Global Governance – Technology

World Economic Forum Inaugurates Global Councils to Restore Trust in Technology
:: Six councils formed to design how emerging technology can be governed for the benefit of society
:: Top decision-makers and experts from the public and private sectors, civil society and academia participate in inaugural Global Fourth Industrial Revolution Council meeting in San Francisco
:: Leaders of Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Dana-Farber, European Commission, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Uber, World Bank among chairs
:: Major global summit on technology governance announced, to take place in April 2020

San Francisco, USA, 29 May 2019 – To help policy-makers and businesses strike the right balance between enabling emerging technologies and proactively mitigating the social risks that can result, the World Economic Forum launched six Global Fourth Industrial Revolution Councils today.

Covering the most pressing technology areas of artificial intelligence, autonomous mobility, blockchain, drones, internet of things and precision medicine, global councils bring together more than 200 leaders from the public and private sectors, civil society and academia from around the world.

Council members will work together to develop policy guidance and address “governance gaps” or the absence of well-defined rules for emerging technology. They met for the first time today at Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution in San Francisco.

“Companies and governments are not moving fast enough to anticipate social expectations in the Fourth Industrial Revolution,” said Richard Samans, Managing Director and Head of Policy and Institutional Impact, World Economic Forum. “We believe that that this bottom-up, societally-focused approach can help to build and maintain public trust in the technologies while strengthening the evidence base on which policy decisions are made by governments and companies. This is the first place where this kind of high-level, strategic dialogue on the governance of these technologies will take place across stakeholders and regions on an ongoing basis.”

Global Fourth Industrial Revolution Councils will:
:: Enable cross-country exchange of policy and regulatory experience, including through case studies;
:: Identify and take action to address gaps in public policy or corporate governance through multistakeholder cooperation;
:: Shape a common understanding of “best” or “good” policy practice as a means of enabling better policy coordination within and among countries;
:: Provide strategic guidance to the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network regarding the governance projects and pilots it undertakes.

Councils are organized by the World Economic Forum Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Network. Headquartered in San Francisco, the Network expanded internationally last year to the People’s Republic of China, India and Japan. Affiliate centres in Colombia and the United Arab Emirates opened in early 2019. Five of the G7 countries and more than 100 organizations are officially partnered with the Network to create policy frameworks, pilot them and scale up around the world.

Global Technology Governance Summit
Input from council members will inform the agenda of the Global Technology Governance Summit in April 2020. This event will be the world’s premiere leader-level, multistakeholder meeting dedicated to shaping the governance of emerging technologies. It will bring together government ministers, chief executive officers, civil society leaders, start-ups and international organizations. It will be catalyst a for driving new approaches and collaborative efforts across stakeholders that are human-centred.

Global Artificial Intelligence Council
Co-chairs
Lee Kai-Fu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sinovation Ventures
Bradford Smith, President, Microsoft Corp

Global Autonomous and Urban Mobility Council
Co-chairs
Brian Gu Hong-Di, Vice-Chairman and President, Xpeng Motors
Keiichi Ishii, Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan
Dara Khosrowshahi, Chief Executive Officer, Uber Technologies

Global Blockchain Council
Co-chairs
Elizabeth Rossiello, Chief Executive Officer, Founder, BitPesa
Denis Robitaille, Vice President, Information and Technology Solutions, World Bank

Global Drones and Aerial Mobility Council
Chair
Violeta Bulc, Commissioner for Transport, European Commission

Global Internet of Things Council
Co-chairs
Cristiano Amon, President, Qualcomm Incorporated
Mariya Gabriel, Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, European Commission
Adrian Lovett, President and Chief Executive Officer, World Wide Web Foundation

Global Precision Medicine Council
Co-chairs
Laurie Glimcher, President and Chief Executive Officer, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Peer Schatz, Chief Executive Officer, QIAGEN
Wang Chen, President, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences

Governance/UN Agencies: Parental Leave

Joint Statement: One UN for family leave and childcare
Posted on June 1, 2019
We, the Heads of UNICEF, UN WOMEN, UNDP and UNFPA, representing over 37,000 UN staff members under the United Nations Common System, are committed to strong gender-responsive, family-friendly policies for all United Nations staff. We are committed to achieving, inter-alia, paid parental leave for all parents regardless of gender, including parents who adopt, foster, or have children through surrogacy or assisted reproductive technology; flexible working arrangements for parents; designated private rooms and appropriate breaks for nursing and pumping; and child-care support for parents with young children.

We encourage the 89th session of the International Civil Service Commission to endorse these policies for the well-being of all UN staff and their families because:

It is the right thing to do:
Family-friendly policies support staff to balance their work and family responsibilities so one need not be chosen over the other. They help reduce the stress and conflict that can arise among families struggling to manage competing work obligations with family demands. They enable bonding between parents and their children, providing a foundation for individual success, family cohesion, and stronger, more sustainable societies.

It is the equitable thing to do:
The United Nations is committed to gender parity for its staff, at all levels, everywhere, as well as to gender equality as a global goal and prerequisite for sustainable development. Companies such as Google, Accenture, and Aetna have reported a significant decrease in employment attrition rates among female employees when effective family-friendly policies are in place. Evidence show that when such policies support greater paternal involvement in child rearing, this is beneficial to children’s social, emotional and cognitive growth, and decreases gender-stereotyping. Additionally, studies show that “the motherhood penalty” – discrimination against mothers in the form of lower likelihood of hiring or promotion, lower salaries, and lower perceived competence and commitment – diminishes in terms of career trajectory in organizations where both parents receive equitable leave.

It is the smart thing to do:
Family-friendly policies are irrefutably linked to better workforce productivity and the ability to attract, motivate, and retain employees. Additionally, by unifying child care and parental leave provisions across United Nations agencies, we not only can streamline human resource systems, inter-agency coordination and career mobility opportunities, but also set good practice standards that support a United Nations-wide enabling environment for high employee morale, job satisfaction and productivity.

It is the healthy thing to do:
Parents in Bangladesh have reported greater productivity and lower absenteeism because of nursing programmes in the workplace, as children were sick less often and parents took less time off as a result. Studies show better development outcomes as well as learning and cognitive improvements for children whose fathers take paternity leave.

We recognize the important consultative efforts of members of formal and informal staff groups from our United Nations agencies who are in support of this statement, including UN Globe who released their Guiding Principles and Proposals on an Inclusive Parental Leave Policy, and advocated for these changes in 2015, UN Feminist Network, UNDP Parents Association, staff associations of all UN agencies through Coordinating Committee for International Staff Unions and Associations, UNICEF Gender Push group, and UNICEF #EarlyMomentsMatter campaign.

It is further supported by UN Women’s Goodwill Ambassador Anne Hathaway who addressed the ICSC on this subject, noting that strong, gender-neutral parental leave policies and child care services for staff are critical to the UN’s role as a standard setter and promoter of equality.

We also rely on the strategic guidance and support from our respective governing bodies in pursuing these goals.

We commit to reviewing our policies to ensure they reflect best practice and consistency across our agencies, including in the following areas and with a focus on exploring options for:
:: Increasing the duration of parental leave (up to 24 weeks) to ensure that all parents have equal rights and adequate time to bond with a child;
:: Official designated nursing and pumping rooms and regular breaks;
:: Child-care support for parents with young children, and
:: Equal treatment and respect for all methods of becoming a parent.

Since its founding, the United Nations has advocated for social and economic empowerment, gender equality, and children’s positive development all over the world. As the global champion for human rights, equity and dignity, we consider it our duty to support the women and men who work every day to make these aspirations a reality. We jointly commit to ‘walk the talk’ for our staff, setting the standards of inclusivity, diversity, and flexibility, that we would want to see in a truly gender equal world, ready to accomplish the aims of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

SIGNED BY:
Achim Steiner, UNDP
Natalia Kanem, UNFPA
Henrietta H. Fore, UNICEF
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Women

Project Anqa Final report
International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
Written on 24 May 2019.
ICOMOS is releasing its final report on Project Anqa which seeks to preserve endangered cultural heritage sites in Syria through their digitalization using state of the art technology, build capacity in the region, promote the transfer of knowledge and create permanent architectural inventory units.

The project resulted in the creation of a web platform which includes virtual tours of 7 endangered heritage sites along with comprehensive data on the sites.

Project Anqa which means “phoenix” in Arabic is a joint initiative of ICOMOS, the non-profit organization CyArk, the Carleton University Immersive Media Studio and Yale University’s Institute for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage (IPCH).
The project began in 2015 in response to the catastrophic loss of cultural heritage in the Middle East and is funded by the Arcadia Fund, a UK grant-making fund whose mission is to protect endangered culture and nature.

The project started in Syria, in partnership with the Directorate General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM), and has documented seven sites located in Damascus that illustrate the architectural variety of historic buildings in the ancient city.

CONCLUSION:
Although Project Anqa’s partners faced challenges to overcome, the project still successfully reached its goal of creating an online web platform with 3D scans and comprehensive data in open access on built heritage at risk in Syria. Teams from different countries effectively worked together, and the training allowed to build capacity in the region. With the exposure the project has received, it will hopefully serve as an example to inspire future similar projects that seek to preserve endangered cultural heritage.

Heritage Stewardship

The continued and lasting legacy of Peru
May 28, 2019 – Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Press Release
As Peru approaches its independence bicentennial in 2021, it does so on a wave of economic prosperity that has transformed the nation. The poverty rate has fallen dramatically, from 52.2 percent in 2005 to 26.1 percent in 2013 — but at the same time, threats to protected areas have risen sharply.

Today, illegal resource extraction and poorly planned infrastructure projects endanger the wild areas that make Peru one of the world’s “megadiverse” countries – 17 nations which comprise 70 percent of the planet’s total biodiversity. Peru ranks first in the world for its diversity of butterflies and fish, second for its species of birds, fourth for its amphibians and fifth for its mammals. Between human-induced pressures and a changing climate, the vast wild places of Peru face unprecedented risks. To ensure that these national natural treasures are protected for the next 200 years and beyond, long-term funding and management are critical.

This starts with making sure that Peru’s National Parks — from the spectacular rainforests of Manu to the glaciers and milky blue lagoons of Huascarán — have the institutional resources and management capacity in place to ensure sustainability. Patrimonio Natural del Perú, or “National Parks: Peru’s Natural Legacy,” is a government-led “Project Finance for Permanence” initiative, kickstarted in 2014 at the World Parks Congress, that aims to establish a system of financial sustainability for Peru’s National Parks, starting with the country’s verdant heart, the Peruvian Amazon. On the ground, this will translate into more and better supported staff, better equipment and improved protection protocols.
Now, after years of work and collaboration, the Amazon portion of Patrimonio del Peru is “closed.” This means that the funding goal of $140 million needed to expand and manage 41.6 million acres in the Peruvian Amazon has been met, along with other closing conditions designed to secure the success of this initiative.

“I believe that the protection of our natural resources is vital for the needs we will have in the future,” says Pedro Gamboa Moquillaza, who leads Peru’s National Park Service. “If we don’t work together, the only thing that we are destined to have soon is a nation poor in natural resources.” Institutional partners leading the collaboration include the Peruvian National Park Service, Ministry of Environment, President of Peru, Peruvian Environmental Law Society and World Wildlife Fund who have joined with funders — the Government of Peru, the Peruvian Trust Fund for National Parks and Protected Areas (PROFONANPE), World Wildlife Fund, Amazon Andes Fund, the Global Environment Facility and Moore — to deliver on the promise of Peru’s Legacy…

Featured Journal Content

The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health
Jun 2019 Volume 3Number 6p365-436, e4
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanchi/issue/current
Editorial
Partnership between health and education in early childhood
The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health
While primary school enrolment rate in developing regions reached 91% at the end of the Millennium Development Goal era, 60% of children and adolescents worldwide (617 million) are not achieving basic proficiency in reading and mathematics expected of their school year. One reason for this disappointing outcome is that many young children are not developmentally on track at the time they enter primary school because of scarce investment in preschool education, according to UNICEF in their latest report, A World Ready to Learn.

UNICEF’s analysis found that “attending an early childhood education programme is one of the strongest predictors for supporting a child’s readiness for school, regardless of household or national income level”. Evidence shows that positive stimulation in early childhood affects brain development and the neurobiological pathways that underlie functional development. Quality preschool education supports a child’s cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development, providing a safe and nurturing environment for young children to learn and interact with their peers. It can also ameliorate some of the vulnerability stemming from early adversity such as poverty, and offer a powerful opportunity to break intergenerational cycles of inequity in future health, academic, and economic outcomes.

Despite the well recognised importance of investment in these formative years, only half of the world’s preschool-aged children are enrolled in pre-primary education (from age 3 years up to the start of primary education, often age 6 years). In low-income countries, only two in ten have this privilege, and barriers are even higher for marginalised groups (eg, indigenous populations, rural communities, and children with disabilities). Given the current situation, UNICEF warns that a “business as usual” approach will not reach the target of universal, quality pre-primary education in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4.2.

This target is achievable, but only if there is a substantial increase in investment alongside strong political commitment. Globally, 38% of countries, most of which are low and lower-middle income, invest less than 2% of their education budgets in pre-primary education—a huge gap from the 10% recommended internationally. Distribution of these scarce resources highly favours the wealthy within these countries. The shortfall in funding is also apparent at the donor level, with less than 1% of international aid for education being allocated to the preschool years. Even among upper-middle-income and high-income countries, nearly a third will need to accelerate their progress to be on track for 2030.

Early childhood education needs to be prioritised and recognised as a core strategy for strengthening a country’s education system and population health. To accelerate progress towards multiple SDGs, the synergy between the health and education sectors—alongside nutrition, child protection, and social protection—should be leveraged. Such intersectoral collaboration is crucial to ensure that every child receives the nurturing care that will allow them to reach their full developmental potential. Building on the foundations of quality antenatal care, child health professionals, community workers, and early-years practitioners can support responsive parenting, conduct regular health and developmental milestone checks, and deliver nutritional and other interventions as necessary. Preschools provide an important setting for deworming, vaccination, early identification of developmental disorders, and other health screening and interventions; distributing nutritious meals; and establishing lifelong healthy habits such as handwashing and personal hygiene.

Equity and quality must be at the heart of such a multisectoral response. The most disadvantaged children must be considered at the start—not as an afterthought. UNICEF recommends that resource-constrained countries should start with providing one year of universal free pre-primary education, before expanding to include additional years. Quality should be upheld with clear standards, indicators, and expenditure tracking. Capacity building through training more qualified teachers is needed to progressively reach the recommended ratio of no more than 20 children per teacher.

Education and health are integral to human capital development. Given their synergy, the two sectors should forge deeper partnerships to accelerate progress towards the ambitious, but not unreachable, SDGs. The period between the first 1000 days of life and the start of primary school is an important window of opportunity for nurturing care that should not be overlooked. Sustainable investment in the preschool years is the foundation of future population health, prosperity, and social equality—and must be prioritised.

Featured Journal Content

Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Volume 97, Number 6, June 2019, 377-440
https://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/97/6/en/

EDITORIALS
Health systems research in fragile settings
— Alastair Ager, Shadi Saleh, Haja Wurie & Sophie Witter
http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.19.233965
Population health indicators have improved in recent decades. Deaths in children younger than five years have declined from over 16 million in 1970 to around 5 million in 20161 and life expectancy at birth has increased from 58 to over 70 years in the same period.2

However, a major constraint to such progress, and in some contexts a potential source of reversal, is fragility. Of the 10 countries with the highest rates of infant mortality, seven are classified as fragile states. Of the 20 countries with the weakest progress on reducing maternal mortality from 1990 to 2015, 14 were fragile.3 However, fragility is increasingly recognized as a phenomenon that is not limited to countries that meet the profile of fragile and conflict-affected states.4 Of those countries that currently meet the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development criteria of experiencing significant fragility, comprising political, societal, economic, environmental and security dimensions of instability, almost half are middle-income countries.5

A better understanding of the implications of health-care provision in contexts of fragility is necessary. We have, therefore, established a research unit on health in situations of fragility at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, Scotland. This unit is supported by the National Institute for Health Research and builds on the experiences of several institutions in post-conflict health reconstruction strategy, recovery from the Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa and response to political instability in the Eastern Mediterranean Region. In our analysis of how the concept of fragility is used in the global health literature, we found that fragility is most often used to describe the circumstances of states or their public health systems; however, it also increasingly addresses the relationship with communities. Where the state’s agenda and communities’ needs are poorly aligned, the strained or ruptured relationship between the two has direct implications for health.

Understanding the weaknesses of health systems and how systems strengthening strategies may address these weaknesses must remain a core component of any approach to secure improvements in population health. However, in contexts of fragility, a key focus is needed on threats to the interface between public health provision and community processes. This exercise inevitably requires a systems for health approach6 that sees community, civil society, private sector actors and the state as key agents within a complex system adjusting to the prevailing drivers of fragility.

Earlier work on health systems resilience in contexts of fragility7,8 repeatedly pointed to the importance of this interface with communities. We are now exploring this further in three countries: El Salvador, Lebanon and Sierra Leone. In each setting, our focus is on the prevention and treatment of noncommunicable diseases and mental health and psychosocial support. Providing a response to these health needs requires an effective connection over time between diverse service providers, patients, carers and communities.

Scoping reviews in each of these fragile settings have identified recurrent challenges at this interface. When fragile settings experience acute shocks, there is a risk that the surge of local provision supported by international agencies will not strengthen health systems in the long-term. Lack of knowledge of available services, uncertain or restricted access, financial barriers or perceptions of health-care settings not constituting a safe place are also repeatedly identified across fragile settings at the community-service interface.9

Participatory group model building10 is a promising method for exploring the connections between the various actors of the systems for health in these fragile settings, and for identifying potential strategies to make these actors’ engagement more effective. Policy-level and health systems interventions are clearly relevant, but it is at the interface of public health provision and community processes that major barriers persist.

Mapping of social connection and trust11 can also clarify key processes supporting or inhibiting engagement within and between communities and health services in contexts of fragility.
We plan to develop a series of studies of strategic interventions designed to secure high-quality and accessible service provision in contexts of fragility. Therefore, we encourage other researchers to engage in this framing of strategic health interventions in such settings. The core goal must be achieving forms of service design and community engagement that prove durable and effective in circumstances of fragility. To the extent that these strategies are effective in building trust and social connection between (and within) the state and local communities, they may also prove of value in addressing the drivers of fragility itself.12

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Research
Comparison of essential medicines lists in 137 countries
— Nav Persaud, Maggie Jiang, Roha Shaikh, Anjli Bali, Efosa Oronsaye, Hannah Woods, Gregory Drozdzal, Yathavan Rajakulasingam, Darshanand Maraj, Sapna Wadhawan, Norman Umali, Ri Wang, Marcy McCall, Jeffrey K Aronson, Annette Plüddemann, Lorenzo Moja, Nicola Magrini & Carl Heneghan
http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.18.222448
Abstract
Objective
To compare the medicines included in national essential medicines lists with the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Model list of essential medicines, and assess the extent to which countries’ characteristics, such as WHO region, size and health care expenditure, account for the differences.
Methods
We searched the WHO’s Essential Medicines and Health Products Information Portal for national essential medicines lists. We compared each national list of essential medicines with both the 2017 WHO model list and other national lists. We used linear regression to determine whether differences were dependent on WHO Region, population size, life expectancy, infant mortality, gross domestic product and health-care expenditure.
Findings
We identified 137 national lists of essential medicines that collectively included 2068 unique medicines. Each national list contained between 44 and 983 medicines (median 310: interquartile range, IQR: 269 to 422). The number of differences between each country’s essential medicines list and WHO’s model list ranged from 93 to 815 (median: 296; IQR: 265 to 381). Linear regression showed that only WHO region and health-care expenditure were significantly associated with the number of differences
Conclusion
The substantial differences between national lists of essential medicines are only partly explained by differences in country characteristics and thus may not be related to different priority needs. This information helps to identify opportunities to improve essential medicines lists

World Health Assembly Update, 27 May 2019
27 May 2019 WHO News release
Member States have agreed a five-year global action plan to promote the health of refugees and migrants. The plan focuses on achieving universal health coverage – and the highest attainable standard of health – for refugees and migrants and for host populations.

The plan includes short and long-term steps to mainstream refugee and migrant health care; enhance partnerships; strengthen health monitoring and information systems and counter misperceptions about migrant and refugee health.

Member States are requesting that the Director-General report back on progress at the 74th World Health Assembly. Reports to the 74th and 76th World Health Assemblies will also include information provided by Member States on a voluntary basis, and UN agencies as appropriate.

Globally, the number of international migrants has grown. During the period 2000–2017, the total number of international migrants rose from 173 million to 258 million, an increase of 49%. The number of forcibly displaced people, 68.5 million, is also the highest ever, and includes 25.4 million refugees. Ten million stateless people lack a nationality and access to basic rights such as education, health care, employment and freedom of movement.

DRC – Ebola/Cholera/Measles

Major cholera vaccination campaign begins in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Agencies warn of unprecedented situation in the DRC as cholera and measles epidemics compound Ebola challenges
Geneva / Goma 27 May 2019 – More than 800,000 people will be immunised against cholera in North Kivu in the Eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) following the launch of a major vaccination campaign today.

The campaign will be implemented by the DRC Ministry of Health with support from the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, and funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. A total of 835,183 people in Binza, Goma, Kayina, Karisimbi, Kibirizi, Kirotshe and Rutshuru areas will be vaccinated by 1 June 2019. The campaign will administer the first of two doses of oral cholera vaccine (OCV) to people in these areas. Following successful implementation, a campaign to administer the second dose will take place at a later stage to provide full protection against cholera.

Over 10,000 cases of cholera have been reported in the country since January 2019, leading to more than 240 deaths. In addition, over 80,000 suspected cases of measles have led to over 1,400 deaths so far this year while a case of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 was reported in Kasai province earlier this month.

“The DRC is confronted with an unprecedented combination of deadly epidemics,” said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. “While the Ebola outbreak continues to cause untold misery in the East, measles and cholera epidemics are claiming the lives of thousands of people throughout the country. That’s why we are stepping up our response, through this cholera vaccination campaign, through ongoing measles vaccinations in health zones affected by measles outbreaks, as well as through our continued support for Ebola vaccinations in both the DRC and neighbouring countries. We cannot allow this needless suffering to continue.”…

Emergencies

POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
Polio this week as of 15 May 2019
:: Health leaders at the World Health Assembly last week in Geneva, Switzerland, welcomed the new Polio Endgame Strategy 2019-2023, and acknowledged that while a lot had been accomplished, more efforts were needed in order to achieve a lasting polio-free world by 2023.

:: Following the group’s meeting earlier this month, the latest report of the International Health Regulations (IHR) Emergency Committee is available.  The Committee evaluated the latest global poliovirus epidemiology and concluded that the effort to eradicate polio remained a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).  More.

:: In Cameroon, a circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) was detected from an environmental sample collected on 20 April 2019 in Extreme Nord.  The virus was detected in an environmental sample only – no associated cases of paralysis have been detected.

Summary of new viruses this week:
:: Pakistan – two wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases and six WPV1-positive environmental samples;
:: Afghanistan – one WPV1-positive environmental sample; Nigeria – two circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2)-positive environmental samples;
:: Somalia – one cVDPV2 case;
:: Cameroon – one cVDPV2-positive environmental sample; and, Iran – one WPV1-positive environmental sample.

Polio: Statement of the Twenty-first IHR Emergency Committee
Regarding the International Spread of Poliovirus
29 May 2019 Statement Geneva
The twenty-first meeting of the Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations (2005) (IHR) regarding the international spread of poliovirus was convened by the Director-General on 14 May 2019 at WHO headquarters with members, advisers and invited Member States attending via teleconference, supported by the WHO secretariat.

The Emergency Committee reviewed the data on wild poliovirus (WPV1) and circulating vaccine derived polioviruses (cVDPV). The Secretariat presented a report of progress for affected IHR States Parties subject to Temporary Recommendations. The following IHR States Parties provided an update on the current situation and the implementation of the WHO Temporary Recommendations since the Committee last met on 19 February 2019: Afghanistan, DR Congo, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Somalia.

The committee commended all countries that presented on the quality of information provided, and the transparency with which countries discussed their challenges.

Wild poliovirus
The Committee is gravely concerned by the significant further increase in WPV1 cases globally in 2019, particularly in Pakistan where 15 cases have already been reported. In Pakistan transmission continues to be widespread, as indicated by the number of positive environmental isolates in many areas of the country, and the proportion of samples that detect WPV1 is rising. The recent cluster of cases in Lahore also indicates that vulnerabilities still exist outside the high-risk corridors. Notably, the increased rate of infection during what is usually the low season may herald even higher rates of infection in the coming high season unless urgent remedial steps are taken. The committee was very concerned about attacks on vaccinators and on the police protecting them. The increasing refusal by individuals and communities to accept vaccination also needs to be actively addressed. While the committee understood that the recent elections and political transition may have adversely affected delivery of the polio program, it is now essential that the new government renews its efforts, noting that the eradication program in the country is no longer on-track.

Highlighting these concerns, the committee noted the recent detection of WPV1 in sewage in Iran in an area close to the international border with Pakistan. Based on genetic sequencing, the virus is most closely linked to viruses found recently in Karachi, Pakistan. While there is no evidence currently that transmission has occurred in Iran and routine immunization coverage is high there, this finding together with the resumption of WPV1 international spread between Pakistan and Afghanistan suggests that rising transmission in Pakistan correlates with increasing risk of WPV1 exportation beyond the single epidemiological block formed by the two countries. The Iran event is the first such exportation detected since 2014 and signals that the hard fought gains of recent years can easily be reversed…

Vaccine derived poliovirus 
The multiple cVDPV2 outbreaks on the continent of Africa are as concerning as the WPV1 situation in Asia. The emergence of new strains of cVDPV2 in areas where mOPV2 has been used, the recent spread of cVDPV2 into southern Nigeria, including the densely populated Lagos region, and evidence of missed transmission in Nigeria and Somalia suggests that the situation continues to deteriorate. Insufficient coverage with IPV exacerbates the growing vulnerability on the continent to cVDPV2 transmission. Early detection of any international spread from the five currently infected countries and prioritized use of mOPV2 is essential to mitigate further depletion of the limited mOPV2 supply. Repeatedly, cases have occurred in border districts (in Nigeria, close to Benin, in DR Congo close to Angola, in Somalia, close to Ethiopia, and in Mozambique, close to Malawi)…

Conclusion
The Committee unanimously agreed that the risk of international spread of poliovirus remains a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and recommended the extension of Temporary Recommendations for a further three months. The Committee considered the following factors in reaching this conclusion:

Rising risk of WPV1 international spread: The progress made in recent years appears to be reversing, with the committee’s assessed risk of international spread the highest since 2014 when the PHEIC was declared. This risk assessment is based on the following:
:: the first WPV1 exportation outside of the single epidemiological block of Afghanistan and Pakistan since 2014;
:: rising number of WPV1 cases in Pakistan;
:: rising proportion of environmental samples that are positive for WPV1 in Afghanistan and Pakistan;
:: widespread detection of WPV1 in Pakistan in environmental samples;
:: clusters of cases in areas not considered high risk such as Lahore;
:: the fact that all of these observations have been made during the part of the year normally considered as low transmission season;
:: increasing community and individual resistance to the polio program.

Rising risk of cVDPV spread: The newly emerged strains of cVDPV2 in Nigeria and DR Congo, and the increased number of infected states / provinces in these two countries, together with evidence of missed transmission in Nigeria, Somalia and Indonesia also suggests the risk of international spread of cVDPV, especially type 2, is rising.

Falling PV2 immunity: Global population immunity to type 2 polioviruses (PV2) continues to fall, as the cohort of children born after OPV2 withdrawal grows, exacerbated by poor coverage with IPV particularly in some of the cVDPV infected countries. Protracted outbreaks: The difficulty in rapidly controlling cVDPV outbreaks in Nigeria and DR Congo is another risk.

Weak routine immunization: Many countries have weak immunization systems that can be further impacted by various humanitarian emergencies, and the number of countries in which immunization systems have been weakened or disrupted by conflict and complex emergencies poses a growing risk, leaving populations in these fragile states vulnerable to outbreaks of polio.

Surveillance gaps: The appearance of highly diverged VDPVs in Somalia and Indonesia are examples of inadequate polio surveillance, heightening concerns that transmission could be missed in various countries. Similar gaps exist in Lake Chad countries and around the Horn of Africa.

Lack of access: Inaccessibility continues to be a major risk, particularly in several countries currently infected with WPV or cVDPV, i.e. Afghanistan, Nigeria, Niger, Somalia and Papua, Indonesia, which all have sizable populations that have been unreached with polio vaccine for prolonged periods.

Population movement: The risk is amplified by population movement, whether for family, social, economic or cultural reasons, or in the context of populations displaced by insecurity and returning refugees. There is a need for international coordination to address these risks. A regional approach and strong cross-border cooperation is required to respond to these risks, as much international spread of polio occurs over land borders….

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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 1 Jun 2019]

Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Major cholera vaccination campaign begins in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 27 May 2019
:: 43: Situation report on the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu 28 May2019
:: Disease Outbreak News (DONs) Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo
30 May 2019
[See Ebola DRC above for detail]

South Sudan
:: In South Sudan, grandmothers breastfeed malnourished grandchildren 28 May 2019
:: The Government of Japan and WHO donate six ambulances to boost health service delivery in South Sudan 28 May 2019

Yemen
:: Donations from Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates provide access to health care for millions in Yemen
27 May 2019, Aden/Sana’a — The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed its gratitude to Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates for a grant of US$ 20 million, which will support ongoing efforts to stop the spread of cholera in Yemen…

Bangladesh – Rohingya crisis – No new digest announcements identified
Mozambique floods – No new digest announcements identified
Myanmar – No new digest announcements identified
Nigeria – No new digest announcements identified
Somalia – No new digest announcements identified
Syrian Arab Republic – No new digest announcements identified

::::::

WHO Grade 2 Emergencies [to 1 Jun 2019]

Libya
:: Photo essay: WHO emergency teams at work in Libya 26 May 2019

occupied Palestinian territory
:: The Gaza trauma response: One-year analysis of trauma injuries in Gaza 29 May 2019
:: Overcoming barriers to health care access in the West Bank with mobile clinics 27 May 2019

Brazil (in Portugese) – No new digest announcements identified
Cameroon – No new digest announcements identified
Central African Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Cyclone Idai – No new digest announcements identified
Ethiopia – No new digest announcements identified
Iran floods 2019 – No new digest announcements identified
Iraq – 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
Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Ukraine – No new digest announcements identified
Zimbabwe – No new digest announcements identified

::::::

WHO Grade 1 Emergencies [to 1 Jun 2019]

Afghanistan – No new digest announcements identified
Angola – No new digest announcements identified
Chad – No new digest announcements identified
Djibouti – No new digest announcements identified
Indonesia – Sulawesi earthquake 2018 – 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

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

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: Situation Report 3: Recent Developments in Northwestern Syria (as of 31 May 2019)
HIGHLIGHTS
:: Over the past week, airstrikes, shelling and ground fighting intensified across the demilitarized zone in northwest Syria, exacerbating the impact of the conflict on civilians, civilian infrastructure, and humanitarian service provision in northern Hama, southern Idleb, and western Aleppo governorates.
:: Almost 270,000 displacements from northern Hama and southern Idleb governorates were recorded between 1 and 22 May.
:: A total of 24 health facilities, 35 schools, four facilities providing protection services, three IDP settlements, and one refugee camp were reportedly affected by hostilities in recent weeks…

:: Syria: Humanitarian Response in Al Hol camp, Situation Report No. 4 – As of 29 May 2019 [EN/AR]

Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

::::::

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

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

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 25 May 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 25 May 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]

DRC – Ebola

United Nations strengthens Ebola response in Democratic Republic of the Congo
Statement – Kinshasa/Butembo
23 May 2019
With the Ebola epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo now in its tenth month and the number of new cases increasing in recent weeks, the United Nations announced today measures to strengthen its response and end the outbreak.

The Ebola epidemic has claimed more than 1,200 lives and the risk of spread to other provinces in the eastern Congo as well as neighbouring countries remains very high. A third of those who have fallen ill are children, which is a higher proportion than in previous outbreaks.

Under the leadership of the Government and Congolese communities, with support from the UN and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the response has contained Ebola in parts of Ituri and North Kivu provinces. But ongoing insecurity and community mistrust in the response continue to hamper access to communities. This is hindering efforts by WHO and the Ministry of Health to detect sick people and ensure access to treatment and vaccination, ultimately leading to more intense Ebola transmission.

In view of the increasingly complex environment, the UN in partnership with the Government and all partners is now strengthening its political engagement and operational support to negotiate access to communities; increasing support for humanitarian coordination; and bolstering preparedness and readiness planning for Goma and surrounding countries. WHO is adapting public health strategies to identify and treat people as quickly as possible; expanding vaccination to reach and protect more people; and redoubling work to end transmission in health facilities.

The UN Secretary-General has established a strengthened coordination and support mechanism in the epicenter of the outbreak, Butembo.

MONUSCO Deputy UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General (DSRSG) David Gressly has been appointed UN Emergency Ebola Response Coordinator (EERC) in the Ebola affected areas of the DRC. Mr. Gressly, who brings a wealth of humanitarian leadership and political and security experience to the role, will report to the SRSG, Leila Zerrougui. He will oversee the coordination of international support for the Ebola response and work to ensure that an enabling environment—particularly security and political—is in place to allow the Ebola response to be even more effective.

Mr. Gressly will work closely with WHO, which will continue to lead all health operations and technical support activities to the Government response to the epidemic. Dr. Ibrahima Socé Fall, Assistant Director-General, Emergency Response, who has been in Butembo since end-March, is leading the WHO response in DRC. WHO will also continue to coordinate public health interventions that are being implemented by other UN partners.

“The Ebola response is working in an operating environment of unprecedented complexity for a public health emergency—insecurity and political protests have led to periodic disruptions in our efforts to fight the disease. Therefore, an enhanced UN-wide response is required to overcome these operating constraints and this includes moving senior leadership and operational decision making to the epicenter of the epidemic in Butembo. We have no time to lose,” said DSRSG Gressly.

WHO’s Dr. Fall said: “This system-wide and international support is exactly what WHO has been calling for. We know that the outbreak response must be owned by the local population, and this new approach reflects what they have asked for: better security for patients and health workers, wider access to vaccination, and a more humane face to the response.” Dr. Fall has been working alongside Dr. Michel Yao, the WHO Ebola Incident Manager who has been in place since August 2018. In Kinshasa, WHO has also appointed a special representative to the Ebola Response, Dr. Peter Graaff, to coordinate with partners there.

Additional UN measures will bolster the critical work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and agencies already on the ground, including UNICEF. Working with NGOs, UNICEF leads community engagement activities; provides psychosocial interventions; and helps prevent infection through water, sanitation and hygiene services.

Financial planning and reporting will also be strengthened and efforts will be accelerated to ensure sustainable and predictable funding required for the Ebola strategic response plan considering the ongoing needs.

DPRK – Sanctions Exemption

U.N. grants sanctions exemption for UNICEF’s aid projects in N. Korea
Yonhap News Agency
SEOUL, May 21 (Yonhap) — The U.N. Security Council has granted a sanctions exemption to allow the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to carry out aid programs in North Korea to improve the health and nutrition of people in the impoverished country, according to the U.N. website.
The exemption, granted on April 11, paves the way for UNICEF to import items to deliver safe water supplies to communities and enable effective treatment at hospitals, especially for malnourished children and mothers.

The approved items worth some US$5.75 million in total include emergency health kits, wheelchairs and electronic devices, a document on the website showed.

The most expensive set of materials was vaccine cold chain equipment from Denmark worth $3.87 million. UNICEF said the items will be used to store vaccines for around 355,000 children under 1 year of age and 362,000 pregnant women.

UNICEF said its staff will conduct regular monitoring to ensure the goods are used for their intended purposes.

Including the latest approval, the total number of humanitarian exemptions related to North Korea currently in effect stands at 22. The exemptions are valid for six months.

Humanitarian activities are not banned under international sanctions, but related materials are subject to sanctions waivers from the U.N.
Principle of Evolving Capacities under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, just published in the International Journal of Child Rights.

GBV in Humanitarian Crises

Oslo Conference on Ending Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Humanitarian Crises: Co-Host Outcome Statement
24 May 2019
The Governments of Norway, Iraq, Somalia and the United Arab Emirates, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), with invaluable support from Norwegian Church Aid, hosted the international conference “Ending Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Humanitarian Crises” in Oslo, Norway on 23-24 May. This is the first time States, the United Nations and the ICRC have come together to end sexual and genderbased violence (SGBV) in humanitarian crises, in conflict and disaster.

The conference brought together SGBV survivors and specialists, members of 167 national and 76 international civil society organizations, the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, representatives from 100 nations, global leaders and regional and international organizations. It was agreed that strengthening SGBV prevention and response must be a humanitarian priority. Participants aimed to mobilize stronger political commitment and raise financial resources to prevent and protect people at risk of SGBV in humanitarian crises. The event re-energized the commitment of all participants to combat gender inequality and scale up prevention and response to SGBV, always taking a survivor-centred approach. It gave visibility and recognition to the key role of national and local organizations, including local women’s organizations.

In addition to the close to 50 actors – States, UN agencies, NGOs and others – which submitted written political, policy and best practice commitments, many others outlined specific measures and political will to end SGBV. The several hundred commitments made relate to standards and legal frameworks, operational support, SGBV prevention and response services, leadership and coordination, and others which are specific to country contexts and areas of work. Particular focus was given to implementation of legal frameworks and strategies, as well as an increase in operational support to ensure that survivor-centred services and care are available in all crises. Media also committed to amplify the voices of women, not only as victims but as agents of change, to avoid sensational reporting.

States committed to provide a total of over US$ 363 million to SGBV prevention and response in 2019 and beyond. In addition, we take note of generous unearmarked and core funding to humanitarian partners working to prevent and respond to SGBV, as well as funding to the Central Emergency Response Fund and country-based pool funds….

[Excerpt]
…In order to put survivors at the centre, we agreed that:
:: Women and girls are key actors in humanitarian response and must be acknowledged as powerful agents of change in their own lives and communities. Local women are often the first responders to SGBV in emergencies and are at the forefront of SGBV programming.

:: Women and women’s organizations may shift power dynamics in communities in positive ways and challenge norms that condone discrimination against women and girls and the violation of their human rights.

:: Local women’s organizations, including those working with women with disabilities, must be engaged in identifying protection risks, finding solutions, strategic planning and decision-making across all sectors.

:: Adolescent girls and women and girls with disabilities are at particularly high risk of sexual and gender-based violence and deserve particular attention. Children born of war often experience discrimination and stigmatization by family and society.

:: While the need for continued emphasis on addressing SGBV affecting women and girls cannot be overstated, we also must take into consideration the needs of male survivors of sexual violence, as gaps in services have become more apparent.

:: We need to improve access to gender-sensitive, age-appropriate, non-discriminatory and comprehensive healthcare, including sexual and reproductive health and psychosocial support, and we need to ensure the dignity and safety of survivors. The conference stressed the importance of confidentiality and privacy, the need to end the social stigmatization of survivors, and an increased focus on livelihoods…

Governance – Artificial Intelligence

Forty-two countries adopt new OECD Principles on Artificial Intelligence
22/05/2019 –
OECD and partner countries formally adopted the first set of intergovernmental policy guidelines on Artificial Intelligence (AI) today, agreeing to uphold international standards that aim to ensure AI systems are designed to be robust, safe, fair and trustworthy.

The OECD’s 36 member countries, along with Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Peru and Romania, signed up to the OECD Principles on Artificial Intelligence at the Organisation’s annual Ministerial Council Meeting, taking place today and tomorrow in Paris and focused this year on “Harnessing the Digital Transition for Sustainable Development”. Elaborated with guidance from an expert group formed by more than 50 members from governments, academia, business, civil society, international bodies, the tech community and trade unions, the Principles comprise five values-based principles for the responsible deployment of trustworthy AI and five recommendations for public policy and international co-operation. They aim to guide governments, organisations and individuals in designing and running AI systems in a way that puts people’s best interests first and ensuring that designers and operators are held accountable for their proper functioning.

“Artificial Intelligence is revolutionising the way we live and work, and offering extraordinary benefits for our societies and economies. Yet, it raises new challenges and is also fuelling anxieties and ethical concerns. This puts the onus on governments to ensure that AI systems are designed in a way that respects our values and laws, so people can trust that their safety and privacy will be paramount,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría. “These Principles will be a global reference point for trustworthy AI so that we can harness its opportunities in a way that delivers the best outcomes for all.” (Read the full speech.)

The AI Principles have the backing of the European Commission, whose high-level expert group has produced Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI, and they will be part of the discussion at the forthcoming G20 Leaders’ Summit in Japan. The OECD’s digital policy experts will build on the Principles in the months ahead to produce practical guidance for implementing them.

While not legally binding, existing OECD Principles in other policy areas have proved highly influential in setting international standards and helping governments to design national legislation. For example, the OECD Privacy Guidelines, which set limits to the collection and use of personal data, underlie many privacy laws and frameworks in the United States, Europe and Asia. The G20-endorsed OECD Principles of Corporate Governance have become an international benchmark for policy makers, investors, companies and other stakeholders working on institutional and regulatory frameworks for corporate governance. Download the AI Principles in full.

In summary, the AI Principles state that:
[1] AI should benefit people and the planet by driving inclusive growth, sustainable development and well-being.

[2] AI systems should be designed in a way that respects the rule of law, human rights, democratic values and diversity, and they should include appropriate safeguards – for example, enabling human intervention where necessary – to ensure a fair and just society.

[3] There should be transparency and responsible disclosure around AI systems to ensure that people understand when they are engaging with them and can challenge outcomes.

[4] AI systems must function in a robust, secure and safe way throughout their lifetimes, and potential risks should be continually assessed and managed.

[5] Organisations and individuals developing, deploying or operating AI systems should be held accountable for their proper functioning in line with the above principles.

The OECD recommends that governments:
:: Facilitate public and private investment in research & development to spur innovation in
trustworthy AI.
:: Foster accessible AI ecosystems with digital infrastructure and technologies, and mechanisms to
share data and knowledge.
:: Create a policy environment that will open the way to deployment of trustworthy AI systems.
:: Equip people with the skills for AI and support workers to ensure a fair transition.
:: Co-operate across borders and sectors to share information, develop standards and work towards
responsible stewardship of AI.

Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict [PoC]

Twenty years of protection of civilians at the UN Security Council
ODI Briefing papers | May 2019 | Sarah Adamczyk
Exploring the current state of the protection of civilians in armed conflict agenda and proposing steps to help close the gap between law and action.
A century ago, civilians represented approximately 10%–15% of total casualties in armed conflict. By the Second World War, this had risen to nearly 50%, and by the 1990s civilians accounted for between 80% and 85% of casualties in armed conflict, a trend that has continued, if not intensified, into the twenty-first century. Civilians are not simply being caught up in fighting, but are increasingly directly targeted.

This HPG Policy Brief explores the current state of the protection of civilians in armed conflict (PoC) agenda and proposes constructive steps to help close the gap between law and action and prepare for the next 20 years of PoC policy and practice. It draws on interviews with more than 35 stakeholders engaged in PoC discussions and policy, including UN Security Council (UNSC) members, other UN member states, UN staff, local and international non-governmental organisations, human rights and peacebuilding organisations and key experts and academics.

Key messages
:: Twenty years on from the first UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution on the protection of civilians in armed conflict (PoC), civilians continue to account for the vast majority of conflict casualties. The problem lies not with the current normative framework, but with the translation and implementation of these policies into practice.

:: The UNSC has a range of mechanisms and procedures for engaging with the PoC agenda along with enforcement tools to ensure compliance with international law, yet often lacks the political will to do so.

:: Protection of civilians faces substantial challenges, related both to changes in the geopolitical context in which conflicts take place, and to more specific difficulties around definitional clarity, fragmentation of the PoC agenda and the lack of inclusive and sustained engagement.

:: To translate the normative progress made over the past 20 years into demonstrable improvements in civilian protection outcomes, the UNSC and the wider international community must advocate for stronger reporting on civilian harm, more robust accountability and enforcement, consistent and transparent use of vetoes within the UNSC and implementation of national level policy frameworks.

:: Regarding UN peacekeeping operations, the UNSC should provide greater support through increased clarity in mandates and expectations, matched by commensurate resources and funding.

Language

A Style Guide Focused on Dignity and Precision
MacArthur Foundation – Grantee Research
May 24, 2019
With the specific intention of promoting dignity and precision in journalism, the new Global Press Style Guide establishes guidelines for referring to people and places around the world. The guide focuses on accurate word use and suggests eliminating words like “ethnic”, “millennial”, “Global South”, which are inconsistently applied, misleading, or politically charged, in favor of more precise description. A MacArthur grantee, the Global Press Institute exists to create a more just and informed world by training and then employing local journalists to produce ethical, accurate news coverage from the world’s least-covered places.

Example from the online Global Press Style Guide
asylum seeker/asylee
Rule:
Use the term asylum seeker to refer to someone who has formally applied for asylum in a foreign country. Use the term asylee to refer to someone who has received admittance into a foreign country. There are no globally-applied standards used to grant asylum. Both terms should be used in accordance with local laws in countries relevant to a story’s news value.
Note that these terms are not interchangeable with refugee or related words. Add context, including sociopolitical realities in a source’s home country and in the country where that source seeks asylum.
Rationale:
Terms related to asylum are often misapplied. Precise, context-rich references are required for accuracy and reader clarity.
SEE ALSO: internally displaced person, refugee

Featured Journal Content

The International Journal of Children’s Rights
Volume 27 (2019): Issue 2 (May 2019)
The Principle of Evolving Capacities under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child
By: Sheila Varadan
Pages: 306–338
Publication Date: 10 May 2019
Abstract
The phrase “evolving capacities of the child” appears twice in the uncrc, under articles 5 and 14(2) in the framework of parental guidance. Yet the term “evolving capacities” appears over 80 times in the General Comments of the crc Committee. This paper examines the Committee’s use of “evolving capacities” in its General Comments, suggesting that the term has been treated as an enabling principle, an interpretative principle, and a policy principle within the framework of the uncrc. A broad principle of evolving capacities has thus emerged under the uncrc that informs not only the framework of parental guidance, but the whole of the Convention. However, the crc Committee does not recognise “evolving capacities” as a general principle or otherwise under the uncrc. This paper examines why this might be, and concludes that more consideration needs to be given to the role of “evolving capacities” as a principle under the uncrc.

Emergencies

POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
Polio this week as of 15 May 2019
:: Health ministers and delegates attending the World Health Assembly this week in Geneva welcomed the new Polio Endgame Strategy 2019-2023, reiterating the need to fully implement and fund all aspects of the strategy to secure a lasting polio-free world.  The five-year plan spells out the tactics and tools to wipe out the poliovirus from its last remaining reservoirs, including innovative strategies to vaccinate hard-to-reach children and expanded partnerships with the Expanded Programme on Immunization community and health emergencies.

:: Taking advantage of the critical mass of global leaders, the Global Polio Eradication Initiative hosted an event for polio eradicators, partners and stakeholders on 21 May 2019.  The event, To Succeed by 2023—Reaching Every Last Child, celebrated the GPEI’s new Polio Endgame Strategy 2019-2023. Read more here.

:: The GPEI is committed to advancing gender equality and the empowerment of women in its efforts to eradicate polio. On 11 May 2019, the GPEI Polio Oversight Board officially endorsed the GPEI Gender Equality Strategy, 2019-2023 with the objective to promote the integration of a gender perspective into different aspects of the GPEI’s programming, to support countries in addressing gender-related barriers to polio vaccination to increase coverage and increase women’s meaningful participation in the polio programme. Read strategy here. Watch an animation explaining the
relations between gender and polio eradication here.

:: Watch Coffee with Polio Experts: Sini Ramo, Gender Analyst as she talks about the role of gender in determining health goals—including access to polio vaccines— and GPEI’s part in integrating gender equality and mainstreaming in its work to end polio.

Summary of new viruses this week:
:: Afghanistan—one wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1)-positive environmental sample;
:: Pakistan— two WPV1 cases and seven WPV1-positive environmental samples;
:: Niger—one circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) isolated from a healthy community contact;
:: Nigeria—One case classified cVDPV2 based on a positive contact and three cVDPV2-positive environmental samples.

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

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

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies [to 25 May 2019]

Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: United Nations strengthens Ebola response in Democratic Republic of the Congo
23 May 2019
:: Taking risks to provide care in a conflict zone 22 May 2019
:: 42: Situation report on the Ebola outbreak in North Kivu 21 May 2019
:: Disease Outbreak News (DONs) Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo
23 May 2019
[See Ebola DRC above for detail]

Bangladesh – Rohingya crisis
:: Rohingya crisis: WHO introduces new software for epidemiologists to control disease outbreak
Cox’s Bazar (18-21 March 2019) – Over the past week, WHO and the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN) have trained public health experts in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, in using a newly developed piece of software called Go.Data. The training is part of the global roll-out of Go.Data, a software which allows conducting outbreak investigations, including field data collection, contact tracing and visualization of disease chains of transmission. The new software was developed in collaboration with GOARN, WHO and other partner organizations…

Nigeria
:: Strengthening the healthcare system in north-east Nigeria – a priority for WHO 22 May 2019
:: Over 850,000 Nigerians in 12 States at risk of poisoning from mercury use 20 May 2019

Syrian Arab Republic
:: Supporting Syrian refugees in Turkey with the health services and guidance they need
20 May 2019

Mozambique floods – No new digest announcements identified
Myanmar – No new digest announcements identified
Somalia – No new digest announcements identified
South Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

::::::

WHO Grade 2 Emergencies [to 25 May 2019]

Libya
:: WHO distributes urgently needed medical supplies as Libya conflict continues
21 May 2019

Brazil (in Portugese)
:: Organização Mundial da Saúde certifica Argélia e Argentina como livres da malária
22 de maio de 2019 – Argélia e Argentina foram oficialmente reconhecidas pela Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS) como livres da malária. A certificação é concedida quando um país prova que interrompeu a transmissão autóctone da doença por pelo menos três anos consecutivos.

MERS-CoV
:: MERS situation update, April 2019
At the end of April 2019, a total of 2428 laboratory-confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), including 838 associated deaths (case–fatality rate: 34.5%) were reported globally; the majority of these cases were reported from Saudi Arabia (2037 cases, including 760 related deaths with a case–fatality rate of 37.3%). During the month of April, a total of 29 laboratory-confirmed cases of MERS were reported globally. All the 29 cases were reported from Saudi Arabia with 11 associated deaths.

occupied Palestinian territory
:: Health attacks continue during Gaza’s Great March of Return 20 May 2019

Cameroon – No new digest announcements identified
Central African Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Cyclone Idai – No new digest announcements identified
Ethiopia – No new digest announcements identified
Iran floods 2019 – No new digest announcements identified
Iraq – No new digest announcements identified
Malawi floods – No new digest announcements identified
Niger – No new digest announcements identified
Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Ukraine – No new digest announcements identified
Zimbabwe – No new digest announcements identified

::::::

WHO Grade 1 Emergencies [to 25 May 2019]

Afghanistan – No new digest announcements identified
Angola – No new digest announcements identified
Chad – No new digest announcements identified
Djibouti – No new digest announcements identified
Indonesia – Sulawesi earthquake 2018 – 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

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

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: Situation Report 3: Recent Developments in Northwestern Syria (as of 24 May 2019)
HIGHLIGHTS
:: Ongoing conflict in northwest Syria continues to impact civilians, civilian infrastructure, and humanitarian service provision in the deescalation zone of northern Hama, southern Idleb governorates, and the countryside of Aleppo.
:: More than 200,000 people were displaced between 1 and 16 May, while 20 health facilities, three IDP settlements, and one refugee camp were reportedly affected by hostilities. This number is in addition to those people displaced prior to that date. There are unconfirmed local reports that up to 25 schools have been affected since the beginning of May.
:: The humanitarian response is ongoing with tens of thousands of people being provided food, protection, nutrition, health, shelter, education and WASH services, while critical gaps remain across sectors.

Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

::::::

UN OCHA – Corporate Emergencies
When the USG/ERC declares a Corporate Emergency Response, all OCHA offices, branches and sections provide their full support to response activities both at HQ and in the field.
CYCLONE IDAI and Kenneth
::  25 May 2019 Mozambique: Cyclone Idai & Floods Situation Report No. 22 (As of 20 May 2019)
:: 24 May 2019 Zimbabwe: Emergency Situation Report No. 8, As of 22 May 2019

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 18 May 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 18 May 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 Rights – Governance
.

2019 Digital Rights Corporate Accountability Index
Ranking Digital Rights [ a non-profit research initiative housed at the New America
Foundation’s Open Technology Institute]
May 2019 :: 104 pages

Executive Summary [excerpts]
The 2019 Ranking Digital Rights Corporate Accountability Index evaluated 24 of the world’s most powerful internet, mobile ecosystem, and telecommunications companies on their publicly disclosed commitments and policies affecting freedom of expression and privacy. These companies held a combined market capitalization of nearly USD 5 trillion.1 Their products and services are used by a majority of the world’s 4.3 billion internet users.2..

People have a right to know. Companies have a responsibility to show. The 2019 RDR Index evaluated 24 companies on 35 indicators examining disclosed commitments, policies, and practices affecting freedom of expression and privacy, including corporate governance and accountability mechanisms. RDR Index scores represent the extent to which companies are meeting minimum standards. Yet few companies scored above 50 percent. While the results reveal some progress, many problems have persisted since the first RDR Index was launched in 2015.

Progress: Most companies have made meaningful efforts to improve. Of the 22 companies evaluated in the previous RDR Index, 19 companies disclosed more about their commitments, policies, and practices affecting users’ freedom of expression and privacy. Many companies improved their privacy-related policies. New privacy regulations in the European Union and elsewhere drove many companies to improve /disclosures about their handling of user information. Some companies improved their governance and oversight of risks to users. More companies improved their public commitment to respect users’ human rights, 2019 RDR Corporate Accountability Index 4 and took steps to demonstrate oversight and accountability around risks to freedom of expression and privacy.

Persistent problems: People around the world still lack basic information about who controls their ability to connect, speak online, or access information, or who has the ability to access their personal information under what circumstances. Governments are responding to serious threats perpetrated through networked communications technologies. While some regulations have improved company disclosures, policies, and practices, other regulations have made it harder for companies to meet global human rights standards for transparency, responsible practice, and accountability in relation to
freedom of expression and privacy. Even when faced with challenging regulatory environments in many countries, companies must take more affirmative steps to respect users’ rights.

PRIVACY: Most companies still fail to disclose important aspects of how they handle and secure personal data. Despite new regulations in the EU and elsewhere, most of the world’s internet users are still deprived of basic facts about who can access their personal information under what circumstances, and how to control its collection and use. Few companies were found to disclose more than required by law.

GOVERNANCE: Threats to users caused or exacerbated by companies’ business models and deployment of new technologies are not well understood or managed. Most companies are not prepared to identify and mitigate risks such as those associated with targeted advertising and automated decision-making. Nor do companies offer adequate grievance and remedy mechanisms to ensure that harms can be reported and rectified.

EXPRESSION: Transparency about the policing of online speech remains inadequate. As companies struggle to address the harms caused by hate speech and disinformation, they are not sufficiently transparent about who is able to restrict or manipulate content appearing on or transmitted through their platforms and services, how, and under what authority. Insufficient transparency makes it easier for private parties, governments, and companies themselves to abuse their power over online speech and avoid accountability.

GOVERNMENT DEMANDS: Transparency about demands that governments make of companies is also uneven and inadequate. Companies disclosed insufficient information about how they handle government demands for access to user data, and to restrict speech. As a result, in most countries, government censorship and surveillance powers are not subject to adequate oversight to prevent
abuse or maintain public accountability….

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Ranking Companies on Digital Rights
MacArthur Foundation Grantee Research
May 16, 2019
The 2019 Digital Rights Corporate Accountability Index ranks 24 digital communications companies on 35 indicators of freedom of expression, governance, and privacy. The analysis found most companies had improved in transparency for privacy policies, but they continue to have inadequate governance of new technologies and business models and unclear, inconsistent policies around harmful speech. The Index, supported by MacArthur Foundation, recommends companies go beyond compliance with government regulations and commit to full transparency, more consistent oversight, and consistent applications grievance and remedy mechanism for users…

The 2019 RDR Index ranked 24 companies on 35 indicators across three categories evaluating their disclosure of commitments, policies, and practices affecting freedom of expression and privacy. The RDR Index evaluates policies of the parent company, operating company, and those of selected services (depending on company structure).

Read more about the methodology, research process, and how we score each company:
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