Featured Journal Content

Proceedings of the Royal Society B – Biological Sciences
11 December 2019 Volume 286 Issue 1917
Research articles
Articulating ‘free, prior and informed consent’ (FPIC) for engineered gene drives
Dalton R. George, Todd Kuiken and Jason A. Delborne
Published:18 December 2019 https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2019.1484
Abstract
Recent statements by United Nations bodies point to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) as a potential requirement in the development of engineered gene drive applications. As a concept developed in the context of protecting Indigenous rights to self-determination in land development scenarios, FPIC would need to be extended to apply to the context of ecological editing. Without an explicit framework of application, FPIC could be interpreted as a narrowly framed process of community consultation focused on the social implications of technology, and award little formal or advisory power in decision-making to Indigenous peoples and local communities. In this paper, we argue for an articulation of FPIC that attends to issues of transparency, iterative community-scale consent, and shared power through co-development among Indigenous peoples, local communities, researchers and technology developers. In realizing a comprehensive FPIC process, researchers and developers have an opportunity to incorporate enhanced participation and social guidance mechanisms into the design, development and implementation of engineered gene drive applications.

Featured Journal Content

Nature
Volume 576 Issue 7787, 19 December 2019
http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue.html
Article | 11 December 2019
Earliest hunting scene in prehistoric art
A rock art panel from Sulawesi—dated to at least 43.9 thousand years ago—represents the oldest currently known figurative art in the world, and provides evidence of early storytelling through narrative hunting scenes.
Maxime Aubert, Rustan Lebe[…] & Adam Brumm
Abstract
Humans seem to have an adaptive predisposition for inventing, telling and consuming stories1. Prehistoric cave art provides the most direct insight that we have into the earliest storytelling2,3,4,5, in the form of narrative compositions or ‘scenes’2,5 that feature clear figurative depictions of sets of figures in spatial proximity to each other, and from which one can infer actions taking place among the figures5. The Upper Palaeolithic cave art of Europe hosts the oldest previously known images of humans and animals interacting in recognizable scenes2,5, and of therianthropes6,7—abstract beings that combine qualities of both people and animals, and which arguably communicated narrative fiction of some kind (folklore, religious myths, spiritual beliefs and so on). In this record of creative expression (spanning from about 40 thousand years ago (ka) until the beginning of the Holocene epoch at around 10 ka), scenes in cave art are generally rare and chronologically late (dating to about 21–14 ka)7, and clear representations of therianthropes are uncommon6—the oldest such image is a carved figurine from Germany of a human with a feline head (dated to about 40–39 ka)8. Here we describe an elaborate rock art panel from the limestone cave of Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4 (Sulawesi, Indonesia) that portrays several figures that appear to represent therianthropes hunting wild pigs and dwarf bovids; this painting has been dated to at least 43.9 ka on the basis of uranium-series analysis of overlying speleothems. This hunting scene is—to our knowledge—currently the oldest pictorial record of storytelling and the earliest figurative artwork in the world.

Emergencies

Ebola – DRC+
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Ebola Outbreak in DRC 72: 17 December 2019
Situation Update
In the week of 9 to 15 December 2019, 24 new confirmed Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases were reported from three health zones in two affected provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The majority of these new confirmed cases are from Mabalako (22/24; 92%), and the other cases were reported from Biena (1/24; 4%) and Mandima (1/24; 4%) health zones.

The new cases from Mabalako and Biena, are linked to a single chain of transmission, in which one individual was a potential source of infection for 24 people. This was the second documentation of EVD illness in this individual within a 6-month period. Based on the preliminary sequencing of samples from the case, this is being classified as a relapse of EVD. Rare cases of relapse have been documented, in which a person who has recovered from EVD gets disease symptoms again, but this is the first documented relapse in this outbreak.

The volume of alerts reported has returned to levels seen before the security incidents in the past weeks. In general, the overall average proportion of contacts under surveillance in the last seven days has returned to previously observed levels. However, Mabalako, the health zone with the highest volume of contacts, has the lowest performance with 73% of contacts under surveillance…

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First FDA-approved vaccine for the prevention of Ebola virus disease, marking a critical milestone in public health preparedness and response
December 19, 2019
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today the approval of Ervebo, the first FDA-approved vaccine for the prevention of Ebola virus disease (EVD), caused by Zaire ebolavirus in individuals 18 years of age and older. Cases of EVD are very rare in the U.S., and those that have occurred have been the result of infections acquired by individuals in other countries who then traveled to the U.S., or health care workers who became ill after treating patients with EVD.

“While the risk of Ebola virus disease in the U.S. remains low, the U.S. government remains deeply committed to fighting devastating Ebola outbreaks in Africa, including the current outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” said Anna Abram, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Policy, Legislation, and International Affairs. “Today’s approval is an important step in our continuing efforts to fight Ebola in close coordination with our partners across the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, as well as our international partners, such as the World Health Organization. These efforts, including today’s landmark approval, reflect the FDA’s unwavering dedication to leveraging our expertise to facilitate the development and availability of safe and effective medical products to address urgent public health needs and fight infectious diseases, as part of our vital public health mission.”…

… “Ebola virus disease is a rare but severe and often deadly disease that knows no borders. Vaccination is essential to help prevent outbreaks and to stop the Ebola virus from spreading when outbreaks do occur,” said Peter Marks, M.D., Ph.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “The FDA’s approval of Ervebo is a major advance in helping to protect against the Zaire ebolavirus as well as advancing U.S. government preparedness efforts. The research approach used to study the effectiveness and safety of this vaccine was precedent-setting during a public health emergency and may help create a model for future studies under similar circumstances. The FDA is committed to continuing our work across the U.S. government and with our international partners to prevent future Ebola outbreaks and mitigate the current outbreak in the DRC, reflecting our nation’s commitment to preparing for and responding to biological threats, like Ebola.”’’’

…The FDA granted this application Priority Review and a Tropical Disease Priority Review Voucher under a program intended to encourage development of new drugs and biologics for the prevention and treatment of certain tropical diseases. The FDA also granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for Ervebo to facilitate the development and scientific evaluation of the vaccine. Because of the public health importance of a vaccine to prevent EVD, the FDA worked closely with the company and completed its evaluation of the safety and effectiveness of Ervebo in less than six months. The approval was granted to Merck & Co., Inc.

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POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Polio this week as of 18 December 2019

Summary of new viruses this week (AFP cases and ES positives):
:: Afghanistan – two WPV1 cases and two WPV1-positive environmental samples.
:: Pakistan – seven WPV1 cases, one cVDPV2 case and 12 WPV1-positive environmental samples.
:: DR Congo – Eight cVDPV2 cases.
:: Somalia – two cVDPV2-positive environmental sample.
:: Angola – 11 cVDPV2 cases and two cVDPV2-positive environmental samples.
:: Chad – one cVDPV2 case.
:: Ethiopia – one cVDPV2-positive environmental sample.
:: Ghana – three cVDPV2 cases.

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

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies [to 21 Dec 2019]

Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Ebola Outbreak in DRC 72: 17 December 2019

Mozambique floods – No new digest announcements identified
Nigeria – No new digest announcements identified
Somalia – No new digest announcements identified
South Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Syrian Arab Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies [to 21 Dec 2019]
Measles in Europe
:: Nordic countries working together to sustain measles and rubella elimination 20-12-2019
:: 2019: the WHO European Region’s year in review 19-12-2019

Myanmar
:: Bi‐weekly Situation Report 24 – 5 December 2019
HIGHLIGHTS
:: A total of 1,270,70 doses of oral cholera vaccine (OCV) was approved for the OCV campaign, targeting around 635,000 individuals, which will take place from 8 to 14 December in the Rohingya camps and 8 to 31 December in the host communities.
:: Since 5 September 2019, a total of 213 cases of Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD) have tested positive by cholera Rapid Diagnostic Tests (RDTs), or culture.
:: An assessment undertaken for the operational risks associated with Fecal Sludge management (FSM) and water sources has concluded that, urgent actions are required to improve the water safety situation in these camps…

Immunization
Oral Cholera Vaccine and Measles Outbreak Response Immunization campaigns
:: The Civil Surgeon, with support from WHO and UNICEF, established an immunization core group. The first meeting took place at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) Coordination Cell offices. Details of the upcoming Oral Cholera Vaccine (OCV) campaign were discussed.
:: A total of 1 270 170 doses of OCV was approved for the OCV campaign targeting around 635 000 individuals. The campaign will take place from 8 to 14 December in the Rohingya camps and 8 to 31 December in the host communities.
:: Several preparatory meetings have taken place. This includes District planning and Coordination meeting on 27 November, Upazila planning and microplanning meetings on 28 November and several advocacy meetings involving different target leaders including political leaders, Imams, Ministry of Education officials, among others.
:: Training has taken place for 34 OCV Camp Coordinators, 34 OCV Associate Camp Coordinators on 23 and 24 November 2019. These trainings were cascaded to over 2750 Community Health Workers and Communication for Development volunteers and 240 team supervisors between 28 and 30 November 2019, with support from partners.
:: For the host community, 300 vaccinators and mobilizers have been trained alongside 50 supervisors. Training for 1 050 and 900 volunteers commenced and will be completed by 4 December 2019, for Teknaf and Ukhia respectively.
:: The Rohingya Camp Wide Measles Rubella Outbreak Response Immunization (MR ORI) is planned in response to the measles outbreak that is currently confirmed in 16 of 34 camps in the Ukhia and Teknaf Upazila. Discussions on MR ORI took place 28 November 2019 during Scientific and Technical Sub- Committee (STSC) of the National Committee for Immunization Practices (NCIP) meeting held in Dhaka. There is need for timely ORI while ensuring quality, good coverage and proper capacity and management plan for any Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI).
:: MR ORI implementation planned for first week of January 2020 subject to Government approvals and favorable preparedness assessment. The target age group for this ORI is all children 6 months to less than 10 years of age in the Rohingya camps of Ukhia and Teknaf in Cox’s Bazar district.

Afghanistan – No new digest announcements identified
Angola – No new digest announcements identified
Burkina Faso [in French] – No new digest announcements identified
Burundi – No new digest announcements identified
Cameroon – No new digest announcements identified
Central African Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Ethiopia – No new digest announcements identified
HIV in Pakistan – No new digest announcements identified
Iran floods 2019 – No new digest announcements identified
Iraq – No new digest announcements identified
Libya – No new digest announcements identified
Malawi floods – No new digest announcements identified
MERS-CoV – No new digest announcements identified
Niger – No new digest announcements identified
occupied Palestinian territory – No new digest announcements identified
Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Ukraine – No new digest announcements identified
Zimbabwe – No new digest announcements identified

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WHO Grade 1 Emergencies [to 21 Dec 2019]

Chad – No new digest announcements identified
Djibouti – No new digest announcements identified
Kenya – No new digest announcements identified
Mali – No new digest announcements identified
Namibia – viral hepatitis – No new digest announcements identified
Tanzania – No new digest announcements identified

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UN OCHA – L3 Emergencies
The UN and its humanitarian partners are currently responding to three ‘L3’ emergencies. This is the global humanitarian system’s classification for the response to the most severe, large-scale humanitarian crises. 
Syrian Arab Republic
:: Syrian Arab Republic: Recent Developments in Northwestern Syria Flash Update No. 1 – As of 20 December 2019
HIGHLIGHTS
:: Following the intensification of airstrikes and shelling since 16 December in southern Idleb, tens of thousands of civilians are reportedly fleeing from Ma’arrat An-Nu’man area in southern Idleb governorate to north. Thousands of others are reportedly waiting for the bombardment to ease allowing them to move. The shortage of fuel in Idleb area is also limiting the movement of civilians fleeing from hostilities.
:: As of 20 December, ground fighting also resumed along the frontlines in southern Idleb governorate, amplifying displacement from southern Idleb as civilians are fleeing in anticipation of fighting directly affecting their communities.
:: Displacement happening in winter months is exacerbating the vulnerability of people in need. Many of those who fled are in urgent need of humanitarian support, particularly shelter, food, health, non-food and winterization assistance.

Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

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UN OCHA – Corporate Emergencies
When the USG/ERC declares a Corporate Emergency Response, all OCHA offices, branches and sections provide their full support to response activities both at HQ and in the field.
Editor’s Note:
Ebola in the DRC has bene added as a OCHA “Corporate Emergency” this week:
CYCLONE IDAI and Kenneth – No new digest announcements identified
EBOLA OUTBREAK IN THE DRC – No new digest announcements identified

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The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 14 December 2019

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

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

PDF: The Sentinel_ period ending 14 Dec 2019

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

Human Development Report 2019 – Beyond income, beyond averages, beyond today: Inequalities in human development in the 21st century
UNDP 2019 :: 366 pages
PDF: http://hdr.undp.org/sites/default/files/hdr2019.pdf

Press Release
To answer global protests, tackle new inequalities — UN report
2019 Human Development Report says business as usual will not solve new generation of inequalities
Bogota, December 9, 2019 – The demonstrations sweeping across the world today signal that, despite unprecedented progress against poverty, hunger and disease, many societies are not working as they should. The connecting thread, argues a new report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), is inequality.

“Different triggers are bringing people onto the streets — the cost of a train ticket, the price of petrol, demands for political freedoms, the pursuit of fairness and justice. This is the new face of inequality, and as this Human Development Report sets out, inequality is not beyond solutions,” says UNDP Administrator, Achim Steiner.

The 2019 Human Development Report (HDR), entitled “Beyond income, beyond averages, beyond today: inequalities in human development in the 21st Century,” says that just as the gap in basic living standards is narrowing for millions of people, the necessities to thrive have evolved.

A new generation of inequalities is opening up, around education, and around technology and climate change — two seismic shifts that, unchecked, could trigger a ‘new great divergence’ in society of the kind not seen since the Industrial Revolution, according to the report.

In countries with very high human development, for example, subscriptions to fixed broadband are growing 15 times faster and the proportion of adults with tertiary education is growing more than six times faster than in countries with low human development…

…The 2019 Human Development Index (HDI) and its sister index, the 2019 Inequality-Adjusted Human Development Index, set out that the unequal distribution of education, health and living standards stymied countries’ progress. By these measures, 20 per cent of human development progress was lost through inequalities in 2018…

Planning beyond today
Looking beyond today, the report asks how inequality may change in future, looking particularly at two seismic shifts that will shape life up to the 22nd century:

• The climate crisis: As a range of global protests demonstrate, policies crucial to tackling the climate crisis like putting a price on carbon can be mis-managed, increasing perceived and actual inequalities for the less well-off, who spend more of their income on energy-intensive goods and services than their richer neighbours. If revenues from carbon pricing are ‘recycled’ to benefit taxpayers as part of a broader social policy package, the authors argue, then such policies could reduce rather than increase inequality.

• Technological transformation: Technology, including in the form of renewables and energy efficiency, digital finance and digital health solutions, offers a glimpse of how the future of inequality may break from the past, if opportunities can be seized quickly and shared broadly. There is historical precedent for technological revolutions to carve deep, persistent inequalities – the Industrial Revolution not only opened up the great divergence between industrialized countries and those who depended on primary commodities; it also launched production pathways that culminated in the climate crisis.

The change that is coming goes beyond climate, says the report, but a ‘new great divergence’, driven by artificial intelligence and digital technologies, is not inevitable. The HDR recommends social protection policies that would, for example, ensure fair compensation for ‘crowdwork’, investment in lifelong learning to help workers adjust or change to new occupations, and international consensus on how to tax digital activities – all part of building a new, secure and stable digital economy as a force for convergence, not divergence, in human development.

Development Finance – World Bank Replenishment

Global Community Renews Commitment to the World’s Poorest Countries with $82 Billion
Focus on jobs, gender, fragility, climate, and good governance
STOCKHOLM, December 13, 2019 — A global coalition of development partners announced today their commitment to maintain momentum in the fight against extreme poverty, with $82 billion for the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s fund for the poorest. The financing, which includes more than $53 billion for Africa, will help countries invest in the needs of their people, boost economic growth, and bolster resilience to climate shocks and natural disasters…

Two thirds of the world’s poor—almost 500 million people—now live in countries supported by IDA. The funding will allow IDA to reinforce its support to job creation and economic transformation, good governance, and accountable institutions. It will also help countries deal with the challenges posed by climate change, gender inequality, and situations of fragility, conflict, and violence, including in the Sahel, the Lake Chad region, and the Horn of Africa.

IDA will renew its support to facilitate growth and regional integration, including investments in quality infrastructure. The IDA Private Sector Window will continue enabling the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) to mobilize private sector investment in challenging environments, a critical component to meet the scale of financing needed in developing countries.

IDA’s resources are replenished every three years; this 19th replenishment will cover the period from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2023. The new funding will support projects that deliver life-changing results, including:
:: Essential health, nutrition, and population services for up to 370 million people;
:: Safe childbirth for up to 80 million women through provision of skilled health personnel;
:: Enhanced access to broadband internet for 50 to 60 million people;
:: Immunizations for up to 140 million children;
:: Better governance in up to 60 countries through improved statistical capacity;
:: An additional 10 GW of renewable energy generation capacity.

To promote greater equity and economic growth, IDA will also tackle broader development challenges, such as enhancing debt sustainability and transparency; harnessing and adapting to transformative digital payment technology; promoting inclusion of those living with disabilities; strengthening the rule of law; and investing in human capital, including efforts to achieve universal health coverage…

World Bank Group Strategy for Fragility, Conflict and Violence [FCV] 2020-2025
December 5, 2019 :: 69 pages
Timeframe: April 2019 – January 2020
Draft Strategy for Fragility, Conflict and Violence (.pdf)

Phase 2 consultations are open until January 16, 2019.

The World Bank Group has released its draft strategy for Fragility, Conflict and Violence (FCV). The objective of the strategy is to address the drivers of FCV in affected countries and their impact on vulnerable populations, with the ultimate goal of contributing to peace and prosperity. To ensure the strategy benefits from a wide range of inputs, the World Bank Group is undertaking global consultations to inform the strategy’s development.

Introduction
1. By 2030, around half of the world’s extreme poor will live in fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS). Preventing and mitigating fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV) is central to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the World Bank Group’s (WBG) twin goals of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. It will also support the international community’s broader efforts to promote peace and prosperity.

2. The global fragility landscape has worsened significantly. According to Pathways for Peace: Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict, there are more violent conflicts globally than at any time in the past 30 years,6 and the world is also facing the largest forced displacement crisis ever recorded. Rising inequality, lack of opportunity, and exclusion are fueling grievances and perceptions of injustice. Climate change, demographic change, migration, digital transformation, illicit financial flows, and violent extremism are often interconnected, with effects that transcend borders. These factors can increase vulnerability to shocks and crises and create regional spillovers. They can cause lasting and devastating impacts, especially on women, children, and youth, that will be felt for generations. Without swift and effective action, FCV risks could both erode gains made in the fight against poverty and undermine the prospects for progress.

3. The objective of the FCV Strategy is to enhance the WBG’s effectiveness to support countries in addressing the drivers and impacts of FCV and strengthening their resilience, especially for the most vulnerable populations. To this end, the strategy sets out a framework to support countries in addressing diverse challenges across the FCV spectrum. While FCV challenges are often more longstanding and acute in low-income and lower-middle income countries (LICs and LMICs), the strategy also addresses countries at higher levels of income that are affected by high levels of violence, forced displacement shocks, and subnational conflict. The FCV Strategy builds on successive IEG reviews of WBG engagement in FCV settings, portfolio reviews and lessons learned in FCS, to systematically address the root causes of fragility and long-term risks that can drive or exacerbate conflict and violence.

4. This strategy is among the WBG’s contributions to the collective global effort to tackle FCV. While the WBG strives to increase its direct impact on FCV, it also approaches this task with humility. It recognizes the intractable challenges of FCV, and that the full commitment of local and national actors
is imperative to achieve progress. The WBG has prioritized supporting countries’ efforts to mitigate FCV and promote peace, and is committed to deepening partnerships with a diverse set of actors, based on respective complementarities and comparative advantages.

5. This strategy has greatly benefitted from extensive global consultations held during 2019. The consultations engaged a wide range of partners, including governments, international organizations, global and local civil society, and the private sector. They captured lessons learned and best practices such as: (i) the need to tailor interventions and financing to the distinct FCV challenges faced by a country; (ii) the importance of supporting the most vulnerable and marginalized groups, and addressing the grievances underlying and driving FCV; (iii) the importance of vibrant and inclusive private sector development to support job creation and provide economic opportunities; and (iv) the recognition of the crucial role of partnerships in FCV settings to address the drivers and impacts of FCV…

Heritage Stewardship – Emergencies

Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in emergencies: a priority for the Heritage Emergency Fund – UNESCO
13 December 2019
“Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in emergencies is not a luxury: it helps address the human dimension of crises, enabling individuals and communities to maintain their sense of identity and dignity, and thus withstand and recover from crises,” said Ernesto Ottone R., UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture at a special event, “Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage in Crises,” which was held on 12 December in Bogotá (Colombia), during the 14th session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

This rationale also underpinned the creation of UNESCO’s Heritage Emergency Fund, which helps secure the safeguarding of living heritage – traditional practices, festivals, rituals and more. Living heritage is central to the life of communities and it comes under particularly serious threat in times of crises such as civil strife, war and disasters, both natural and human-induced.

The event showcased 15 emergency preparedness and response activities concerning living heritage that were conducted in 14 countries with the assistance of the Heritage Emergency Fund. These include the participatory identification of needs with community leaders, Post-Disaster Needs Assessments by cultural experts, emergency interventions and capacity-building for cultural institutions. Such measures help national authorities and local communities recover from emergencies by reviving vital elements of their cultural life.

These activities have also played a key role in the development of the “Operational principles and modalities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in emergencies”, which were endorsed by the Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage during its 14th session. The Operational Principles were designed to help guide States Parties to UNESCO’s 2003 Intangible Cultural Heritage Convention, and other national and international stakeholders in ensuring that intangible cultural heritage is effectively engaged, and safeguarded, in times of crises and recovery.

Since its establishment in 2016, the Heritage Emergency Fund has received the support of the Qatar Fund for Development, the Kingdom of Norway, the Government of Canada, the Principality of Monaco, the Republic of Estonia, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Principality of Andorra, the Republic of Slovakia and the Republic of Serbia.

The Lego Foundation Awards US $100 Million Grant to the International Rescue Committee to Bring Learning through Play to Children Impacted by Crises in Ethiopia and Uganda
The Lego Foundation
The “PlayMatters” partnership will bring the power of learning through play to nearly one million children, teachers and caregivers.

Billund, Denmark – 10 December 2019- Today, the LEGO Foundation is awarding a US$100 million grant to a consortium led by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to promote play-based, early learning solutions for pre-primary and primary school aged children impacted by the humanitarian crises in East Africa and living in Ethiopia and Uganda. This major initiative, called PlayMatters, will deliver play-based learning to children, strengthening their resilience and building their social, emotional, cognitive, physical and creative skills. The grant will be implemented in partnership with War Child, Plan International, Ubongo, Behavioural Insights Team and Innovations for Poverty Action.

“We are contributing to fulfil the international promise to children, supported by the United Nations, that every child has the right to an education and every refugee should be included in sustainable long-term solutions that help them in their future. We have to do our best to ensure it is realised,” said Thomas Kirk Kristiansen, Chairman of the LEGO Foundation. “Play provides comfort. It helps children to overcome traumatic experiences, and to return to the routine and normalcy of being a child. With this new grant, the LEGO Foundation continues to address a pressing challenge of our time and change the way the world thinks about learning through play and its importance for children in crisis settings.”

Through this initiative, IRC and its partners will work in Ethiopia and Uganda, with the potential of expanding to a third country in East Africa. PlayMatters will improve education outcomes for approximately 800,000 children and reach approximately 10,000 pre-primary and primary school teachers and education personnel and 170,000 primary caregivers, who will receive training to engage in learning through play with children who have faced adversities.

“Children in these humanitarian crises did not choose to be refugees and it is unacceptable that an entire generation is deprived of quality childhood education. We know that investing in play-based learning interventions is key to addressing toxic stress and trauma for young children in refugee settings as learning through play helps to develop social and emotional skills, builds resilience, and strengthens brain connections essential for future development. Through this new initiative, we will work with teachers in the host communities, focus on innovation to ensure systemic and lasting impact, and share these approaches across aid agencies for replication. The children in these largely forgotten crises in Ethiopia and Uganda deserve the power of learning through play and the hope that it can bring for a bright future,” said John Goodwin, CEO of the LEGO Foundation.

This new initiative addresses the Global Compact for Refugees’ (GCR) request for the international community to support governments to find durable solutions for the crisis, especially as the governments of Ethiopia and Uganda, who have expressed intention to better respond to the challenge. In that regard, the partnership will focus on working closely with the governments of Ethiopia, Uganda, and a third country which have been leaders in the region to integrate refugees into national systems.

“We know that nearly half of all refugees are children, but humanitarian funding still thinks of education as just an add-on. We need big solutions with bold ideas that put education at the forefront of humanitarian response,” said David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee. “With the LEGO Foundation’s investment in play-based learning and the IRC’s expertise in reaching the most vulnerable, this partnership has the potential to reshape education for a generation of refugee children.”…

UNICEF Press release
Despite significant increase in birth registration, a quarter of the world’s children remain ‘invisible’
Proportion of registered births increased almost 20 per cent over past decade, yet 166 million children under-five have never been officially recorded
NEW YORK, 11 December 2019 – The number of children whose births are officially registered has increased significantly worldwide, yet 166 million children under-five, or 1 in 4, remain unregistered, according to a new report released by UNICEF today on its own 73rd birthday.

Birth Registration for Every Child by 2030: Are we on track? – which analyses data from 174 countries – shows that the proportion of children under-five registered globally is up around 20 per cent from 10 years ago – increasing from 63 per cent to 75 per cent.

“We have come a long way but too many children are still slipping through the cracks, uncounted and unaccounted for,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “A child not registered at birth is invisible – nonexistent in the eyes of the government or the law. Without proof of identity, children are often excluded from education, health care and other vital services, and are more vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.”

Global progress is driven largely by great strides in South Asia, particularly in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. In India, the proportion of registered children rose from 41 per cent in 2005-2006 to 80 per cent in 2015-2016. In recent years, UNICEF has worked with the Government of India to prioritize birth registration across states by increasing and improving access to registration centres, training officials and community workers and rolling out public awareness programmes, particularly amongst the most vulnerable communities.

By contrast, the majority of countries in sub-Saharan Africa lag behind the rest of the world, with Ethiopia (3 per cent), Zambia (11 per cent*) and Chad (12 per cent) recording the lowest levels of registered births globally…

Children – Liberty, Rights

Global Study on Children Deprived of Liberty
November 2019 :: 789 pages
PDF of Full Study: https://omnibook.com/Global-Study-2019
Manfred Nowak, Independent Expert

United Nations High Level Interagency Task Force (UNITF)
Najat MAALLA M’JID – The Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence against Children
Virginia GAMBA – The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)
The United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF)
The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
The World Health Organization (WHO)
The International Organization for Migration (IOM)

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Press Release
United Nations Task Force calls on Member States to end children’s deprivation of liberty
Geneva/ New York – October 8 – The United Nations Task Force supporting the Global
Study on Children Deprived of Liberty calls on Member States to put an end to children’s
deprivation of liberty, following the submission and presentation of a report by the
Independent Expert to the UN General Assembly.

The Independent Expert’s report highlights that while this year marks the 30th anniversary of
the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, a landmark treaty aiming at
promoting and protecting the rights of children’s worldwide, countless children still suffer
violations of their basic human rights. The UN Task Force further notes that in adopting the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Member States made a clear commitment to
leave no child behind and yet, children deprived of liberty continue to be one of the most
vulnerable, invisible and forgotten groups in societies across the globe. The UN Task Force
joins the Independent Expert in calling on States to end the deprivation of liberty of children
or those at most risk as a matter of urgency. The Task Force emphasizes that it is indeed
time to put the most vulnerable first.

Children around the world are deprived of their liberty in closed institutions, psychiatric
centres or detention facilities, sometimes together with adults. Furthermore, children are
detained for national security, armed conflict or migration-related reasons. They are denied
family care and access to justice, often unable to challenge the legality of their detention.

These children are exposed to further human rights violations, enduring cruel, inhumane
and/or degrading conditions. Furthermore, they are often denied the right to education,
and health care, and do not benefit from tailored and long-term rehabilitation and
reintegration support. Deprivation of liberty has a destructive impact on children’s physical
and mental development, and often compounds trauma they have suffered.

The UN Task Force believes that the presentation of the report creates a unique momentum
to learn from children and Member States’ experiences. The UN Task Force member
organizations express their strong commitment to work together with Member States, civil
society and children themselves to end children’s deprivation of liberty and safeguard their
rights as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international
standards, and further re-affirmed in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

In December 2014 the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/69/157, paragraph 52d)
invited the UN Secretary-General to commission an in-depth global study on children
deprived of liberty. In October 2016, Professor Manfred Nowak was designated as the
Independent Expert to lead the Global Study development. The Independent Expert
submitted his final report on the Study (A/74/136) to the General Assembly during its
seventy-fourth session and presents his main findings, conclusions and recommendations to
the Third Committee of the General Assembly on 8 October 2019.

::::::

UNGA – A/74/136
Promotion and protection of the rights of children
11 July 2019
A. General recommendations [p.18]
98. The Independent Expert strongly recommends that States make all efforts to significantly reduce the number of children held in places of detention and prevent deprivation of liberty before it occurs, including addressing the root causes and pathways leading to deprivation of liberty in a systemic and holistic manner.

99. To address the root causes of deprivation of liberty of children, States should invest significant resources to reduce inequalities and support families to empower them to foster the physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development of their children, including children with disabilities.

100. In all decisions that may lead to the detention of children, the Independent Expert calls upon States to most rigorously apply the requirement of article 37 (b) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child that deprivation of liberty shall be applied only as a measure of last resort in exceptional cases, and that the views of children shall be heard and taken duly into account.

101. The Independent Expert calls upon States to repeal all laws and policies that permit the deprivation of liberty of children on the basis of an actual, or perceived, impairment.

102. If detention is unavoidable under the particular circumstances of a case, it shall be applied only for the shortest appropriate period of time. States have an obligation to apply child-friendly conditions, without any discrimination. Children shall not be exposed to neglect, violence, sexual abuse or exploitation, ill-treatment, torture and inhuman conditions of detention. States should ensure that children have access to essential services aimed at their rehabilitation and reintegration into society, including education, vocational training, family contacts, sports and recreation, adequate nutrition, housing and health care. Health services in detention shall be of a standard equivalent to that available in the community at large.

103. Since children have the right under article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child to actively participate in all matters directly affecting their lives, they shall be empowered to influence decisions relating to their treatment and enjoyment of such essential services and have the right to effective remedies, as well as to lodge complaints to an independent and impartial authority on any grievances and human rights violations during detention. Furthermore, States are strongly encouraged to ratify the third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure, enabling children to further seek redress for violations of their rights.

104. States are strongly encouraged to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and to establish independent and effective national preventive mechanisms with a particular expertise, to conduct visits to places where
children are, or may be, deprived of liberty.

105. States should enhance the capacity, by means of investing in human resources, awareness-raising and systematic education and training, of all professionals who work with and for children in decisions leading to their deprivation of liberty, and those who are responsible for their well -being while in detention. This applies to the police, judges, prosecutors, prison guards, psychiatrists, medical personnel, psychologists, educators, probation officers, social workers, child protection and welfare officers, asylum and migration personnel and any other individuals in contact with children at risk of
deprivation, or deprived, of liberty.

106. States are strongly encouraged to establish an appropriate system of data collection at the national level, involving all relevant ministries and other State agencies, coordinated by a focal point. Whenever possible, data on children should be obtained directly from them in accordance with the principle of informed consent and self-identification. When necessary, such information should be supplemented by data concerning their parents or primary caregivers.

Emergencies

Ebola – DRC+
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Ebola Outbreak in DRC 71: 10 December 2019
Situation Update
In the week of 2 to 8 December 2019, eleven new confirmed Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases were reported from four health zones in North Kivu and Ituri provinces in Democratic Republic of the Congo… As of 8 December 2019, a total of 3324 EVD cases were reported, including 3206 confirmed and 118 probable cases, of which 2209 cases died (overall case fatality ratio 66%). Of the total confirmed and probable cases, 56% (1873) were female, 28% (939) were children aged less than 18 years, and 5% (164) were healthcare workers…

…Vaccines
:: From 8 August 2018 to 10 December 2019, 256 381 persons were vaccinated with the rVSV-ZEBOV-GP Ebola vaccine.

:: Vaccination with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine (Ad26.ZEBOV/MVA-BN-Filo) continued in the Karisimbi Health Zone, with 1300 people vaccinated as of 10 December 2019 since its introduction on 14 November 2019.

:: In the last 21 days (date of confirmation 17 November – 9 December 2019), there have been 12 rings opened covered the 35 reported cases.

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Johnson & Johnson Announces Commitment to Support Republic of Rwanda’s Preparedness Against Ebola Outbreak
Up to 200,000 Regimens of Janssen’s Investigational Ebola Vaccine to be Supplied to Rwanda for Use in Border Region near Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., Dec. 8, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) today announced that its Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies will provide up to 200,000 Ebola vaccine regimens to the Republic of Rwanda. This commitment will support a new immunization program led by the Rwanda Government that aims to help protect the country’s citizens from the Ebola outbreak in neighboring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The first batches of Janssen vaccine have been delivered to the country, and further shipments are being organized.
On July 17, 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the DRC Ebola outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). More than 3,300 cases, including more than 2,200 deaths, have been reported to date, making the outbreak second only to the 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic, and raising concerns about its potential to cross international borders. In October, the Johnson & Johnson announced that the DRC would begin using the Janssen investigational vaccine as part of an expanded response to the outbreak.
“Johnson & Johnson recognizes the Rwandan Government’s decision to proactively deploy Janssen’s investigational Ebola vaccine to help prevent the spread of the disease into the country,” said Paul Stoffels, M.D., Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee and Chief Scientific Officer of Johnson & Johnson. “We stand ready to support Rwanda’s initiative on epidemic preparedness.”…

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POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Polio this week as of 11 December 2019

Summary of new viruses this week (AFP cases and ES positives):
:: Pakistan — three WPV1 cases, nine WPV1 positive environmental samples and nine cVDPV2 positive environmental samples;
:: Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) — three cVDPV2 cases;
:: Angola — 12 cVDPV2 cases and two cVDPV2 positive environmental samples;
:: Ethiopia — two cVDPV2 cases;
: Malaysia — one cVDPV1 case;
:: Philippines — one cVDPV1 case and three cVDPV2 cases

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

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies [to 14 Dec 2019]

Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Ebola Outbreak in DRC 71: 10 December 2019

Mozambique floods – No new digest announcements identified
Nigeria – No new digest announcements identified
Somalia – No new digest announcements identified
South Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Syrian Arab Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies [to 14 Dec 2019]

Iraq
:: Iraqi cancer data for 2017‒2018 announced  9 December 2019 ‒ Recently announced data from Iraq’s national cancer registry indicate that there are over 31,500 cancer and tumor-related cases in Iraq as of 2017‒2018. Cancer is considered one of the leading causes of mortality in the country, contributing to an estimated 11% of total deaths…

Afghanistan – No new digest announcements identified
Angola – No new digest announcements identified
Burkina Faso [in French] – No new digest announcements identified
Burundi – No new digest announcements identified
Cameroon – No new digest announcements identified
Central African Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Ethiopia – No new digest announcements identified
HIV in Pakistan – No new digest announcements identified
Iran floods 2019 – No new digest announcements identified
Libya – No new digest announcements identified
Malawi floods – No new digest announcements identified
Measles in Europe – No new digest announcements identified
MERS-CoV – No new digest announcements identified
Myanmar – No new digest announcements identified
Niger – No new digest announcements identified
occupied Palestinian territory – No new digest announcements identified
Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Ukraine – No new digest announcements identified
Zimbabwe – No new digest announcements identified

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WHO Grade 1 Emergencies [to 14 Dec 2019]

Djibouti
:: Djibouti mène une campagne de vaccination de masse pour protéger les enfants contre la poliomyélite tandis que des flambées sévissent dans la Corne de l’Afrique
5 décembre 2018 – L’analyse préliminaire des données de la campagne indique le succès d’une tournée de vaccination dans un pays exempt de poliomyélite confronté à un risque d’importation.
Au cours de la dernière semaine du mois d’octobre, le ministère de la Santé de Djibouti, en collaboration avec l’OMS, l’UNICEF et d’autres partenaires, a mené avec succès les premières journées nationales de vaccination antipoliomyélitique conduites dans le pays depuis 2015…

Chad – No new digest announcements identified
Kenya – No new digest announcements identified
Mali – No new digest announcements identified
Namibia – viral hepatitis – No new digest announcements identified
Tanzania – No new digest announcements identified

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

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UN OCHA – Corporate Emergencies
When the USG/ERC declares a Corporate Emergency Response, all OCHA offices, branches and sections provide their full support to response activities both at HQ and in the field.
Editor’s Note:
Ebola in the DRC has bene added as a OCHA “Corporate Emergency” this week:
CYCLONE IDAI and Kenneth
:: 10 Dec 2019 Kassala, Sudan: Life with hard choices

EBOLA OUTBREAK IN THE DRC
:: République démocratique du Congo Rapport de situation, 13 décembre 2019
FAITS SAILLANTS (13 déc. 2019)
:: Au moins 600 000 personnes sont estimées être affectées par des inondations dans 12 provinces, causées par des pluies diluviennes survenues en octobre
:: Des besoins importants sont rapportés, en particulier dans les secteurs de l’eau, hygiène assainissement, abris/ articles ménagers essentiels, sécurité alimentaire et santé
:: La réponse à l’impact de ces inondations est coordonnée par le Gouvernement de la RDC au niveau central et provincial, avec l’appui des acteurs humanitaires.
:: Des activités d’assistance sont en cours ou en préparation par les acteurs humanitaires dans 8 des12 provinces affectées, mais de nombreux besoins ne sont pas couverts.
:: Alors que la décrue a commencé, il est essentiel de privilégier une approche visant à soutenir les mécanismes de résilience de la population déjà existants

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The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 7 December 2019

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

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

PDF: The Sentinel_ period ending 7 Dec 2019

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

Governance – Multilateral System

Attacks on multilateral system threaten global peace and security
The Elders – 03 Dec 2019
The multilateral system is under unprecedented attack. Isolationist and arbitrary actions by leading powers, including the United States, are threatening to undermine critical efforts to tackle global challenges from nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation to climate change, and the regulation of international trade.

The Elders urge all world leaders to acknowledge that effective multilateralism is in their own national interest, regardless of size or strength. Getting others to cooperate by means of internationally-agreed mechanisms is less costly and more reliable than unilateral force.

Yet since 2017, the US has: withdrawn from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change; pulled out of the Iranian nuclear deal; left the UN Human Rights Council and UNESCO; abandoned the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty; unilaterally imposed trade barriers; and concurrently blocked the appointment of new judges at the World Trade Organization.

As an immediate step, WTO member states must respond to persistent US intransigence by appointing without further delay the necessary new judges to the Appellate Body by majority voting, to avoid the collapse of the WTO’s entire dispute settlement capability.

Following the formal US notification of its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, all other signatories must now use the upcoming COP 25 summit in Madrid to urgently step up their climate action and ambition. Countries must cut carbon emissions more drastically and quickly than in previously-submitted pledges, and also adopt rigorous monitoring of compliance with such commitments.

The network of international covenants and institutions agreed and constructed since the end of the Second World War, with the United Nations at its core, is far from perfect. But it has nevertheless decisively supported the pursuit of peace, security and the protection of human rights, as well as economic and social progress across the globe, for over seven decades.

It is a sad irony that the multilateral system’s principal assailant, the US, is the very country that led the design and construction of its institutions in the 1940s and benefited enormously from it in the subsequent decades.

To make matters worse, the response by other influential powers has too often been erratic, uncoordinated and counter-productive. Most have opted to negotiate bilaterally with the US to try to resolve crises, further eroding existing multilateral frameworks.

This is myopic and self-harming. A regression from a rules-based system into power-based strategies will not result in a safer, more predictable or propitious environment for any country.

Without a concerted commitment to defend multilateralism, we will not bequeath a safe world to future generations. They will neither forget nor forgive such a collective failure.

UN asks the world to invest $29 billion in humanity in 2020
:: A record 168 million people worldwide will need humanitarian assistance and protection in 2020.
:: Protracted conflicts, extreme weather events and crumbling economies have pushed millions to the brink of survival.
:: Humanitarian organizations today present their plans for how to respond and what it will cost.

(Geneva, 4 December 2019) – The United Nations in collaboration with hundreds of non-governmental humanitarian organizations today present the global overview of their plans to assist 109 million of the most vulnerable people caught up in humanitarian crises worldwide.

The Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO) 2020 is launched simultaneously in five locations – Geneva, Berlin, Brussels, London and Washington DC.

One in every 45 people on the planet are in need of food, shelter, health care, emergency education, protection or other basic assistance. The global humanitarian community stands ready to help and counts on the international community’s continued generosity to help them save more lives and alleviate human suffering in crises spanning 53 countries from Afghanistan to Zambia…

Comparable figures show that the number of people in need globally has increased by some 22 million over the past year. The main drivers of need are protracted and highly violent conflicts, extreme weather events associated with climate change and under-performing economies. The plans set out in the GHO 2020 aim to reach 109 million vulnerable people with aid and protection. The combined requirements are nearly US$29 billion.

“The brutal truth is 2020 will be difficult for millions of people. The good news is that the humanitarian response is getting better and faster in reaching the most vulnerable, including women, children and people with disabilities,” Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock said, launching the GHO 2020 in Geneva…

In 2019, more people than forecasted needed humanitarian assistance, mostly because of conflicts and natural disasters. Donors generously provided a record $16 billion for inter-agency appeals between January and November 2019. Aid groups reached 64 per cent of the people targeted to receive aid through Humanitarian Response Plans in 22 of the countries for which data were available.

The GHO 2020 is available online http://unocha.org/GHO2020

Note to Editors
[1] The Global Humanitarian Overview 2020 is based on Humanitarian Response Plans in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Сentral African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Myanmar, Niger, Nigeria, occupied Palestinian territories, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, Venezuela and Yemen.
[2] Other types of inter-agency plans are included for Bangladesh, DPR Korea and Venezuela/Regional.
[3] The GHO also includes Regional Refugee Response Plans for Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan and Syria.

Yemen

Failure to end civil war in Yemen could cost $29 billion
IRC Press Release
Sana’a, Yemen, December 2, 2019 — Almost one year since the Stockholm agreement, the war in Yemen continues unabated. New International Rescue Committee research highlights the devastating impact of continued conflict on ordinary Yemenis. The international community must push the warring parties to build on a rare window of opportunity for peace to secure a nationwide ceasefire.

:: At the current rate of decline, it will take 20 years to return Yemen to pre-crisis levels of child hunger.
:: If the war continues for another five years it will cost the international community as much as $29 billion in humanitarian funding – more than the entire annual humanitarian budget globally.
:: The IRC is calling on members of the UN Security Council to use their significant diplomatic influence to build on recent political developments and kick-start UN-led negotiations.
:: The IRC reaches more than 21,000 people each week with healthcare and nutrition services, women’s protection and empowerment programs and education for children.

The IRC released a new report today detailing the devastating consequences a continuation of the war will have for the people of Yemen. “The War Destroyed Our Dreams” shows that at the current rate of decline, it will take 20 years for the country to return to pre-war levels of child malnutrition, which were already amongst the worst in the world. Another five years of fighting will cost the international community as much as $29 billion USD just to sustain the current level of humanitarian aid.

Recent developments in Yemen suggest a rare window of opportunity has opened to push for peace. The recent power sharing agreement between the Internationally Recognized Government (IRG) and the Southern Transitional Council (STC) offers hope for more inclusive peace talks. However, this is far from assured. World leaders must invest in diplomacy and put their full focus on bringing together warring parties for negotiations. A nationwide ceasefire is needed immediately to avoid further catastrophe…

Educational Attainment

PISA [Program for International Student Assessment] 2018 Results
The OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) examines what students know in reading, mathematics and science, and what they can do with what they know. It provides the most comprehensive and rigorous international assessment of student learning outcomes to date. Results from PISA indicate the quality and equity of learning outcomes attained around the world, and allow educators and policy makers to learn from the policies and practices applied in other countries. This is one of six volumes that present the results of the PISA 2018 survey, the seventh round of the triennial assessment.

.

Young people struggling in digital world, finds latest OECD PISA survey
03/12/2019 –
One in four students in OECD countries are unable to complete even the most basic reading tasks, meaning they are likely to struggle to find their way through life in an increasingly volatile, digital world. This is one of the findings of the OECD’s latest PISA global education test, which evaluates the quality, equity and efficiency of school systems.

The OECD’s PISA 2018 tested around 600,000 15-year-old students in 79 countries and economies on reading, science and mathematics. The main focus was on reading, with most students doing the test on computers.

Most countries, particularly in the developed world, have seen little improvement in their performances over the past decade, even though spending on schooling increased by 15% over the same period. In reading, Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang (China), together with Singapore, scored significantly higher than other countries. The top OECD countries were Estonia, Canada, Finland and Ireland…

The share of students with only very basic reading skills highlights the challenge countries, including those in the developed world, face in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 (SDGs), particularly in relation to “ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.” (SDG 4). The share of low-performers, both girls and boys, also increased on average between 2018 and 2009, the last time reading was the main focus of PISA…

Around 1 in 10 students across OECD countries, and 1 in 4 in Singapore, perform at the highest levels in reading. However, the gap between socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged students is stark: the reading level of the richest 10% of students in OECD countries is around three years ahead of the poorest 10%. In France, Germany, Hungary and Israel, the gap is four years.

Yet some countries have shown an impressive improvement over the past few years. Portugal has advanced to the level of most OECD countries, despite being hit hard by the financial crisis. Sweden has improved across all three subjects since 2012, reversing earlier declines. Turkey has also progressed while at the same time doubling the share of 15-year-olds in school.

The latest PISA findings also reveal the extent to which digital technologies are transforming the world outside of school. More students today consider reading a waste of time (+ 5 percentage points) and fewer boys and girls read for pleasure (- 5 percentage points) than their counterparts did in 2009. They also spend about 3 hours outside of school online on weekdays, an increase of an hour since 2012, and 3.5 hours on weekends…

Around one in four students in OECD countries, on average, do not attain the basic level of science (22%) or maths (24%). This means that they cannot, for example, convert a price into a different currency…

Girls significantly outperformed boys in reading on average across OECD countries, by the equivalent of nearly a year of schooling. Across the world, the narrowest gaps were in Argentina, Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang (China), Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Panama and Peru. Boys overall did slightly better than girls in maths but less well in science…

One in four students in OECD countries are unable to complete even the most basic reading tasks, meaning they are likely to struggle to find their way through life in an increasingly volatile, digital world…

Featured Journal Content

Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Volume 97, Number 12, December 2019, 789-856
https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/97/12/en/
PERSPECTIVES
Ensuring access to affordable, timely vaccines in emergencies
— Kate Elder, Barbara Saitta, Tanja Ducomble, Miriam Alia, Ryan Close, Suzanne Scheele, Elise Erickson, Rosalind Scourse, Patricia Kahn & Greg Elder
http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.18.228585
Vaccination is an effective intervention to reduce disease, disability, death and health inequities worldwide. Over the last two decades, vaccines have become more accessible in low-income countries; however, significant gaps remain, particularly in humanitarian emergencies, where populations face increased risks of many diseases. In 2013, the World Health Organization (WHO) published Vaccination in acute humanitarian emergencies: a framework for decision-making, to provide guidance on which vaccines to prioritize during emergencies.1 However, substantial obstacles, especially high prices for new vaccines, hinder implementation of this framework and of critical vaccination activities in emergency settings.

In response to these challenges, global health stakeholders held a series of consultations in 2016 and proposed a WHO-based mechanism, the Humanitarian Mechanism, for the rapid procurement of affordable vaccines during emergencies, to be used by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), civil society organizations, United Nations (UN) agencies and governments.
Here we present the background of the creation of the mechanism from the perspective of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), including a description of our past challenges in accessing affordable pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV; Box 1), a critical vaccine during many emergencies. We then describe how the mechanism has so far facilitated access to more affordable PCV and outline steps that could increase its potential for saving lives…

Next steps
Building on these initial successes, we see three critical elements of the mechanism, which if fully implemented, could greatly enhance its impact.

First, the mechanism needs to be better known among global health actors, including UN agencies and NGOs, who should be encouraged to use it under appropriate circumstances.

Second, while the mechanism’s terms of reference includes use by governments responding to emergencies,8 conditions attached to the PCV pledges discussed here (the only pledges to the mechanism so far) exclude governmental use. Manufacturers should allow governments to access the mechanism during emergencies to procure critical vaccines needed to protect their populations. Many middle-income countries already grapple with high vaccine prices for routine immunization programmes and may find the cost of extending vaccination to influxes of displaced people during emergencies prohibitive. While Gavi adopted a fragility, emergencies and refugees policy in June 2017 to allow more flexible use of Gavi-supported vaccine doses in specific contexts, strict criteria exist for how and where this flexibility can be applied, and it can only cover Gavi-eligible countries.12

Finally, the types of vaccines pledged to the mechanism by manufacturers should be expanded: the only commitments to date are for pneumococcal conjugate vaccines. Current and future manufacturers should commit other vaccines with affordability and accessibility challenges to the mechanism, so they can be procured rapidly at the lowest global price

Conclusion
The mechanism is a significant step forward in delivering life-saving vaccines to populations caught in emergencies and conflict. The mechanism’s mandate is strengthened by multiple organizations recognizing the gap between existing technical guidelines and constraints on their implementation, that is, the lack of rapidly available, affordable vaccines. While the mechanism does not address the broader systemic failures of the vaccine market, it was created to specifically address the failure of the global vaccine market to meet relatively small, urgent vaccine procurement needs efficiently and affordably. Further steps are needed for the mechanism to reach its full potential; however, it already provides a critical platform during humanitarian crises for expanding the number of people who can receive life-saving vaccines.

Emergencies

Ebola – DRC+
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Ebola Outbreak in DRC 70: 03 December 2019
Situation Update
In the week of 25 November to 1 December 2019, 10 new confirmed EVD cases were reported from two health zones in two affected provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The confirmed cases in this week came from Mabalako (50%, n=5) and Mandima (50%, n=5) Health Zones.
In the past week, violence, widespread civil unrest, and targeted attacks have severely disrupted the Ebola response and restricted access to affected communities in multiple locations.
On the night of 27 November 2019, an attack on the Ebola response camp in Biakato Mines resulted in the death of three responders and the injury of seven others. Response personnel in Biakato were relocated to Goma, and the majority of response activities in the area have been suspended. On the same night, a separate attack on the Ebola coordination office in Mangina resulted in one death. Most response personnel in Mangina have also been relocated. As of 2 December 2019, North Kivu Province has declared ‘ville morte’ and many response activities have been suspended across the province.
As seen previously during this outbreak, such disruptions limit contact tracing, surveillance, and vaccination efforts, and they may result in increased transmission…

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WHO Director-General praises bravery of health workers during visit to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo following fatal attacks on Ebola responders
1 December 2019 News release

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Democratic Republic of Congo
As security situation deteriorates, MSF withdraws staff from Biakato
Statement 6 Dec 2019
On 4 December 2019, Medecins Sans Frontières (MSF) took the painful decision to temporarily withdraw our staff from the Biakato region of Ituri province, Democratic Republic of Congo. After months of working extremely closely with the community to address the health needs in the region, MSF is saddened to have made this decision….

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Gavi Board approves new Ebola vaccine programme
New Delhi, 5 December 2019 – A global emergency stockpile of Ebola vaccines will be available to countries for outbreak response and prevention following the approval of a new Ebola vaccine programme by the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, which met this week in New Delhi, India.

Gavi will open a new funding window, with estimated investment of US$ 178 million between now and 2025 for the new Ebola vaccine programme. Gavi-supported low- and middle-income countries will be able to access the stockpile free of charge and will receive support for the operational costs of vaccination campaigns. Wealthier countries will be able to access vaccines but will be expected to self-finance.

As well as creating the emergency stockpile, Gavi will also support targeted preventative vaccination outside of an outbreak in high-risk populations, such as health workers, in countries at risk. The target populations and scope of countries will be based on future recommendations by the WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunisation (SAGE).

“Today, I think about Ebola victim Dr Ameyo Adadevoh, a true vaccine hero who died stopping the Ebola virus from spreading in Nigeria and we should all be excited by the Alliance decision,” said Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Chair of the Gavi Board. “This is a historic milestone in humanity’s fight against this horrific disease. Just five years ago we faced an Ebola outbreak in West Africa with no vaccine and no way to treat the disease. Today, thanks to the heroic efforts of countless patients, health workers, scientists, manufacturers, donors, partners as well as the leadership of African countries, we now have one vaccine approved for use and more on their way, as well as rapid diagnostics and several promising treatments. With these tools at our disposal, the battle against Ebola can be won, and I’m proud of the role Gavi has played in this.”
The W
HO’s SAGE Working Group on Ebola Vaccines and Vaccination has provided guidance that the global emergency stockpile should be maintained at 500,000 licensed doses of vaccines. The price of Ebola vaccines funded by Gavi will be defined as part of a tender process managed by UNICEF, as Gavi’s partner and procurement agency.

There are currently eight candidate Zaire Ebolavirus vaccines at different phases of development. This includes Merck’s vaccine currently being used under compassionate use as part of the response to the ongoing DRC outbreak, which has recently received conditional marketing approval from the European Commission and prequalification from the WHO. More than 250,000 people have received it since the outbreak started in August last year. Moreover, close to a thousand people have received a second candidate vaccine manufactured by Johnson & Johnson as part of a study in North Kivu, DRC.

“The Ebola vaccine has shown extraordinary efficacy in tackling the outbreak in the DRC,” said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “This achievement demonstrates the Alliance at its best. Now that funding has been approved, we will get to work with manufacturers and our Alliance partners to build the stockpile. It will be critical for Gavi to secure enough funding for the 2021-2025 period to maintain this Ebola vaccine programme in order to protect people, health systems and economies that may be threatened by this devastating disease in the future.”

A coordinating mechanism to decide how and when the vaccine stockpile will be deployed will be established with partner organisations.

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POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Polio this week as of 04 December 2019
:: To provide an insight on the status of polio eradication efforts as at September 2019, the WHO Director-General’s report on polio eradication to the upcoming Executive Board (EB) meeting has been published here. Available in six languages, the report summarizes the programmatic, epidemiological and financial challenges to securing a lasting polio-free world.

Summary of new viruses this week (AFP cases and ES positives):
:: Afghanistan — one WPV1 case and one WPV1 positive environmental sample;
:: Pakistan — 25 WPV1 positive environmental samples;
:: Angola — 16 cVDPV2 cases and four cVDPV2 positive environmental samples.

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

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies [to 7 Dec 2019]

Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Ebola Outbreak in DRC 70: 03 December 2019

Mozambique floods – No new digest announcements identified
Nigeria – No new digest announcements identified
Somalia – No new digest announcements identified
South Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Syrian Arab Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies [to 7 Dec 2019]

Angola
:: WHO supports Angola’s Government efforts to end polio outbreak 02 December 2019

Afghanistan – No new digest announcements identified
Burkina Faso [in French] – No new digest announcements identified
Burundi – No new digest announcements identified
Cameroon – No new digest announcements identified
Central African Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Ethiopia – No new digest announcements identified
HIV in Pakistan – No new digest announcements identified
Iran floods 2019 – No new digest announcements identified
Iraq – No new digest announcements identified
Libya – No new digest announcements identified
Malawi floods – No new digest announcements identified
Measles in Europe – No new digest announcements identified
MERS-CoV – No new digest announcements identified
Myanmar – No new digest announcements identified
Niger – No new digest announcements identified
occupied Palestinian territory – No new digest announcements identified
Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Ukraine – No new digest announcements identified
Zimbabwe – No new digest announcements identified

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WHO Grade 1 Emergencies [to 7 Dec 2019]

Chad – No new digest announcements identified
Djibouti – No new digest announcements identified
Kenya – No new digest announcements identified
Mali – No new digest announcements identified
Namibia – viral hepatitis – No new digest announcements identified
Tanzania – No new digest announcements identified

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

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UN OCHA – Corporate Emergencies
When the USG/ERC declares a Corporate Emergency Response, all OCHA offices, branches and sections provide their full support to response activities both at HQ and in the field.
Editor’s Note:
Ebola in the DRC has bene added as a OCHA “Corporate Emergency” this week:
CYCLONE IDAI and Kenneth
:: 06 December 2019 Southern Africa: Humanitarian Key Messages, December 2019

EBOLA OUTBREAK IN THE DRC – No new digest announcements identified

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The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 30 November 2019

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

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

PDF: The Sentinel_ period ending 30 Nov 2019

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