productive food systems around the world.

“The amount of food lost or wasted before it ever reaches a table is simply unacceptable, with devastating impacts on people, profit, and planet,” said Judith Rodin, president of The Rockefeller Foundation. “Yet, it’s a challenge that can be prevented with a blend of existing solutions, from technologies that help farmers keep more of what they grow to models for private sector engagement that ensure those crops will be bought, rather than left to rot. Through YieldWise, The Rockefeller Foundation will finish the business we started with the Green Revolution more than a half-century ago—to ensure more of the world’s people are fed and the planet’s precious resources are protected.”

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), we grow enough food to feed all the 1.2 billion hungry or undernourished people on the planet, yet one-third is never eaten. Given the projected 2 billion increase in the global population by 2050, the need to minimize loss, not just maximize production, is critical.

To do this, through YieldWise, The Rockefeller Foundation will engage private, nonprofit, and government actors across the food supply system. With large multinational companies like The Coca-Cola Company and Dangote as key collaborators, the initiative will focus on linking small and big businesses that can mutually benefit from diversified sources for products and enhanced markets. At the same time, the Foundation will make targeted investments toward dramatically reducing food waste generated by retail outfits and consumers across the U.S. and Europe…

YieldWise’s immediate focus will be in Kenya, Nigeria, and Tanzania, where up to half of some crops are lost to inefficient harvesting, storage, processing, and time to market. The Rockefeller Foundation will focus on streamlining the supply chain from farm to market, putting proven technologies—many of them simple—in the hands of smallholder farmers to increase yield and create new paths to prosperity.

“In the global conversation on food waste, we often overlook losses between harvest and retail. On 470 million smallholder farms across Africa, lack of access to training and technology negatively impacts harvests and farmer livelihoods. When crops and food exports don’t make it to market, the economic development and global competitiveness of agriculture-dependent nations suffer as well,” said Mamadou Biteye, managing director of The Rockefeller Foundation in Africa. “YieldWise is the first global solution to food loss and waste that works across the entire food system: from farm to store to table and beyond.”

YieldWise will focus on behavior change, from how smallholder farmers grow and store their crops to how companies account for food loss and waste across their supply chains. It will help the economic development and global competitiveness of agriculture-dependent nations, which currently suffer when crops and food exports don’t make it to market. Beyond impacts on business and trade, it will also help to relieve the 25 percent of freshwater and 20 percent of farmland that is currently wasted on the production of unconsumed food. Ultimately, YieldWise’s goal is an efficient, productive global food system with minimal loss.

Nationwide launch of Mobile Health Program in rural India signals new era of mHealth for emerging economies
Platform overcomes technology barriers; delivers life-saving health information to mothers and pregnant women on mass scale
Jan 15, 2016 (WASHINGTON)—Today, the Government of India launched a nationwide mobile health program designed to train community health workers and to directly reach millions of women within three years. The program is powered by MOTECH, a robust yet simple-to-use mobile health (mHealth) technology developed by Grameen Foundation, with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

“Until now, mHealth applications have been relatively small and siloed,” said John Tippett, Global Director of Mobile Health at Grameen Foundation. “By allowing systems to work together and serve huge numbers of people, MOTECH opens a new era for tackling global health problems at scale through mobile technology.”…

India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare announced the national roll out of two MOTECH-powered programs developed by BBC Media Action – Mobile Academy and Kilkari – both aimed at addressing health challenges that result in high infant and maternal mortality rates.

Kilkari directly calls pregnant women and mothers, delivering crucial health information targeted to their stage of pregnancy or their infant’s age. Mobile Academy uses Interactive Voice Response (IVR) messages on mobile phones to train front-line health workers in maternal and infant care. The health workers, known as ASHAs (Accredited Social Health Activists), are selected by the village they serve, and are central to India’s strategy to improve maternal and child health.

“The Government of India has launched Digital India program in order to transform the entire ecosystem of public services through the use of Information Technology,” said Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda, the Honorable Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare. “We need to transform healthcare by empowering people to become active healthcare citizens with choice but most powerfully with information and to take more responsibility over their own health and life choices… . I am confident that these services will bring us a step closer to the people who need our services the most.”

As of today’s announcement, national scale-up is underway. Kilkari—which is the Hindi word for “a baby’s gurgle,”—is live in six states, and Mobile Academy in four…

46th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum to Focus on Fourth Industrial Revolution

Selected Announcements

36 best quotes from Davos 2016

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World Economic Forum Announces New Board of Trustees
News 23 Jan 2016
Jim Yong Kim and Marc R. Benioff join the World Economic Forum Board of Trustees
Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 23 January 2016 – The Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum yesterday elected Jim Yong Kim, President, The World Bank, Washington DC; and Marc R. Benioff, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Salesforce, USA, as its new members.
In accordance with the World Economic Forum’s status as the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation, as recognized by the Swiss Federal Council in January 2015, the Forum updated its governing body from Foundation Board to Board of Trustees in August. The Board of Trustees is set up to support the Forum’s mandate to serve as a representative group of key global stakeholders.
Jim Yong Kim brings two decades of experience in international development to the Foundation Board. Under his presidency, the World Bank adopted in 2012 two goals: ending extreme poverty by 2030; and boosting shared prosperity for the bottom 40% of the population in developing countries. He also possesses vast experience in healthcare, having led the World Health Organization’s HIV/AIDS department between 2003 and 2005, during which time WHO introduced the “3 by 5” initiative, the first-ever global goal for AIDS treatment.
Marc R. Benioff is a 35-year veteran of the software industry. Having co-founded Salesforce.com in February 1999, he has served as its chief executive officer since November 2001. Alongside his business career, he is well known for his philanthropic work, as well as for taking a crusading stand in favour of LGBT rights and other important issues…

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Keeping the Web ‘Worldwide’: Report Highlights Risk of Internet Fragmentation
News 23 Jan 2016
· New report by the World Economic Forum highlights 28 risks that could lead to fragmentation of the Internet
· Report provides the first systematic overview of the growth of Internet fragmentation
· The Internet’s openness and dynamism are at risk if Internet fragmentation grows unabated, but an open Internet can be preserved through multistakeholder collaboration

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Preparing for the Next Pandemic: Fear Cannot be our Motivation
News 22 Jan 2016
· WHO’s Chan: national and local capacity must be built to prevent economic, growth and stability issues that arise from health crises
· William H. Gates III: Surveillance and primary care are critical to building resiliency
· World Economic Forum is launching a two-year initiative to manage the risk and impact of future epidemics through optimized public-private cooperation under its newly formed Global Challenge Initiative on the Future of Health

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$100 Trillion by 2025: the Digital Dividend for Society and Business
News 22 Jan 2016
· The combined value – to society and industry – of digital transformation across industries could be greater than $100 trillion over the next 10 years
· “Combinatorial” effects of digital technologies – mobile, cloud, artificial intelligence, sensors and analytics among others – are accelerating progress exponentially, but the full potential will not be achieved without collaboration between business, policy-makers and NGOs

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Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Climate Agreement: Now It’s Time to Act
News 21 Jan 2016
· The Sustainable Development Goals and climate change go together – at their nexus is disaster risk reduction
· Climate change undermines development gains
· The Paris Climate Agreement gives the private sector an unprecedented opportunity to foster a race to the top of climate ambitions
Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 21 January 2016 – This year’s World Economic Forum Annual Meeting is the first opportunity to take stock of the victories of 2015, Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General, United Nations, New York, told participants. Now it is time to act. “We have delivered the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Climate Agreement (COP21),” he said. “The only agenda greater than our promises is to deliver and implement these two important agreements.”

Ban said the 17 SDGs and climate change are indivisible because climate change undermines development gains. “Now, we have a holistic approach,” he said. “The SDGs move us towards development models that are more sustainable.” He pointed to the critical nexus between development and climate change – disaster risk reduction, which also undermines development gains.

The Paris Climate Agreement gave the private sector “an unprecedented opportunity” to foster a race to the top of climate ambitions, Ban added. There is much work ahead…

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United Nations, World Bank Group Launch High-Level Panel on Water in Davos
News 21 Jan 2016
· United Nations and World Bank announce launch of High-Level Panel on Water today at World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2016
· Panel to mobilize urgent action on the Sustainable Development Goal for water, sanitation and related targets
· Co-chaired by the President of Mauritius and the President of Mexico, the panel will comprise a group of heads of state and government from developed and developing countries

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African Leaders Seek Strategic Partners to Empower Citizens
News 21 Jan 2016
· Universal access to energy, education and markets seen as prerequisite to sustain rapid growth
· Rather than depend on overseas exports, recent policies and partnerships seek to process and trade commodities within the continent
Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, 21 January 2016 – The only thing that worries Africa’s political and economic leaders about disruptive revolutions in industry, energy, trade and education is that they won’t be fast or big enough to keep up with growing demand for them.

“More than a century after Edison invented the light bulb, half of Africa is still in the dark,” said Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Abidjan. “We talk about the Fourth Industrial Revolution, but it all starts with the need for electricity, which is like blood in the system. If we don’t have it, we can’t live.”

With 645 million Africans deprived of electricity, schools, hospitals and homes suffer. Some 600,000 women die each year from inhaling the smoke of cooking with wood or dung. To secure universal access by 2025, African heads of state have launched a new deal on energy, focused on power, potential and partnership. Revolutionary partnership may take several forms…

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Davos Message from Pope: Don’t Forget the Poor at Dawn of Fourth Industrial Revolution
News 20 Jan 2016
· Holy Father sees “precious opportunity to build inclusive societies based on respect for human dignity, tolerance, compassion and mercy”
· Also warns the dawn of the Fourth Industrial Revolution brings with it a growing sense that large-scale job loss is inevitable
Read the full message

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More Plastic than Fish in the Ocean by 2050: Report Offers Blueprint for Change
News 19 Jan 2016
· Most plastic packaging is used only once; new report reveals that 95% of the value of plastic packaging material, worth $80 billion-$120 billion annually, is lost to the economy
· Report predicts that, on the current track, oceans will contain more plastic than fish by 2050 (by weight)
· Report offers vision for a global economy in which plastics never become waste, and a blueprint for the systemic change and collaboration needed to realize that vision
· Read the full report here

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Five Million Jobs by 2020: the Real Challenge of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
News 18 Jan 2016
· The Fourth Industrial Revolution, combined with other socio-economic and demographic changes, will transform labour markets in the next five years, leading to a net loss of over 5 million jobs in 15 major developed and emerging economies
· Skills and jobs displacement will affect every industry and geographical region, but losses can be offset by job growth in key areas
· A clear majority of businesses believe that investing in skills, rather than hiring more short-term or virtual workers, is the key to successfully managing disruptions to the labour market for the long term
· The new research by the World Economic Forum is the first of its kind, representing more than 13 million employees in nine industry sectors and 15 economies; it aims to guide business and policy-makers on how to equip labour forces with the skills to navigate the disruption of the Fourth Industrial Revolution
· Access the full report, infographics and more here.

Strategy for Reinforcing UNESCO’s Action for the Protection of Culture and the Promotion of Cultural Pluralism in the Event of Armed Conflict
UNESCO
November 2015 :: 11 pages
[Selected paragraphs]
1. Armed conflicts have always had a devastating effect on culture and heritage, including through intentional destructions of significant markers of identity. Destructive ideologies are also not new in history. In recent decades, however, culture has been increasingly at the frontline of conflicts, with violent extremism1 becoming a significant driver. Today, threats to cultural heritage in the event of armed conflict result from intentional destruction, collateral damage, forced neglect, as well as from the organized looting and illicit trafficking of cultural objects, which today occurs at an unprecedented scale and finances, in some cases, terrorism.

…12. The two intertwined objectives of UNESCO are the following:
:: Strengthen the ability of Member States to prevent, mitigate and recover the loss of cultural heritage and diversity as a result of conflict, by developing institutional and professional capacities for reinforced protection. UNESCO is committed to support national leadership and ownership in response, when culture is at risk or attacked in a specific country. Drawing on its comparative advantage as the only UN Specialized Agency with a mandate on culture, UNESCO will work with national authorities to facilitate a coordinated international response to achieve more effective results and impact.
:: Incorporate the protection of culture into humanitarian action, security strategies and peacebuilding processes by engaging with relevant stakeholders outside the culture domain. This will be achieved by developing new strategic partnerships with selected actors, in particular other UN entities, to build synergies, operational tools and mechanisms to enable the effective implementation of the provisions of the UNESCO Conventions, notably of the 1954 Hague Convention and its 1999 Protocol, and UNESCO 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property ; as well as to encourage culturally-sensitive humanitarian, security and peacebuilding approaches.

…30. Together with major humanitarian actors, such as UNHCR, IOM and ICRC, UNESCO will propose methodologies, tools and possibly joint operational activities to support the protection of cultural diversity as an integral element of refugee and IDP protection. Particular attention will be given to mainstreaming due consideration for refugees’ and IDPs’ cultural rights into the services that they are offered and benefitting from in camps and host communities. Cultural initiatives to promote mutual understanding between refugees/IDPs and host communities will also be envisaged.

31. Cooperation with the military will be further developed, including with UN peace-keeping forces, to enhance knowledge and understanding of international humanitarian law related to the protection of cultural heritage during conflict. UNESCO will build on the positive experience of the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 2100 (2013) that established the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and requested it to ensure the safeguarding of cultural heritage sites in collaboration with UNESCO. In particular, the integration of a module on the protection of cultural heritage and diversity within the standard training of peace-keeping forces will be proposed. Ultimately, it is hoped that increased awareness of the military on international humanitarian cultural heritage law will lead to the operationalization of protected cultural areas4 in zones of conflict; that is significant cultural heritage sites, which are clearly identified and protected from the conflict based on a mutual agreement between military forces operating in the given area…

47. Based on UNESCO’s experience on the implementation of emergency action plans in times of conflict, an estimated amount of 25 million US Dollars, invested in a phased approach over the remaining six years of the 37C/4 Medium Term Strategy, is needed to support the implementation of all priority actions in the form of extra-budgetary contributions to the recently established Heritage Emergency Fund…

Press Release
UNESCO Strategy Reinforces Protection of Culture and Heritage in Armed Conflict
22 January 2016

Human Development Report 2015 – Work for Human Development
UNDP – 2015
eISBN: 978-92-1-057615-4 :: 288 pages
Report pdf: http://www.undp.org/content/dam/undp/library/corporate/HDR/HDR%202015/HumanDevelopmentReport_EN.pdf
Foreword
Twenty five years ago the first Human Development Report in 1990 began with a simple notion: that development is about enlarging people’s choices—focusing broadly on the richness of human lives rather than narrowly on the richness of economies. Work is a major foundation for both the richness of economies and the richness of human lives but has tended to be conceptualized in economic terms rather than in human development terms. The 2015 Human Development Report goes beyond that convention in directly linking work to the richness of human lives.

This Report starts with a fundamental question—how can work enhance human development? The Report takes a broad view of work, going beyond jobs and taking into account such activities as unpaid care work, voluntary work and creative work—all of which contribute to the richness of human lives.

The Report highlights impressive progress on human development over the past quarter century. Today people are living longer, more children are in school and more people have access to clean water and basic sanitation. Per capita income in the world has gone up, and poverty has gone down, resulting in a better standard of living for many people. The digital revolution has connected people across countries and societies. Work has contributed to this progress by building people’s capabilities. Decent work has provided people with a sense of dignity and an opportunity to engage fully in society.

Considerable challenges remain, from persistent poverty and grinding inequalities to climate change and environmental sustainability in general, and to conflict and instability. These all create barriers to people fully engaging in decent work, and as a result huge amounts of human potential remain untapped. This is of particular concern for young people, women, people with disabilities and others who may be marginalized. The Report argues that if the potential of all people is harnessed through appropriate strategies and proper policies, human progress would be accelerated and human development deficits would be reduced.

The Report reminds us that there is no automatic link between work and human development.  The quality of work is an important dimension of ensuring that work enhances human development. Issues such as discrimination and violence, however, prevent positive links between work and human development. Some work is very damaging to human development, such as child labour, forced labour and the labour of trafficked workers, all of which constitute serious violations of human rights. In many cases workers in hazardous conditions face serious risks of abuse, insecurity and loss of freedom and autonomy.

All these issues are becoming even more critical to address as the world of work, driven by globalization and technological revolution, is undergoing rapid changes. Globalization has generated gains for some and losses for others. The digital revolution has created new opportunities, but has also given rise to new challenges, such as irregular contracts and short-term work, which are asymmetrically distributed between highly skilled and unskilled workers.

The Report makes a strong case that women are disadvantaged in the world of work—in both paid and unpaid work. In the realm of paid work, they are engaged in the workforce less than men, they earn less, their work tends to be more vulnerable and they are underrepresented in senior management and decision-making positions. In terms of unpaid work, they bear a disproportionate share of the housework and care work.

The Report identifies sustainable work, which promotes human development while reducing and eliminating negative side effects and unintended consequences, as a major building block of sustainable development. Such work would expand opportunities for the present generation without shrinking those for future ones.

The Report argues that enhancing human development through work requires policies and strategies in three broad areas—creating work opportunities, ensuring workers’ well-being and developing targeted actions. The first area focuses on national employment strategies and seizing opportunities in the changing world of work, while the second area covers such important issues as guaranteeing workers’ rights and benefits, expanding social protection and addressing inequalities. Targeted actions should focus on sustainable work, addressing imbalances in paid and unpaid work and interventions for specific groups—for example, for youth and people with disabilities. Above all, there needs to be an agenda for action pursuing a New Social Contract, a Global Deal, and the Decent Work Agenda.

This year’s Report is particularly timely, following shortly after the UN Sustainable Development Summit, where the new Sustainable Development Goals were adopted, including Goal 8’s explicit emphasis on work: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment, and decent work for all.

In this context there should be serious discussion about the challenges created by the ongoing changes in the world of work. Opportunities should be taken to strengthen the links between work and human development. During the past 25 years the human development concept, reports and indices have generated considerable debate, dialogue and discussions around the world on development challenges and policy issues. I expect this year’s report to be no exception in its capacity to generate dialogue and debate around the concept of human development and strategies to advance it.
Helen Clark
Administrator
United Nations Development Programme

Helen Clark: Speech at the launch of the 2015 Human Development Report
Jan 18, 2016
Palais des Nations – Geneva, Switzerland

ITU International Telecommunications Union [to 23 January 2016]
http://www.itu.int/net/pressoffice/press_releases/index.aspx?lang=en#.VF8FYcl4WF8

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21 January 2016
Global partners join forces at Davos to connect the unconnected by 2020
Estimated cost of connecting next 1.5 billion is USD 450 billion
Davos,– A new global dialogue focused on getting the next 1.5 billion unconnected people online was forged at a special session of the UN Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development held at the World Economic Forum in Davos today…

A new Discussion Paper developed by ITU as a contribution to the work of the Commission presented at the session estimates that it will take global investment of USD 450 billion in network infrastructure to connect the next 1.5 billion unconnected people worldwide…

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Internet of Things could be the low-cost ‘connectivity key’ that transforms lives in developing countries
New report from ITU and Cisco Systems throws spotlight on exciting development potential of hyper-connected world
Honolulu, 19 January 2016 – A new report from ITU and networking giant, Cisco, identifies the Internet of Things (IoT) as a major global development opportunity that has the potential to improve the lives of millions and dramatically accelerate progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Launched today at the Pacific Telecommunications Council annual meeting in Hawaii, “Harnessing the Internet of Things for Global Development” outlines how IoT could have a major impact in areas such as grassroots delivery of health care and education, positively transforming communities within a time frame that would have been unimaginable even a few years ago.

The joint report argues that strong demand for IoT technologies has created a huge array of IoT devices that are readily available, affordable and scalable for developing countries, providing an ideal platform to energize growth in emerging economies and improve people’s quality of life significantly – all with minimal investment.
The IoT concept refers broadly to the growing number of devices – from computers and smartphones to simple sensors and RFID chips – that are connected to the Internet and able to communicate with other devices, often without the need for human intervention. IoT is already extensively deployed in stock and inventory systems, fleet management, environmental monitoring and many industrial processes.

The ITU/Cisco report points to evidence of IoT already having an important impact on health, education and livelihood programmes (such as agricultural productivity) in developing countries. It cites three prime drivers that, if supported, could create an ‘IoT revolution’ in the developing world:

Availability:
:: IoT devices are already common, cheap and easy replaceable in developing markets. Basic infrastructure to support IoT (Wi-Fi, Internet cafés, etc.) is already in place in many developing communities, with near-ubiquitous basic mobile connectivity (95% global 2G coverage, according to ITU’s latest statistics) and growing levels of 3G coverage (89% of the world’s urban dwellers – but only 29% of rural inhabitants).
:: IoT devices are increasingly being used in rugged, remote and inhospitable environments. ‘Extreme conditions’ operating parameters are now being built into IoT specs as more and more devices are required to operate outside in varying conditions and climates – making them well-adapted for challenging environments.
Affordability:
:: IoT R&D costs continue to be absorbed by strong demand in developed world markets, and there is little cost associated with ‘tweaking’ IoT devices for the developing world. The report also notes that in many cases, more complex developed world infrastructure is not required or necessary for developing markets; ‘core IoT’ is readily available and provides a digital backbone to build upon.

Scalability:
:: IoT devices are designed to be scalable. Many devices already offer very simple ‘plug & play’ functionality and do not require skilled technicians for installation or maintenance. Reduced and alternate power supplies (such as solar) can maintain sensors and networks where there is no consistent electricity supply, making them ideal for countries struggling with irregular or unavailable grid power. Finally, IoT devices also tend to be highly flexible, offering short- or long-term solutions and expansion at the household’s, the community’s or the country’s ‘own’ speed.

“The Internet of Things is one of the most exciting areas of our fast-evolving ICT industry, offering huge potential for disruption and transformation. In the context of global development challenges, this means we have the potential to surmount long-standing hurdles in basic services like health care, both quickly and affordably. IoT could prove the long-awaited new approach that will help turn-around developing economies and greatly improve millions of people’s day-to-day lives,” said ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao…

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New global platform to assist development of Smart Sustainable Cities
International standards to help achieve smart-city ambitions
Geneva, 18 January 2016 – The first World Smart City online community was launched today to assist city stakeholders in their efforts to develop Smart Sustainable Cities. The new community aims to identify the top ‘pain points’ presenting challenges to city development.

The community launch is part of the build-up to the first World Smart City Forum, organized by IEC in partnership with ISO and ITU. The Forum will be held in Singapore on 13 July 2016, co-located with the World Cities Summit http://www.worldcitiessummit.com.sg/ …

World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2016
ILO – International Labour Organization
19 January 2016 :: 91 pages
The ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2016 includes a forecast of global unemployment levels, looking at the situation in developed, emerging and developing economies, with detailed charts and numbers. The report also focusses on the share of vulnerable employment as well as on the scale of the informal economy. It provides policy guidance to boost decent work opportunities around the globe.
Report pdf: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—dgreports/—dcomm/—publ/documents/publication/wcms_443480.pdf

Press Release
World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2016
Global unemployment projected to rise in both 2016 and 2017
Despite falling unemployment levels in some developed economies, new ILO analysis – World Employment and Social Outlook (WESO) – shows the global job crisis is not likely to end, especially in emerging economies.
News | 19 January 2016
GENEVA (ILO News) – Continuing high rates of unemployment worldwide and chronic vulnerable employment in many emerging and developing economies are still deeply affecting the world of work, warns a new ILO report.

The final figure for unemployment in 2015 is estimated to stand at 197.1 million and in 2016 is forecast to rise by about 2.3 million to reach 199.4 million. An additional 1.1 million jobless will likely be added to the global tally in 2017…

“The significant slowdown in emerging economies coupled with a sharp decline in commodity prices is having a dramatic effect on the world of work,” says ILO Director-General Guy Ryder.

“Many working women and men are having to accept low paid jobs, both in emerging and developing economies and also, increasingly in developed countries. And despite a drop in the number of unemployed in some EU countries and the US, too many people are still jobless. We need to take urgent action to boost the number of decent work opportunities or we risk intensified social tensions,” he adds.

In 2015, total global unemployment stood at 197.1 million – 27 million higher than the pre-crisis level of 2007.

Emerging economies worst hit
The unemployment rate for developed economies decreased from 7.1 per cent in 2014 to 6.7 per cent in 2015. In most cases, however, these improvements were not sufficient to eliminate the jobs gap that emerged as a result of the global financial crisis.

Moreover, the employment outlook has now weakened in emerging and developing economies, notably in Brazil, China and oil-producing countries.

“The unstable economic environment associated with volatile capital flows, still dysfunctional financial markets and the shortage of global demand continue to affect enterprises and deter investment and job creation,” explains Raymond Torres, Director of the ILO Research Department.

“In addition, policy-makers need to focus more on strengthening employment policies and tackling excessive inequalities. There is much evidence that well-designed labour market and social policies are essential for boosting economic growth and addressing the jobs crisis and almost eight years after the start of the global crisis, a strengthening of that policy approach is urgently needed,” adds Torres…

The authors of the WESO also document the fact that job quality remains a major challenge. While there has been a decrease in poverty rates, the rate of decline in the number of working poor in developing economies has slowed and vulnerable employment still accounts for over 46 per cent of total employment globally, affecting nearly 1.5 billion people.

Vulnerable employment is particularly high in emerging and developing economies, hitting between half and three-quarters of the employed population in those groups of countries, respectively, with peaks in Southern Asia (74 per cent) and sub-Saharan Africa (70 per cent).
Tackling informal employment

Meanwhile, the report shows that informal employment – as a percentage of non-agricultural employment – exceeds 50 per cent in half of the developing and emerging countries with comparable data. In one-third of these countries, it affects over 65 per cent of workers.

“The lack of decent jobs leads people to turn to informal employment, which is typically characterized by low productivity, low pay and no social protection. This needs to change. Responding urgently and vigorously to the scale of the global jobs challenge is key to successful implementation of the United Nations’ newly adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” concludes Ryder.

United Nations – Secretary General, Security Council, General Assembly  [to 23 January 2016]
http://www.un.org/en/unpress/
Selected Press Releases/Meetings Coverage

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22 January 2016
GA/11755
General Assembly Adopts Text Recognizing Dire Human Impact of Conflict-Driven Illicit Trade in Diamonds, Reaffirming Support for Kimberley Process
Precious gemstones were meant for development, not catalysing civil war, the General Assembly heard today as it adopted a resolution recognizing the devastating human impact of conflicts fuelled by the trade in illicit diamonds, while reaffirming support for the Kimberley Process initiative aimed at halting their flow into legitimate markets.

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22 January 2016
HR/5288
Experts Call for Action to Preserve, Revitalize Indigenous Languages under Threat of Extinction, at New York Headquarters Meeting, 19-21 January
New York, 22 January 2016 (Department of Economic and Social Affairs) — A three-day meeting at United Nations Headquarters in New York brought together experts from around the world to identify best practices and recommend ways to preserve and revitalize indigenous languages.

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21 January 2016
SG/A/1629-WOM/2056
Secretary-General Announces First Members of High-level Advisory Group for Every Woman Every Child
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the first members of the High-level Advisory Group for Every Woman Every Child, who will help provide leadership and inspire actions for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health in the transition from the Millennium Development Goals to the universal Sustainable Development Goals agenda.

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21 January 2016
SG/SM/17481-IHA/1385
At Davos Meeting, Secretary-General Calls for Predictable Consistency in Sustainable Way of Funding, Providing Humanitarian Support

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21 January 2016
ORG/1624
At Least 51 United Nations Personnel Killed in Deliberate Attacks against Peacekeeping Operations in 2015
At least 51 United Nations and associated personnel were killed in the line of duty during the course of 2015, according to the United Nations Staff Union’s Standing Committee for the Security and Independence of the International Civil Service.

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19 January 2016
SC/12210
Concrete Action Critical to Alleviating Human Suffering, Speakers Say, at Security Council Debate on Protection of Civilians
The situation of civilians in armed conflict zones — who were increasingly becoming targets themselves — remained “grim and bleak” even in the twenty-first century, stressed high-level briefers as the Security Council took on the issue of protection of civilians today.

DSG/SM/929-SC/12211
Deputy Secretary-General, at Security Council, Stresses Need for Redoubled Efforts, ‘Ever More Concrete Actions’ to Ensure Protection of Civilians in Conflicts
Security Council: Protection of civilians in armed conflict (7606th meeting)
(Part 1) The protection of civilians in armed conflict – Security Council, 7606th meeting
19 Jan 2016
[Video: 2:58:20]
(Part 2) The protection of civilians in armed conflict – Security Council, 7606th meeting
[Video: 3:17:50]
(Part 3) The protection of civilians in armed conflict – Security Council, 7606th meeting
[Video: 2:35:15]
The open debate underscored “the responsibilities of national actors for the protection of civilians and consider questions relating to the conduct of hostilities, humanitarian access, attacks on humanitarian and medical staff and facilities and displacement.” It also addressed the role of the Council in restoring the centrality of international humanitarian law to international efforts to protect civilians and in energizing compliance and accountability measures