Rohingya – Justice

ICC judges authorise opening of an investigation into the situation in Bangladesh/ Myanmar
Press Release 13 November 2019
On 14 November 2019, Pre-Trial Chamber III of the International Criminal Court (“ICC” or the “Court”) authorised the Prosecutor to proceed with an investigation for the alleged crimes within the ICC’s jurisdiction in the Situation in the People’s Republic of Bangladesh/Republic of the Union of Myanmar (“the situation in Bangladesh/Myanmar”).

ICC Pre-Trial Chamber III is composed of Judge Olga Herrera Carbuccia, Presiding, Judge Robert Fremr, and Judge Geoffrey Henderson.

This authorisation follows the request submitted on 4 July 2019 by the Prosecutor to open an investigation into alleged crimes within the ICC’s jurisdiction committed against the Rohingya people from Myanmar.

The Chamber also received the views on this request by or on behalf of hundreds of thousands of alleged victims. According to the ICC Registry, victims unanimously insist that they want an investigation by the Court and many of the consulted alleged victims ‘believe that only justice and accountability can ensure that the perceived circle of violence and abuse comes to an end’. The Chamber recognised all the individuals and organisations that assisted, guided and advised alleged victims throughout this process.

The Chamber concluded that the Court may exercise jurisdiction over crimes when part of the criminal conduct takes place on the territory of a State Party. While Myanmar is not a State Party, Bangladesh ratified the ICC Rome statute in 2010. Upon review of the available information, the Chamber accepted that there exists a reasonable basis to believe widespread and/or systematic acts of violence may have been committed that could qualify as the crimes against humanity of deportation across the Myanmar-Bangladesh border and persecution on grounds of ethnicity and/or religion against the Rohingya population. The Chamber found no need to assess whether other crimes within the Court’s jurisdiction may have been committed, even though such alleged crimes could be part of the Prosecutor’s future investigation.

Noting the scale of the alleged crimes and the number of victims allegedly involved, the Chamber considered that the situation clearly reaches the gravity threshold. According to the supporting material, an estimated 600,000 to one million Rohingya were forcibly displaced from Myanmar to neighbouring Bangladesh as a result of the alleged coercive acts. Noting the victims’ views, the Chamber agreed with the Prosecutor that there are no substantial reasons to believe that an investigation into the situation would not be in the interests of justice…

Heritage Stewardship

Open Society Pledges Support for African Cultural Heritage Restitution
A new Open Society initiative will support efforts to return cultural inheritances that were taken from Africa to their rightful homes.
November 12, 2019 NEW YORK—The Open Society Foundations today announced a $15 million initiative to strengthen efforts to restore cultural objects looted from the African continent. Over four years, the initiative will support networks and organizations working to return Africa’s heritage to its rightful home.

“The legacy of colonial violence has deep implications for the ways that racism and imbalances of power are perpetuated today. This isn’t just about returning pieces of art, but about restoring the very essence of these cultures,” said Patrick Gaspard, president of Open Society. “We are proud to support this movement towards reconciling historical wrongs, as part of our mission to advance true justice.”

… “With so much of Africa’s precolonial cultural legacy housed in European museums, these artifacts are out of reach for millions on the African continent, who have a right to their own knowledge and cultural production,” said Rashida Bumbray, director of Culture and Art at Open Society. “Restitution is not only about rightsizing the past, but about access to one’s own heritage and a necessity to maintain this connection for future generations.”

…Partnering with museums, governments, artists, academics, and civil society, the initiative will involve colleagues from across the Open Society Foundations…Grant making will put Africa’s needs and priorities at the forefront and may include support for grassroots organizations, coalition building, litigation, public monitoring, and expert convenings with African scholars, cultural and creative figures, spiritual leaders, policy officials, and others.

Development – Heritage Stewardship

Foundation Announces 2020 Launch of Five-Year Strategy at the Intersection of Agriculture, Livelihoods, and Conservation
November 12, 2019
In January 2020 the David and Lucile Packard Foundation will launch a new five-year, $7.5 million-per-year Agriculture, Livelihoods, and Conservation (ALC) grantmaking strategy.

Formerly a grantmaking pilot, ALC is now a formal strategy involving the Foundation’s Conservation and Science program and Population and Reproductive Health program. ALC will continue its work supporting organizations and leaders focused on small-scale farmers in tropical forest areas. These smallholder farmers are working to protect the planet’s rich biodiversity while building thriving economic futures for their communities.

“The pilot phase confirmed that there are many creative solutions around the globe that enhance the livelihoods of smallholder farmers and rural communities while maintaining the biodiverse forests and ecosystem services that they rely on,” says Walt Reid, Program Director of the Foundation’s Conservation and Science program. “We are eager to dig in with more long-term investments, applying what we’ve learned to a targeted approach that supports both people and planet.”

Moving forward, ALC will continue to support groups of people that are at the nexus of this delicate balance, namely, smallholder farmers, women, young people, and Indigenous communities. ALC will also maintain its focus on specific geographies, with a few adjustments.

…In 2012, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation’s Board of Trustees launched seven years of research and exploratory grantmaking in food and agriculture. This included a three-year pilot period of investments examining agriculture and livelihoods in Indonesia, Ethiopia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, guidance from an advisory council composed of members of the Foundation’s Board of Trustees and issue area experts, and engagement with smallholder farmers, grantee partners, and experts in the field. The pilot period ends in 2019, and the new strategy will launch in January 2020.

Featured Journal Content

Nature
Volume 575 Issue 7782, 14 November 2019
http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue.html
Editorial | 12 November 2019
Global lessons from South Africa’s rooibos compensation agreement
Indigenous communities must be compensated for their knowledge and treated as equals in research.

Nine years. That’s how long it took representatives of South Africa’s rooibos tea industry to agree to compensate the Indigenous San and Khoi communities for their peoples’ contribution to the development of the 500-million-rand (US$33.6-million) industry.

It is a landmark agreement — the first such deal that applies to an entire industry — but it should not have taken so long to complete, and it could have been negotiated without some of the recriminations now being heard. Whereas the Indigenous communities and the government — which brokered the deal — are celebrating, industry isn’t, and says that the agreement could threaten jobs.

Researchers whose work involves collaborating with Indigenous communities will be wondering what they can learn from this case. One important lesson is that there are more harmonious ways to work collaboratively with Indigenous communities.

One reason why the rooibos agreement was nine years in the making is that tea-industry representatives, concerned about risks to their intellectual property, contested the communities’ claim that rooibos tea is based on centuries-old Indigenous knowledge of the plant. That led to a prolonged stalemate between the two sides.

San community representatives first wrote to South Africa’s government in 2010 arguing that, under the law, they are entitled to a share in the tea industry’s profits because it had used their traditional knowledge.

The communities felt they had a good case: the rooibos plant (Aspalathus linearis) is endemic to South Africa’s Cederberg region, which was inhabited by San and Khoi communities long before settlers from Europe forcibly took their lands. The government commissioned a review of the historical and ethnobotanical literature, which concluded in 2014 that there is a strong probability that rooibos tea had Indigenous origins, and said that there was nothing in the literature to contradict the community’s claims.

The industry had reservations about these findings, arguing that there is little published scientific evidence that explicitly states that the ancestors of today’s San and Khoi communities were the first to brew rooibos teas. It went on to commission its own study, which supported its side of the argument — and added another three years to the timeline.

Two studies reviewing essentially the same historical literature and coming to different conclusions is not unusual. Records of historical events — and even records of recent ones — are often open to interpretation. But however the research is interpreted, there’s a moral case to compensate long-mistreated groups. The government advised the tea industry that it needs to pay the communities, which will receive 1.5% of the ‘farm gate price’ — that paid by agribusinesses for unprocessed rooibos.

Research and commerce have different reasons for wanting access to traditional knowledge, but both have the ability to do so without sharing the credit or the potential benefits with those who generated it. This is what concerns the Indigenous communities the most and was the motivation, two years ago, for the San communities’ production of a code of ethics for researchers. The code urges scientists to be up front about their intentions, to follow through on promises to share publication credit and, where possible, to build community capacity for Indigenous groups to do their own studies.

The ethics code and the rooibos agreement are small steps towards a bigger demand: that Indigenous people, especially those whose ancestors lost lives, land and livelihoods during more than a century of exploitation, are treated fairly and as equals.

When researchers work with communities as partners, all sides can expect to enjoy more constructive relationships and to benefit from knowledge. Industry must do the same.

Featured Journal Content

The Lancet
Nov 16, 2019 Volume 394Number 10211p1779-1878, e36
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current
Review
The 2019 report of The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: ensuring that the health of a child born today is not defined by a changing climate
Nick Watts, et al
From Executive Summary
The Lancet Countdown is an international, multidisciplinary collaboration, dedicated to monitoring the evolving health profile of climate change, and providing an independent assessment of the delivery of commitments made by governments worldwide under the Paris Agreement.

The 2019 report presents an annual update of 41 indicators across five key domains: climate change impacts, exposures, and vulnerability; adaptation, planning, and resilience for health; mitigation actions and health co-benefits; economics and finance; and public and political engagement. The report represents the findings and consensus of 35 leading academic institutions and UN agencies from every continent. Each year, the methods and data that underpin the Lancet Countdown’s indicators are further developed and improved, with updates described at each stage of this report. The collaboration draws on the world-class expertise of climate scientists; ecologists; mathematicians; engineers; energy, food, and transport experts; economists; social and political scientists; public health professionals; and doctors, to generate the quality and diversity of data required.

he science of climate change describes a range of possible futures, which are largely dependent on the degree of action or inaction in the face of a warming world. The policies implemented will have far-reaching effects in determining these eventualities, with the indicators tracked here monitoring both the present-day effects of climate change, as well as the worldwide response. Understanding these decisions as a choice between one of two pathways—one that continues with the business as usual response and one that redirects to a future that remains “well below 2°C”—helps to bring the importance of recognising the effects of climate change and the necessary response to the forefront.

Evidence provided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the International Energy Agency, and the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration clarifies the degree and magnitude of climate change experienced today and contextualises these two pathways.

The impacts of climate change on human health
…A child born today will experience a world that is more than four degrees warmer than the pre-industrial average, with climate change impacting human health from infancy and adolescence to adulthood and old age. Across the world, children are among the worst affected by climate change. Downward trends in global yield potential for all major crops tracked since 1960 threaten food production and food security, with infants often the worst affected by the potentially permanent effects of undernutrition (indicator 1.5.1). Children are among the most susceptible to diarrhoeal disease and experience the most severe effects of dengue fever. Trends in climate suitability for disease transmission are particularly concerning, with 9 of the 10 most suitable years for the transmission of dengue fever on record occurring since 2000 (indicator 1.4.1). Similarly, since an early 1980s baseline, the number of days suitable for Vibrio (a pathogen responsible for part of the burden of diarrhoeal disease) has doubled, and global suitability for coastal Vibrio cholerae has increased by 9·9% (indicator 1.4.1).

Through adolescence and beyond, air pollution—principally driven by fossil fuels, and exacerbated by climate change—damages the heart, lungs, and every other vital organ. These effects accumulate over time, and into adulthood, with global deaths attributable to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2·5) remaining at 2·9 million in 2016 (indicator 3.3.2) and total global air pollution deaths reaching 7 million.

Later in life, families and livelihoods are put at risk from increases in the frequency and severity of extreme weather conditions, with women among the most vulnerable across a range of social and cultural contexts. Globally, 77% of countries experienced an increase in daily population exposure to wildfires from 2001–14 to 2015–18 (indicator 1.2.1). India and China sustained the largest increases, with an increase of over 21 million exposures in India and 17 million exposures in China over this time period. In low-income countries, almost all economic losses from extreme weather events are uninsured, placing a particularly high burden on individuals and households (indicator 4.1). Temperature rise and heatwaves are increasingly limiting the labour capacity of various populations. In 2018, 133·6 billion potential work hours were lost globally, 45 billion more than the 2000 baseline, and southern areas of the USA lost 15–20% of potential daylight work hours during the hottest month of 2018 (indicator 1.1.4).

Populations aged 65 years and older are particularly vulnerable to the health effects of climate change, and especially to extremes of heat. From 1990 to 2018, populations in every region have become more vulnerable to heat and heatwaves, with Europe and the Eastern Mediterranean remaining the most vulnerable (indicator 1.1.1). In 2018, these vulnerable populations experienced 220 million heatwave exposures globally, breaking the previous record of 209 million set in 2015 (indicator 1.1.3). Already faced with the challenge of an ageing population, Japan had 32 million heatwave exposures affecting people aged 65 years and older in 2018, the equivalent of almost every person in this age group experiencing a heatwave. Finally, although difficult to quantify, the downstream risks of climate change, such as migration, poverty exacerbation, violent conflict, and mental illness, affect people of all ages and all nationalities.

A business as usual trajectory will result in a fundamentally altered world, with the indicators described providing a glimpse of the implications of this pathway. The life of every child born today will be profoundly affected by climate change. Without accelerated intervention, this new era will come to define the health of people at every stage of their lives.

Responding to climate change for health
The Paris Agreement has set a target of “holding the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1·5°C.” In a world that matches this ambition, a child born today would see the phase-out of all coal in the UK and Canada by their sixth and 11th birthday; they would see France ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars by their 21st birthday; and they would be 31 years old by the time the world reaches net-zero in 2050, with the UK’s recent commitment to reach this goal one of many to come. The changes seen in this alternate pathway could result in cleaner air, safer cities, and more nutritious food, coupled with renewed investment in health systems and vital infrastructure. This second path—which limits the global average temperature rise to “well below 2°C”—is possible, and would transform the health of a child born today for the better, right the way through their life…

…However, current progress is inadequate, and despite the beginnings of the transition described, the indicators published in the Lancet Countdown’s 2019 report are suggestive of a world struggling to cope with warming that is occurring faster than governments are able, or willing to respond. Opportunities are being missed, with the Green Climate Fund yet to receive projects specifically focused on improving climate-related public health, despite the fact that in other forums, leaders of small island developing states are recognising the links between health and climate change (indicator 5.3). In response, the generation that will be most affected by climate change has led a wave of school
strikes across the world.

Bold new approaches to policy making, research, and business are needed in order to change course. An unprecedented challenge demands an unprecedented response, and it will take the work of the 7·5 billion people currently alive to ensure that the health of a child born today is not defined by a changing climate.

Featured Journal Content

BMJ Global Health
November 2019 – Volume 4 – 6
https://gh.bmj.com/content/4/6
Analysis
Health research in humanitarian crises: an urgent global imperative (11 November, 2019)
Brandon A Kohrt[1], Amit S Mistry[2], Nalini Anand[2], Blythe Beecroft[2], Iman Nuwayhid[3]
[1]Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Department of Global Health, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
[2]Fogarty International Center, NIH, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
[3]Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
Correspondence to Dr Amit S Mistry; amit.mistry@nih.gov
Abstract
Globally, humanitarian crises—such as armed conflict, forced displacement, natural disasters and major disease outbreaks—affect more people today than at any point in recorded history. These crises have immense acute and long-term health impacts on hundreds of millions of people, predominantly in low and middle-income countries (LMIC), yet the evidence base that informs how humanitarian organisations respond to them is weak. Humanitarian crises are often treated as an outlier in global health. However, they are an increasingly common and widespread driver of health that should be integrated into comprehensive approaches and strategies, especially if we hope to achieve ambitious global health targets such as the Sustainable Development Goals. The academic research community can play an important role in addressing the evidence gap in humanitarian health. There are important scientific questions of high public health relevance that can only be addressed by conducting research in humanitarian settings. While working in these settings is uniquely challenging, there are effective strategies that can be employed, such as using flexible and adaptive research methodologies, partnering with non-governmental organisations and other humanitarian actors, and devoting greater attention to issues of research ethics, community engagement, local LMIC-based partners, building humanitarian research capacity and collaborating across disciplines.

Health – Sanitation

Health, Safety and Dignity of Sanitation Workers: An Initial Assessment
World Bank Group, World Health Organization, International Labour Organization, Water Aid
November 2019 :: 61 pages
PDF: https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/health-safety-dignity-of-sanitation-workers.pdf?ua=1
Overview
Sanitation workers provide an invaluable service that many of us notice only when confronted with locked, blocked, or filthy toilets; overflowing septic tanks; or beaches contaminated with sewage. These workers are vital to the proper functioning of the sanitation systems that underpin daily life, and many more ae needed to achieve the ambitious agenda of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6.

Yet sanitation workers are often invisible and too often subject to conditions that expose them to the worst consequences of poor sanitation: debilitating infections, injuries, social stigma, and even death in their daily work. Workers’ rights need to be recognized; workers need freedom and support to organize as a labor force; and their working conditions need to be improved and progressively formalized to safeguard health and labor rights to ensure decent working conditions, as called for by SDG 8.

The World Bank, World Health Organization (WHO), International Labour Organization (ILO), and WaterAid have joined forces in the year of “no one left behind” to shed light on this neglected issue. This report, the most extensive global exploration of the topic to date, analyzes the problems, explores good practices, and sets out actions to improve the health, safety and dignity of sanitation workers..

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14 November 2019 News release
New report exposes horror of working conditions for millions of sanitation workers in the developing world
Millions of sanitation workers in the developing world are forced to work in conditions that endanger their health and lives, and violate their dignity and human rights, according to a report released today.
Sanitation workers provide an essential public service that is key to safeguarding human health. They are often the most marginalized, poor and discriminated against members of society, carrying out their jobs with no equipment, protection or legal rights.

“A fundamental principle of health is “first do no harm”. Sanitation workers make a key contribution to public health around the world – but in so doing, put their own health at risk. This is unacceptable,” said Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Public Health and Environment, WHO. “We must improve working conditions for these people and strengthen the sanitation workforce, so we can meet global water and sanitation targets.”

The report on the plight of sanitation workers in the developing world is jointly authored by the International Labour Organization, WaterAid, World Bank and World Health Organization to raise awareness of the de-humanizing working conditions and to push for change. It is the most extensive global study to date on the issue, and part of a growing body of work on sanitation workers…

Access To Medicines

WHO launches first-ever insulin prequalification programme to expand access to life-saving treatment for diabetes
13 November 2019 News release
The World Health Organization (WHO) today announced the start of a pilot programme to prequalify human insulin to increase treatment for diabetes in low- and middle-income countries.

The decision, announced ahead of World Diabetes Day (14 November), is part of a series of steps WHO will take to address the growing diabetes burden in all regions. About 65 million people with type 2 diabetes need insulin, but only half of them are able to access it, largely due to high prices. All people with type 1 diabetes need insulin to survive.

“Diabetes is on the rise globally, and rising faster in low-income countries,” says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “Too many people who need insulin encounter financial hardship in accessing it, or go without it and risk their lives. WHO’s prequalification initiative for insulin is a vital step towards ensuring everyone who needs this life-saving product can access it.”

Insulin prequalification can lead to lower prices
WHO prequalification of insulin is expected to boost access by increasing the flow of quality-assured products on the international market, providing countries with greater choice and patients with lower prices.

Insulin was discovered as a treatment for diabetes almost 100 years ago and has been on WHO’s List of Essential Medicines since it was published in 1977.

Despite an ample supply, insulin prices are currently a barrier to treatment in most low- and middle-income countries. Three manufacturers control most of the global market for insulin, setting prices that are prohibitive for many people and countries.

Access to insulin a challenge in many countries
Data collected by WHO in 2016-2019 from 24 countries on four continents showed that human insulin was available only in 61% of health facilities and analogue insulins in 13%. The data showed that a month’s supply of insulin would cost a worker in Accra, Ghana, the equivalent of 5.5 days of pay per month, or 22% of his/her earnings.

In wealthy countries, people often have to ration insulin, which can be deadly for people who do not get the right quantity of the medicine.

“Prequalifying products from additional companies will hopefully help to level the playing field and ensure a steadier supply of quality insulin in all countries,” says Dr Mariângela Simão, Assistant Director General for Medicines and Health products.

More than 420 million people live with diabetes. Diabetes is the seventh leading cause of death and a major cause of costly and debilitating complications such as heart attacks, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and lower limb amputations.

People with type 1 diabetes need insulin for survival and to maintain their blood glucose at levels to reduce the risk of common complications such as blindness and kidney failure. People with type 2 diabetes need insulin for controlling blood glucose levels to avoid complications when oral medicines become less effective as the illness progresses.

Insulin prequalification is one of a number of steps WHO will take in the coming year to address the diabetes burden. Plans are underway to update diabetes treatment guidelines, devise price reduction strategies for analogues and improve delivery systems and access to diagnostics. WHO also works with countries to promote healthier diets and physical activity to lower people’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

Note to editors
The WHO Prequalification of Medicines Programme contributes to accelerating and increasing access to critical medical products that are quality-assured, affordable and adapted for markets in low- and middle-income countries.

The programme does this by evaluating medical products developed by manufacturers to ensure their quality, safety and efficacy, in turn expanding the pool of available quality medicines.
Evaluating and prequalifying health products then guides international procurement agencies, such as the Global Fund, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, and UNICEF, and increasingly countries to make bulk purchases of medicines vaccines, diagnostics and other critical products at lower prices.

Emergencies

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

Ebola Outbreak in DRC 67: 12 November 2019
1. Situation update
Over the last three months, there has been a steady decrease in confirmed cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the peak of the epidemic in the last week of April 2019, 120 cases were reported. In the week of 4 to 10 November 2019 only 12 cases were reported. Teams are building on this progress by enhancing efforts to thoroughly investigate all new cases and improving contact tracing in order to break the remaining transmission chains…

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POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Polio this week as of 13 November 2019
:: Besides Acute Flaccid Paralysis surveillance and Environmental surveillance, how else do disease surveillance officers track the poliovirus in populated cities, hard-to-reach geographical areas and in conflict zones? Find out here.
:: With the current VDPV outbreaks in the Philippines, the Government with the support of GPEI and other partners is working hard to tackle the virus. The Government has pledged US$ 9 million in domestic resources and has to date disbursed US$ 6.7 million, complemented by contributions from the GPEI. Read the country’s latest situation report [below]

Summary of new viruses this week (AFP cases and ES positives):
:: Pakistan— two WPV1 cases, three WPV1-positive environmental samples, seven cVDPV2 cases and nine cVDPV2 positive environmental samples;
:: Nigeria – one cVDPV2 case;
:: Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo)- eight cVDPV2 cases;
:: Angola— three cVDPV2 cases;
:: Chad— two cVDPV2 community contacts;
:: Côte d’Ivoire- one cVDPV2 positive environmental sample.

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Weekly Epidemiological Record, 15 November 2019, vol. 94, 46 (pp. 525–540)
:: Progress towards poliomyelitis eradication – Pakistan, January 2018–September 2019
:: Update on vaccine-derived polioviruses – worldwide, January 2018–June 2019

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Philippines
Situation Report 9 – Polio Outbreak
WHO-UNICEF 9 November 2019
Highlights
– 4th confirmed poliovirus type 2 case is a three-year old female from Maguindanao. Virus was found to be genetically linked to other 2 cases from Mindanao. Outbreak immunization for 18,268 children 0-59 months in the area was conducted on 4-8 November: 16,295 children (89.2%) vaccinated thus far.
– Synchronized polio vaccination campaigns on 14-27 October covered 1,628,717 children under 5: 95.5% of the target. Preparations ongoing for the next round on 25 November-7 December in National Capital Region (NCR) and all provinces of Mindanao targeting 4,388,281 children 0-59 months.
– Current polio outbreak resulting from persistently low routine immunization coverage, and poor sanitation and hygiene.
– Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus (cVDPV) is considered a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

… Risk assessment
The risk for further polio transmission in the country continues to be assessed as high at the national level, because of chronically suboptimal immunisation coverage, sub-optimal performance of AFP sur-veillance, and poor sanitation and hygiene conditions.
The regional risk of potential spread across international borders is assessed as moderate considering the large number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW). Although many OFW work globally, the risk of in-ternational spread is still considered low, but not negligible, further influenced by dynamic migratory patterns (particularly the USA).

… Immunization response
The first of three rounds of scheduled mass vaccination campaigns has been successfully implemented in polio affected areas. Between 14 and 27 October 2019, a total of 1,628,717 children under 5 were vac-cinated out of a targeted 1,703,639 in NCR, Davao del Sur, Davao City and Lanao del Sur. Both NCR and Davao City have reported reaching the target of 95% children vaccinated…

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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 16 Nov 2019]

Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Ebola Outbreak in DRC 67: 12 November 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 16 Nov 2019]

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
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 16 Nov 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
:: Humanitarian Update Syrian Arab Republic – Issue 06 |14 November 2019
Response Efforts Increase in North-east Syria
The UN and its partners are working to address the needs of hundreds of thousands of people recently impacted by last month’s military escalation in north-east Syria.
Since Turkey’s military offensive began on 9 October, more than 190,000 women, children and men have been displaced. As of 12 November, more than 74,000 people remain displaced, including from Al-Hasakeh (48,134), Ar-Raqqa (19,471) and Aleppo (6,776) governorates. More than 14,000 people have reportedly fled to Iraq.
The fighting has seen civilian casualties in both Syria and Turkey, damage to and closure of critical infrastructure, including health and water treatment facilities, as well as significant forced displacement. At least 92 civilians have been killed in north-west and north-east Syria during these latest hostilities, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Of particular concern are threats to civilians and critical infrastructure, forced displacement of civilians within or outside Syria, the potential negative impact on essential services and livelihoods, as well as the obstruction of access for humanitarian assistance and protection services…

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
:: 13 Nov 2019 Southern Africa: 12 million people are food insecure
:: 12 November 2019 Southern Africa Humanitarian Snapshot (November 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 9 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 9 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]

Featured Journal Content

Nature
Volume 575 Issue 7781, 7 November 2019
http://www.nature.com/nature/current_issue.html

Editorial | 06 November 2019
Nature at 150: evidence in pursuit of truth
A century and a half has seen momentous changes in science. But evidence and transparency are more important than ever before.
In this, Nature’s 150th anniversary issue, we’re celebrating and remembering many of the notable discoveries that authors have communicated in the journal’s pages, along with the agenda-setting journalism and commentary that has always been an essential part of our voice…

…As the boundaries between disciplines blur and research becomes increasingly multi- and transdisciplinary, Nature is moving beyond a traditional focus on the natural sciences to embrace social sciences, translational and clinical research and applied science and engineering. Looking to the future, we hope to contribute to greater transparency and openness in academia. We will probably see even more collaborative ways of doing research and more changes in the way it is published.

… In other respects, Nature now is just the same as it was at the start. We will continue in our mission to stand up for research, serve the global research community and communicate the results of science around the world. We will strive to hold to account those in positions of responsibility in research, policy and industry, and to continue to advocate for fewer unintended harmful consequences of research for people and the planet.

Research, science, knowledge, scholarship — however we might choose to characterize the marshalling of evidence in the pursuit of truth — the values we hold are more important than ever before.

Governance/Justice

Accountability for Perpetrators: UN Officials Welcome ICC Sentence Against Bosco Ntaganda for War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity
Thursday, 7 November 2019
New York – Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Adama Dieng, and Special Advisor on the Responsibility to Protect, Karen Smith, welcomed the sentencing of Bosco Ntaganda to 30 years in prison by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The officials reiterated their call to pursue justice and accountability for all perpetrators of such horrendous crimes.

The sentence of 30 years of imprisonment is the longest ruled by the ICC since its establishment in 2002. Ntaganda’s crimes include, among others, murder and attempted murder, rape, sexual slavery, persecution, intentionally directing attacks against civilians, and the conscription and use of children under the age of 15 into an armed group and using them to participate actively in hostilities.

“The sentence handed down today by the ICC sends a strong message to both perpetrators and victims that no one is above the law and that accountability for atrocity crimes must be pursue at all times,” the three UN Officials stated. They commended the survivors for their courage and expressed their deep support and solidarity with the victims and their families.

“No sentence can compensate the suffering of the victims; yet, this verdict has the power to bring some peace and a sense of justice to victims and survivors of grave violations and human rights abuses in the DRC and around the world,” said the three UN Officials. They also stressed that there are other alleged perpetrators in ICC custody facing similar charges…

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Universal Ratification of Rome Statute Crucial to Reduce Impunity for Atrocity Crimes, International Criminal Court President Tells General Assembly
4 November 2019
GA/12210
The International Criminal Court exerts the needed pressure against those who “think little of plunging their own people and others into egotistical armed conflicts,” the Court’s President told the General Assembly today as he urged Member States to ratify the Rome Statute to reduce the space for impunity.

Forced Displacement – Central America

UNHCR welcomes commitment by Central American states and Mexico to address forced displacement
09 November 2019
MEXICO CITY – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, welcomes the commitment by six Central American countries and Mexico to strengthen their efforts to address and prevent forced displacement in their region, in line with the spirit of solidarity and shared responsibility set out in the Global Compact on Refugees.

Violence and persecution in the region continue to drive growing numbers of people across borders in search of safety. Over 53,000 new asylum applications were submitted worldwide by citizens of countries in northern Central America during 2019, an 86% increase on the same period in 2018. By mid-2019, the number of refugees and asylum seekers from northern Central America had risen to nearly 387,000. In addition, 97,000 Nicaraguans have been uprooted by persecution, the vast majority, almost 80 per cent, currently hosted by Costa Rica.

The declaration was adopted in Mexico City during the second annual meeting of the Comprehensive Regional Protection and Solutions Framework (known as MIRPS after its acronym in Spanish), which is a regional version of the Global Refugee Compact. The MIRPS brings together Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Panama to work together as countries of origin, transit and asylum to address pressing issues…

Human Rights

Speech: President and CEO of the IRC David Miliband for the Stockholm Human Rights Award
STOCKHOLM, 4 NOVEMBER 2019
I am delighted to accept this award, with humility and gratitude, on behalf of 13,000 IRC staff and 15,000 volunteers working in more than 40 countries and 190 field sites around the world. The nutrition worker in Juba, South Sudan; the child protection worker in Raqqa, Syria; the gender-based violence responder in Helmand, Afghanistan; the refugee resettlement specialist in Dallas, Texas. It is their work providing life-saving and life-changing aid – upholding the most basic of human rights – to people whose lives have been shattered by conflict and disaster who have earned this award and in whose name I speak tonight. We are truly honored by the decision of the Swedish Bar Association, the International Bar Association and the International Legal Assistance Consortium to award the Stockholm Human Rights Award to the International Rescue Committee.

These staff are the modern face of an organization born in the mind of a great European, Albert Einstein, in the 1930s. They are the diverse face of an organization founded to rescue Jews from Europe now working in half of our field sites in Muslim majority countries. They are the professional face of an organization that hires locally to make a sustainable difference. They are the human face of an organization that brings out the best of humanity, and depends on the best of humanity, from taxpayers who fund us through their governments, philanthropists who fund us through their foundations, businesses who fund us through their charitable efforts, and private citizens who fund us through their donation.

We are proud of our long term relationship with the Swedish government through our partnership with SIDA, which is bringing help to people facing emergency around the world. We have shown, together, how commitments to impact, to innovation, to gender equality, can be put into practice. This award, alongside our new office in Stockholm, led by our new Executive Director, the brilliant Swedish change-maker Therese Engstrom, launches our engagement with civil society. Therese is here tonight and looks forward to working with you in the future.

There is something especially appropriate about the recognition by the legal community of the need to uphold the rights of civilians caught up in war, the internally displaced forced from their homes and refugees forced from their country – the people served by the International Rescue Committee.

The great ambition of the post-World War II pioneers was to use international law as a lever to improve the lives of the most vulnerable – and who could be more vulnerable than civilians facing the might of state power or refugees without a state of their own at all. This legal regime – international humanitarian law, the international conventions on human rights and on refugees, the conventions on the rights of the child – is, however, in retreat in the places where we work.

My message tonight is that we need your help to defend and uphold the regime of human rights that defined the ambitions of the second half of the 20th century. Today we face a triple emergency around the world, and that makes tonight’s award all the more poignant and important. It is not just an honor. It needs to serve as a rallying call.

The first emergency is the sheer scale of the displacement and humanitarian crisis. The figures are striking. 70.8 million people displaced by conflict, persecution, or disaster – more than at any point since World War II. 29 million of them are refugees or asylum seekers, crossing from their own country to another state.

Nearly 90 per cent of those people are now in poor or lower middle-income countries like Jordan, Bangladesh, Kenya or Pakistan – not in high-income countries like the US, UK, or Sweden. Most of these individuals live in cities, not refugee camps, and most will be displaced for more than a decade.
This is more than a human tragedy. It does not just reflect a crisis of diplomacy. It is a source of instability.

The second emergency is blame game politics. Isolationist, beggar-my-neighbor, it plays the oldest card of all: blame the victim and blame the foreigner. It has neither the heart to show empathy to human beings in desperate need nor the head to consider the long-term ramifications of turning away and letting the problems fester. In the US this has led the Trump Administration to slash the successful, bipartisan, refugee resettlement program. That harms America, and starts a race to the bottom.

This fuels what I call the “Age of Impunity” – the sense that anything goes. This is the chilling new normal in war zones around the world where civilians are seen as fair game for armed combatants, humanitarians are viewed as an impediment to military tactics and therefore unfortunate but expendable collateral, and investigations of and accountability for war crimes are considered optional extra for state as well as non-state actors.

Over the past decade we’ve seen a six-fold increase in annual civilian battle deaths, growing numbers of children at risk, a doubling in the number of aid workers killed each year, a 150% increase in the number of landmine-related casualties, and a significant rise in the cases of “ethnic cleansing”.
As our staff work in North East Syria, in Myanmar, in Yemen, this is their daily concern.

The third emergency is the failure of the development and humanitarian sectors to rise to the challenge that is being presented. Systems are still based on what happens in refugee camps, when most refugees are not in camps. Education is an add-on, when half of those in humanitarian need are children. Grants are still short term when the problems are long term. Funding neglects gender when it is inequalities of power which puts women and girls most at risk. Adherence to legal rights is honored in the breach not the observance.

This award is important in highlighting these challenges. I believe it also reflects IRC’s work to tackle them. Our work to grow to meet the scale of the crisis. To bear witness what we see through powerful advocacy. And to innovate so that we are modern day problem solvers, tackling the resignation that fuels populism, with ideas that can inspire major change…

…The instincts that drove Einstein to establish the IRC in the 1930s – the value of transatlantic cooperation, the need to use both the head and the heart to save lives, and the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship to tackle seemingly insurmountable global challenges – are still at the core of everything we do, from South Sudan to Syria, and now, I’m proud to say, to Sweden.
…Because every member of our staff, from the doctor fighting Ebola in the DRC to the case worker greeting a newly resettled family at the airport in Los Angeles, is stronger when people like you are standing behind them.

We need the principled voice of the Swedish government to continue standing up against the age of impunity.

We need the innovative spirit of Swedish businesses to help us transform the humanitarian sector into an effective, modern system that works for the problems of 2019, not the problems of 1945.

And we need the engaged, internationalist attention of the Swedish people to help show the world that indifference, cynicism, and pessimism in the face of such a massive global challenge is neither smart nor worthy.

The world is more interdependent than ever. And we have more resources than ever before to tackle the problems we face. We believe we are in the solutions business. So thank you for recognizing our work. And join us going forward.

Heritage Stewardship

Getty and Myanmar to Partner on Conservation Plan for Bagan
Getty will work with Myanmar’s Department of Archaeology and National Museum on a comprehensive and long-term conservation plan for thousands of ancient buildings, art, and objects

BAGAN, MYANMAR/LOS ANGELES – The Getty Conservation Institute of Los Angeles will begin a long-term commitment in Bagan to conserve and protect ancient cultural heritage supporting Myanmar’s Department of Archeology and National Museum, Getty and Bagan officials announced today.

Getty will partner with local officials to address a variety of complex conservation issues across the vast Bagan Archeological Zone to preserve the site for future generations. Work will include research into the repair of buildings damaged by earthquakes and assistance to prevent damage from future seismic events, identifying methods to conserve the treasured decorative elements of the site, developing strategies to manage an anticipated influx of tourism, and training local professionals to continue conservation efforts.

A large-scale conservation project has become critically important since Bagan was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in July 2019. While the World Heritage designation will bring welcome attention to the region, increased numbers of visitors will compound the conservation challenges.

“Bagan is a treasure. This vast cultural landscape is significant not only to the people of Bagan, but to people around the world as evidenced by its recent inscription on the World Heritage List,” says Tim Whalen, John E. and Louise Bryson Director of the Getty Conservation Institute. “We look forward to this long-term partnership with our colleagues here at Bagan to conserve this magical place and together to build the professional capacity necessary to preserve its significance well into the future.”

…Getty envisions that other regions of Southeast Asia will be able to learn from the conservation experience in Bagan. The project is part of Getty’s Ancient Worlds Now: A Future for the Past, a new global initiative to promote a greater understanding of the need to protect and save the world’s cultural heritage for future generations…

Disaster Giving Report Shows Foundations and Public Charities Funded Nearly $504 Million in 2017
New York, NY—November 7, 2019. Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy (CDP) announce the sixth edition of their annual research report, Measuring the State of Disaster Philanthropy 2019: Data to Drive Decisions. The report draws from 12 data sources and documents $45 billion in private, public, corporate, and individual disaster-related giving to address major global disasters and humanitarian crises in 2017. In the United States, 2017 was the costliest year of natural disasters on record, with Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria and wildfires in California. Global disasters included two large earthquakes in Mexico, famines in Africa, and civil unrest in Syria and Yemen.

Key findings for 2017 funding reveal:
:: $504 million in funding by foundations and public charities for disasters and humanitarian crises.
:: Natural disasters accounted for 65 percent of disaster funding.
:: Among disaster assistance strategies, 64 percent of dollars were for response and relief; 17 percent went toward reconstruction and recovery; and only 2 percent each went to resilience and preparedness efforts.
:: Disaster-related funding doubled from 2016, based on a year-over-year analysis of grantmaking by 1,000 of the largest U.S. foundations.
:: The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) distributed $15.6 billion for U.S. disasters in 2017, an $11.9 billion increase from 2016.
:: Based on available data, corporate giving programs committed at least $275.4 million to disasters and humanitarian crises in both cash and in-kind donations…

Emergencies

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

Ebola Outbreak in DRC 66: 05 November 2019
1. Situation update
In the past week, from 28 October to 3 November 2019, 10 new confirmed Ebola virus disease (EVD) cases were reported from five health zones in two affected provinces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Though the number of new confirmed EVD cases reported is lower this week, compared to the 20 cases reported last week, security issues and poor access continue to slow response activities in certain health zones. This can prevent the detection of cases in these hard to reach areas.
Violence this week in Lwemba Health Area in the Mandima Health Zone, caused the death of an Ebola response community health worker, and left his spouse critically injured with multiple wounds. WHO and partners condemned the attack, adding that acts of violence against individuals involved with the response are unacceptable and compromise the ability of health workers to provide assistance to communities impacted by the devastating effects of Ebola…

Implementation of ring vaccination protocol
As of 3 November 2019, 246,824 people at risk have consented to and received the rVSV-ZEBOV-GP Ebola Vaccine with 2,865 vaccinated in the past week

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POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Polio this week as of 06 November 2019
:: The GPEI is pleased to announce that the UK Government has confirmed its commitment to eradicating polio by pledging a £400 million contribution for the next four years, which will help vaccinate more than 400 million children a year. Read more on the remarkable announcement.
:: In Pakistan, a circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 has been confirmed.  A detailed investigation into the origin of the outbreak is ongoing, with circulation confirmed in a geographically-limited area, and outbreak response is being planned and implemented.
:: Are you an immunization expert interested in serving on the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on polio? The call for nominations for membership on the working group has now been issued, targeting individuals to submit their nominations.
: Want to know the future of polio eradication efforts in Africa? Then stay tuned for a Facebook live interview with Dr Pascal Mkanda, chief polio expert in the WHO African Region, on 08 November 2019 at 10:00am, West Africa Time.

Summary of new viruses this week (AFP cases and ES positives):
:: Afghanistan— one WPV1 case and one WPV1 positive environmental sample;
:: Pakistan— three WPV1 cases and 19 WPV1-positive environmental samples;
:: Angola— 7 cVDPV2 cases and one cVDPV2 positive environmental sample;
:: Central African Republic— one cVDPV2 case and one cVDPV2 positive environmental sample;
:: Cote d’Ivoire one cVDPV2 positive environmental sample;
:: Ghana two cVDPV2 cases;
:: Philippines— one cVDPV2 case and four cVDPV2 positive environmental samples.

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UK aid to help vaccinate more than 400 million children a year against polio
Press release Published 5 November 2019
International Development Secretary Alok Sharma has pledged new UK aid support to help vaccinate more than 400 million children a year against polio.
:: UK support will help vaccinate more than 750 children a minute against polio in developing countries around the world
:: The UK package of up to £400 million will help support 20 million health workers and volunteers
:: Polio was wiped out in UK in the 1980s, but three countries – Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria – are still not officially wild polio free

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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 9 Nov 2019]

Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Ebola Outbreak in DRC 66: 05 November 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 9 Nov 2019]

Sudan
:: Yellow fever campaign launches in Khartoum State as final phase of countrywide immunization drive 7 November 2019
:: WHO scales up cholera vigilance in Khartoum, Sudan 5 November 2019

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
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
Ukraine – No new digest announcements identified
Zimbabwe – No new digest announcements identified

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WHO Grade 1 Emergencies [to 9 Nov 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
:: Syria ǀ Flash Update #11, Humanitarian impact of the military operation in north-eastern Syria, 29 – 31 October 2019 [EN/AR]

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
:: 08 Nov 2019 South Sudan: CERF allocates up to $15 million for flooding response

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 2 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 2 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]

Venezuela

Joint EU-IOM-UNHCR Communique: International Solidarity Conference on the Venezuelan Refugee and Migrant Crisis
2019-10-29 17:12
Joint Communique by the co-chairs António Vitorino, Federica Mogherini, Filippo Grandi
The International Solidarity Conference on the Venezuelan Refugee and Migrant Crisis held in Brussels on 28-29 October 2019 sent a strong message of support to the Venezuelan refugees and migrants as well as to their host countries and communities in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Conference was co-chaired by Federica Mogherini, High Representative/Vice-President of the European Commission, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, and IOM Director General António Vitorino. The event aimed to raise global awareness about the Venezuelan refugee and migrant crisis and the efforts of hosting countries and communities. It also reviewed best practices and achievements of host countries, confirmed international support for a regional and coordinated response, and called for a global and inclusive partnership, where solidarity and responsibility are shouldered by the entire international community but also shared between public and private sectors.

120 delegations attended, including EU Institutions and Member States, the most affected Latin American and Caribbean countries, donor countries, UN agencies, private sector, NGOs, civil society organisations and development actors including international financial institutions.

The Conference acknowledged that the serious and deteriorating political, human rights and socio-economic crisis in Venezuela has produced one of the most severe displacement situations in the world. The outflow continues unabated, while resources and financing fall considerably short of the needs. According to official figures, some 4.5 million Venezuelans have left their country and most of them are in Latin American or Caribbean countries. This figure could reach 6.5 million people by end of 2020 worldwide.

The Conference commended the remarkable solidarity of countries in the region and acknowledged the substantial challenges they face. Participants reaffirmed their strong commitment to continue protecting and assisting Venezuelan refugees and migrants and to support the efforts of the governments of the receiving countries, notably in ensuring a sustainable integration in host communities.

The Conference also expressed appreciation for the coordinated response of countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Quito Process constitutes a significant step forward in harmonizing policies and practices, thereby scaling up the humanitarian response and integrating refugees and migrants across the region.

While recognizing the sovereign right of States to manage their borders, the co-chairs stressed the importance of preserving access to asylum, strengthening the mechanisms that allow the identification of people in need of international protection, maintaining flexible entry policies, continuing regularizing and providing documents to Venezuelan refugees and migrants, as well as facilitating family reunification. Any acts of hatred, intolerance and xenophobia – even if isolated and unrepresentative – need to be forcefully rejected…

Education – Literacy

US $14 billion needed to achieve universal literacy in countries with lowest literacy rates and E-9 countries
9 September 2019
Paris, France: A new UNESCO cost analysis shows that US $14 billion(1) will be needed if the 20 countries with the lowest literacy rates(2) and the E-9 countries(3) are to achieve functional literacy and numeracy skills by 2030. The analysis highlights a funding gap of US $10 billion in the 20 countries with adult literacy rates below 50 per cent and US $4 billion among the E-9 countries, where the majority of the youth and adults with low literacy levels live.

David Atchoarena, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, says: ‘Of the approximately 750 million illiterate adults worldwide, 565 million live in 29 countries. Even if an increase in domestic resources with 5 per cent of the GDP being allocated to education and 3 per cent of the education budget invested in literacy is taken into account, these countries will only achieve universal literacy by 2030 with the support of the international community. This analysis shows how far we still have to go in meeting this target, in line with commitments made by world leaders as part of the Sustainable Development Goals. I call on donors worldwide to contribute to closing the current funding gap of US $14 billion.’

…The study is authored by UIL, the UNESCO Division for Policies and Lifelong Learning Systems, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, in collaboration with the Global Education Monitoring Report team.

The study shows that the majority of youth and adults with poor literacy live in the Asia-Pacific region, with approximately 80 per cent of all illiterate youth and adults living in the E-9 countries. However, most non-E-9 countries such as Afghanistan, Haiti, South Sudan and others require significant external funding support since they will not be able to cover the costs from national budgets.

The authors of the study also underline that while basic data on literacy related costs exists there is a strong need for further data collection and research in order to enable well-informed decision-making in regards to the expansion of literacy programmes…

Technical notes
:: The calculated costs above comprise the annual salary for instructors and are based on the estimation of 500 contact hours per learner, as estimated by the expert panel of the study.
:: The 20 countries with literacy rates below 50 per cent are Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, the Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Iraq, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan.
:: The E-9 countries are Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, and Pakistan.

Download: 2019 UNESCO literacy cost analysis