Featured Journal Content – Heritage Stewardship

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PNAS – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States
of America
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/
[Accessed 25 Aug 2018]
A monumental cemetery built by eastern Africa’s first herders near Lake Turkana, Kenya
Elisabeth A. Hildebrand, Katherine M. Grillo, Elizabeth A. Sawchuk, Susan K. Pfeiffer, Lawrence B. Conyers, Steven T. Goldstein, Austin Chad Hill, Anneke Janzen, Carla E. Klehm, Mark Helper, Purity Kiura, Emmanuel Ndiema, Cecilia Ngugi, John J. Shea, and Hong Wang
PNAS August 20, 2018. 201721975; published ahead of print August 20, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1721975115
Significance
Archaeologists have long sought monumental architecture’s origins among societies that were becoming populous, sedentary, and territorial. In sub-Saharan Africa, however, dispersed pastoralists pioneered monumental construction. Eastern Africa’s earliest monumental site was built by the region’s first herders ∼5,000–4,300 y ago as the African Humid Period ended and Lake Turkana’s shoreline receded. Lothagam North Pillar Site was a massive communal cemetery with megalithic pillars, stone circles, cairns, and a mounded platform accommodating an estimated several hundred burials. Its mortuary cavity held individuals of mixed ages/sexes, with diverse adornments. Burial placement and ornamentation do not suggest social hierarchy. Amidst profound landscape changes and the socioeconomic uncertainties of a moving pastoral frontier, monumentality was an important unifying force for eastern Africa’s first herders.

Abstract
Monumental architecture is a prime indicator of social complexity, because it requires many people to build a conspicuous structure commemorating shared beliefs. Examining monumentality in different environmental and economic settings can reveal diverse reasons for people to form larger social units and express unity through architectural display. In multiple areas of Africa, monumentality developed as mobile herders created large cemeteries and practiced other forms of commemoration. The motives for such behavior in sparsely populated, unpredictable landscapes may differ from well-studied cases of monumentality in predictable environments with sedentary populations. Here we report excavations and ground-penetrating radar surveys at the earliest and most massive monumental site in eastern Africa. Lothagam North Pillar Site was a communal cemetery near Lake Turkana (northwest Kenya) constructed 5,000 years ago by eastern Africa’s earliest pastoralists. Inside a platform ringed by boulders, a 119.5-m2 mortuary cavity accommodated an estimated minimum of 580 individuals. People of diverse ages and both sexes were buried, and ornaments accompanied most individuals. There is no evidence for social stratification. The uncertainties of living on a “moving frontier” of early herding—exacerbated by dramatic environmental shifts—may have spurred people to strengthen social networks that could provide information and assistance. Lothagam North Pillar Site would have served as both an arena for interaction and a tangible reminder of shared identity.

Emergencies

POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
Polio this week as of 23 August 2018 [GPEI]
Summary of new viruses this week:
Afghanistan – two new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) positive environmental samples. Democratic Republic of the Congo – circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 detected in the stool samples of two healthy contacts of two different negative AFP cases.
Nigeria – one new case of cVDPV2, and two new cVDPV2 positive environmental samples. Somalia – one new case of cVDPV2. See country sections below for more details.

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WHO Grade 3 Emergencies  [to 25 Aug 2018]
The Syrian Arab Republic
:: Critical funding shortage threatens WHO’s response in northwest Syria
20 August 2018 – As the conflict in northwest Syria escalates, WHO is appealing for US$ 11 million to provide life-saving health care to people in parts of Aleppo, Hama, Idleb and Lattakia governorates.
Hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom have been previously displaced, may be displaced yet again as they flee growing insecurity and violence. The situation in Idleb is particularly dire; more than half a million people have been displaced to and within the governorate since January 2017…

Iraq  – No new announcements identified
Nigeria  – No new announcements identified
South Sudan  – No new announcements identified
Yemen  – No new announcements identified
 
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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies  [to 25 Aug 2018]
Myanmar 
:: Major outbreaks averted, thousands of lives saved; but Rohingyas continue to be vulnerable: WHO  24 August 2018
Ukraine
:: Measles cases hit record high in the European Region  20 August 2018

Cameroon  – No new announcements identified
Central African Republic  – No new announcements identified.
Democratic Republic of the Congo  – No new announcements identified
Ethiopia  – No new announcements identified.
Libya – No new announcements identified.
Niger  – No new 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. 
Yemen
:: Yemen Humanitarian Update Covering 9 – 15 August 2018 |

Syrian Arab Republic   – No new 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.
Ethiopia  – No new announcements identified.
Somalia   – No new announcements identified.

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 18 August 2018

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

The Sentinel_ period ending 18 Aug 2018

Contents
:: Week in Review  [See selected posts just below]
:: Key Agency/IGO/Governments Watch – Selected Updates from 30+ entities
:: 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

Kofi Atta Annan, diplomat, born 8 April 1938; died 18 August 2018

Please also see statements by a number of UN agencies, IGOs and other organizations throughout this edition.

The Elders mourn the loss of Kofi Annan
The Elders are shocked and deeply saddened at the passing of their dear friend and colleague Kofi Annan, who was the globally admired and respected Chair of The Elders.
Press release 17 August 2018
The Elders are shocked and deeply saddened at the passing of their dear friend and colleague Kofi Annan, who was the globally admired and respected Chair of The Elders.

A founding member of The Elders, Kofi Annan succeeded Archbishop Desmond Tutu as Chair in May 2013. He played a vital role in leading The Elders’ work, and was a voice of great authority and wisdom in public and private, most recently on visits to South Africa and Zimbabwe in July 2018.

As the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006, he was a constant advocate for human rights, development and the rule of law. The first Secretary-General to reach the post from within an organisation he served for over 40 years, Kofi Annan had a life-long commitment to the cause of peace and was known for his staunch opposition to military aggression, notably the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

The great respect for him and his essential work was illustrated when he, together with the United Nations as a whole, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001.

Gro Harlem Brundtland, Deputy Chair of The Elders, said:
“We are devastated at the loss of our dear friend and fellow Elder. Kofi was a strong and inspiring presence to us all, and The Elders would not be where it is today without his leadership. Throughout his life, Kofi worked unceasingly to improve the lives of millions of people around the world. While we mourn his passing today, we resolve as Elders to continue to uphold his values and legacy into the future”.

In retirement, Kofi Annan continued where he had left off at the United Nations, founding and leading the work of the Kofi Annan Foundation, based in Geneva, and maintaining a hectic international schedule. His quiet advice on how best to defuse impending crises was in constant demand from all corners of the globe, in particular from Africa.

All of the Elders and their Advisory Council and staff team members send their heartfelt condolences to Kofi’s family: his wife Nane, his children and grandchildren. They have lost a devoted husband, father and grandfather.

The world has lost an inspiring figure – but one whose achievements will never be forgotten, and whose commitment to peace and justice will endure to inspire future generations.

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Opinion by Kofi Annan 30 July 2018
Donald Trump’s deal must put Palestinian rights centre stage
Writing in the Financial Times, Kofi Annan welcomes fresh approaches to peacemaking but warns that any deal that does not address the root causes of the conflict will be doomed to failure.

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UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on the dynamic, irreplaceable Kofi Annan
18 August 2018
“I am grief-stricken over the death of Kofi Annan. Kofi was humanity’s best example, the epitome, of human decency and grace. In a world now filled with leaders who are anything but that, our loss, the world’s loss becomes even more painful.

He was a friend to thousands and a leader of millions. To me — like to so many in the UN, he was my immediate boss when I was thirty-one years of age — and what a boss! He was always courageous, direct in speech, but never discourteous — never discourteous. Later, when I was an ambassador at the UN he inspired us, by being a dynamic and charismatic leader in his capacity as Secretary-General. And most of all, he was a friend and counsel — to me and to so many others. Whenever — as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, I felt isolated and alone politically (which, in the last four years, was often) I would go for long walks with him around Geneva — and listen.

When I told him once how everyone was grumbling about me, he looked at me — like a father would look at a son — and said sternly: “you’re doing the right thing, let them grumble.” Then he grinned!

There are some human beings who will seem irreplaceable to us, rare human beings. Kofi Annan is high among them.
Goodbye my dear friend … goodbye Kofi.”

Human Rights – Governance

Secretary-General Appoints Michelle Bachelet of Chile United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
10 August 2018
SG/A/1824*-BIO/5114*-HR/5405*
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, following approval by the General Assembly, has appointed Michelle Bachelet of Chile the next United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. She will succeed Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein of Jordan, to whom the Secretary-General is grateful for his commitment and dedicated service to the United Nations.

Ms. Bachelet ended her second four-year term as President of Chile in March 2018, having already held the position between 2006 and 2010. The first woman elected to Chile’s highest office, after her first term, she joined the United Nations as the first Executive Director of the newly established United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women).

A long-time human rights champion and ground-breaking leader, Ms. Bachelet is a paediatrician who began her Government career as an adviser in the Ministry of Health, rising quickly to become the first woman to lead Chile’s Health Ministry in 2000 and its Defence Ministry in 2002.

Ms. Bachelet became involved in Chilean human rights activism in the early 1970s. She and her parents were political prisoners, and her father, a general in the air force, died in prison. After their release, Ms. Bachelet and her mother spent several years in exile. She returned to Chile in 1979, finished school and became a paediatrician and public health advocate.

The holder of a medical degree, Ms. Bachelet also studied military strategy at Chile’s National Academy of Strategy and Policy and at the Inter-American Defense College in the United States.

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Zeid warmly welcomes appointment of new UN Human Rights Chief
GENEVA (10 August 2018) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein on Friday warmly welcomed the UN General Assembly’s appointment of Michelle Bachelet to succeed him when his mandate comes to an end on 31 August 2018.

“I am truly delighted by the appointment of Michelle Bachelet as the next UN High Commissioner for Human Rights,” Zeid said. “She has all the attributes – courage, perseverance, passion, and a deep commitment to human rights – to make her a successful High Commissioner. The UN Human Rights Office looks forward to welcoming her and working under her leadership for the promotion and protection of all human rights, for everyone, everywhere.”

Bachelet most recently served as President of Chile (from 2014 to 2018, and 2006 to 2010). She was the first Executive Director of UN-Women between 2010 and 2013. She has also served as Minister of Defence and Minister of Health in Chile. The UN General Assembly today approved the UN Secretary-General’s appointment of Bachelet for a four-year term as High Commissioner.

Michelle Bachelet will be the seventh High Commissioner since the Office was created in 1993. Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein has been in office since 1 September 2014. His predecessors are: José Ayala-Lasso (1994-97); Mary Robinson (1997-2002); Sergio Vieira de Mello (2002-03); Louise Arbour (2004-08); and Navi Pillay (2008-14).

Irregular Migration/Deportations – Children

Children returned to Central America and Mexico at heightened risk of violence, stigma and deprivation
UNICEF Child Alert report shows dangerous journeys and deportations intensify root causes of irregular migration

NEW YORK/PANAMA CITY, 16 August 2018 – Extreme violence, poverty and lack of opportunity are not only powerful drivers of irregular child migration from northern Central America (El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras) and Mexico, but also consequences of deportations from Mexico and the United States – UNICEF said today in a new report. The children’s agency also urged governments to work together in implementing solutions shown to help alleviate the root causes of irregular and forced migration and safeguard the wellbeing of refugee and migrant children along the journey.

Uprooted in Central America and Mexico examines the array of challenges and dangers faced by migrant and refugee children and families during the arduous process of migration and return.
“As this report shows, millions of children in the region are victims of poverty, indifference, violence, forced migration and the fear of deportation,” said María Cristina Perceval, UNICEF Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. “In many cases, children who are sent back to their countries of origin have no home to return to, end up deep in debt or are targeted by gangs. Being returned to impossible situations makes it more likely that they will migrate again.”

More specifically, the report’s findings include:
Poverty – El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras are among the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere, with 44, 68 and 74 per cent of children living in poverty in each country respectively. Poor children and families often take out loans to finance their irregular migration to the U.S., leaving them in an even more precarious financial situation when they are apprehended and sent back without money and unable to repay their loans. This economic pressure can leave children and families without homes or the resources to pay for essentials.

Violence – Gang violence is pervasive in many communities across northern Central America, with children targeted for recruitment, abuse and even murder. Between 2008 and 2016 in Honduras, for instance, roughly one child fell victim to homicide each day. Likewise, in El Salvador, 365 children were murdered in 2017, while in Guatemala 942 violent deaths of children were reported last year. Children and families who migrate due to the threat of violence may be at even greater risk if they are forcibly returned without any support or protection to these communities where they were previously in danger. Many returnees end up being internally displaced because it is unsafe for them to return home.

Stigmatization – Returned children and families face stigmatization within the community because of their failed attempts to make it to Mexico or the U.S. This can make it harder for returning children to reintegrate into school and for adults to find employment.

Separation and detention – Detention and family separation by migration authorities are deeply traumatizing experiences that can adversely affect a child’s long-term development. Keeping families together and supporting alternatives to detention are key measures to ensure the best interest of migrant and refugee children.

The report also outlines a series of recommendations to keep refugee and migrant children safe and reduce the factors that push families and children to leave their homes in search of safety or a more hopeful future via irregular and dangerous migration routes.

“It’s essential to address the risks faced by migrant and refugee children and the root causes that contribute to large-scale population movements,” said Perceval. “Government leaders have an opportunity now to do the right thing. This means implementing proven approaches that can help alleviate the root causes; protect children in transit and upon reaching their destinations; provide children with access to essential services throughout the migration journey; ensure that deportation and return take place only when they are in the best interest of the child; and provide them with the protection and support needed to successfully reintegrate.”

UNICEF-supported programmes in northern Central America and Mexico are making a difference, but while many young migrants, refugees and returnees are benefitting, these initiatives would have to be scaled up enormously to meet all of the challenges facing the region’s children at risk.

Key Data
:: 68,409 migrant children were detained in Mexico between 2016 and April 2018 – 91 per cent of whom were deported to Central America.
:: Some 96,216 migrants from northern Central America, including 24,189 women and children, were returned from Mexico and the U.S. between January and June of this year. More than 90 per cent were deported from Mexico

Conflict – Displacement – Risk

Risk Preferences and the Decision to Flee Conflict
World Bank Policy Research Working Paper – Ceriani, Lidia; Verme, Paolo.
2018 :: 41 pages
Abstract
Despite the growing numbers of forcibly displaced persons worldwide, many people living under conflict choose not to flee. Individuals face two lotteries — staying or leaving — characterized by two distributions of potential outcomes. This paper proposes to model the choice between these two lotteries using quantile maximization as opposed to expected utility theory. The paper posits that risk-averse individuals aim at minimizing losses by choosing the lottery with the best outcome at the lower end of the distribution, whereas risk-tolerant individuals aim at maximizing gains by choosing the lottery with the best outcome at the higher end of the distribution. Using a rich set of household and conflict panel data from Nigeria, the paper finds that risk-tolerant individuals have a significant preference for staying and risk-averse individuals have a significant preference for fleeing, in line with the predictions of the quantile maximization model. These findings are contrary to findings on economic migrants, and call for separate policies toward economic and forced migrants.

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Press Release
New Study Focuses on Risk Aversion to Understand Why Some People Flee Conflict, While Others Don’t
Date: August 13, 2018
Despite growing numbers of people that are forcibly displaced due to conflict, the reality is that many do not flee and continue to live under difficult circumstances. To understand how people make this choice, a new World Bank working paper, “Risk Preferences and the Decision to Flee Conflict,” examines the role of risk aversion and concludes that the risk-averse are the ones who prefer to flee, while the risk-tolerant stay in their own countries.

If confirmed more broadly, these findings contrast sharply with economic migrants, who are known to be risk takers seeking economic opportunities, underscoring the need to distinguish between these two groups with an appropriate policy response for each.

According to the paper, people living under conflict are faced with two choices or lotteries ¬– staying or leaving – characterized by two distributions of potential outcomes. Using a Quantile Maximization (QM) model and risk aversion, it posits that risk-averse individuals aim to minimize losses by choosing the lottery with the best outcome at the lower end of the distribution, whereas risk-tolerant individuals aim to maximize gains by choosing the lottery with the best outcome at the higher end of the distribution.

A four-step approach was used to test the model with household and conflict panel data collected from Nigeria for the period 2010-2016, which coincides with the Boko Haram conflict:
Estimation of the distributions of outcomes (lotteries) for people living under conflict who decide to stay or leave.
Predictions of migration choices for people with different risk preferences based on the QM model.
Test whether the QM predictions match observed risk preferences among stayers and leavers.
Test for any confounding factors.
It found that risk-tolerant individuals preferred to stay, while risk averse individuals chose to flee, in line with its prediction.

While these are early results in an area that has received very little attention in the past, derived from a country case study, it calls attention to the difference between previous findings on economic migrants and risk preferences. Economic migrants tend to be risk-takers and move with the expectation that it would lead to an overall better quality of life.

On the other hand, the forcibly displaced are more risk-averse. They move to protect their lives and minimum living standards. Evidence has shown that economic migrants move with the intention of finding opportunities for growth far away from their home countries, while forcibly displaced persons want to settle close to the place of origin with the expectation of returning home.

These results need to be validated with further work in Nigeria and elsewhere, but if confirmed more broadly, this means that combining the two groups is not beneficial for the place of origin nor the place of destination. Separate policies by host governments should be considered for economic migrants and forcibly displaced persons.

This work is part of the program “Building the Evidence on Protracted Forced Displacement: A Multi-Stakeholder Partnership.” funded by UK aid from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID).

Governance – Census/Citizenship

Packard Foundation Joins Over 300 U.S. Philanthropic Leaders to Call for Removal of Citizenship Question from 2020 Census [U.S.]
Packard Foundation Joins Over 300 U.S. Philanthropic Leaders to Call for Removal of Citizenship Question from 2020 Census

August 16, 2018 (Los Altos, CA) —The Packard Foundation joined 303 other philanthropic leaders calling on the U.S. Department of Commerce to withdraw a citizenship question from the 2020 census, reflecting an unprecedented consensus in philanthropy from local foundations to national grantmaking organizations.

In a public comment letter submitted to the U.S. Commerce Department ahead of an August 7 deadline, the large collection of foundation presidents and chief executives, trustees and others speaking for their organizations said the question would “significantly undermine efforts to achieve a fair and accurate census in 2020.” The letter continues:

We have different funding priorities, are ideologically diverse, and do not always agree with each other. But we wholeheartedly agree that the citizenship question should not be part of the 2020 Census.

The full text of the letter can be found here.

The State of Global Giving by U.S. Foundations, 2011-2015
Foundation Center and the Council on Foundations
Published 13-8-2018 :: 36 pages
The State of Global Grantmaking Giving by U.S. Foundations is the latest report in a decades-long collaboration between Foundation Center and The Council on Foundations and aims to help funders and civil society organizations better navigate the giving landscape as they work to effect change around the world. The analysis reveals that global giving by U.S. foundations increased by 29% from 2011 to 2015, reaching an all-time high of $9.3 billion in 2015. In addition to a detailed analysis of trends by issue area, geographic region, population group, and donor strategy, this analysis also relates these trends to key events and developments, including the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals, the spread of Ebola in West Africa, and the increasing legal restrictions faced by civil society in countries around the world.
PDF: http://www.issuelab.org/requester/sdgs/id/31306?_ga=2.11085044.1123716257.1534702527-887887441.1512259776

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Press Release
New Report by Council on Foundations and Foundation Center Reveals Global Giving by U.S. Foundations Increased by 29% Over Five-Year Period
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
… Key findings from this trends analysis include:
:: Just 12% of international grant dollars from U.S. foundations went directly to organizations based in the country where programs were implemented. The remaining 88% was channeled through organizations based elsewhere.
:: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation accounted for 51% of global giving by U.S. foundations from 2011 to 2015, with $6.5 billion going to Sub-Saharan Africa.
:: Sub-Saharan Africa benefited from the largest share of global grantmaking by U.S. foundations, accounting for 25% of international grant dollars from 2011 to 2015.
:: Grants focused on climate change represented just 2% of global grantmaking by U.S. foundations.
Global giving by U.S. foundations for reproductive health care increased nearly threefold in the five years after the global gag rule, a U.S. rule forbidding the use of federal money to fund organizations that provide abortions or information on them, was reversed.
:: “U.S. foundations are making a tremendous impact in communities all over the world. By tracking trends in support for global programs, we play a valuable role in supporting and strengthening the sector’s ability to continue to promote the common good globally” said Gene Cochrane, interim president and CEO of the Council on Foundations.

Indigenous Peoples

Organization of American States
Statement of the OAS Secretary General on International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples
August 9. 2018
The indigenous population of the world is approximately 370 million people, who live in more than 70 countries, according to estimates of international organizations. Today is the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, but unfortunately many of them have little to celebrate. Despite the fact they represent 5 percent of the world´s population, indigenous peoples make up 15 percent of the poorest people in the world and continue to be one of the most vulnerable groups. This situation of vulnerability is closely linked to colonization, racism, discrimination and the historic denial of their individual and collective rights.

ECLAC states that in Latin America there are 826 indigenous peoples, with a population nearing 45 million people, in addition to the 10 million that live in the United States and Canada, according to official data. These peoples are characterized by their broad demographic, social, territorial and political diversity, and include peoples living in voluntary isolation to those present in large urban settlements.

In the framework of the OAS we have advanced in the protection and recognition of the rights of these peoples. In 2016, after 17 years of negotiation with the active participation of the representatives of the indigenous peoples, the American Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples was adopted, the principal instrument for the promotion of the rights of the indigenous peoples in the Americas. The Inter-American Convention Against Racism, Racial Discrimination and Related Forms of Intolerance, adopted in 2013, is another important juridical tool to prevent, punish and eliminate racism and discrimination against indigenous peoples.

Additionally, in February 2018, the OAS Permanent Council resolved that each year the Inter-American Week for Indigenous Peoples would be held in the second week of August. We are celebrating the first edition this week.

However, there is still much to be done, especially to facilitate indigenous peoples’ real and effective access to these rights. As with all members of our societies, with the inclusion of indigenous peoples we all win, our democracy wins, our ethnic-cultural diversity benefits, and our environment wins. Their inclusion makes us better societies. I invite you to join us to work for more rights for more indigenous people in the Americas.

Featured Journal Content

Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Volume 96, Number 8, August 2018, 513-588
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/96/8/en/
RESEARCH
A post-conflict vaccination campaign, Central African Republic
– Nicolas Peyraud, Michel Quéré, Geraldine Duc, Corinne Chèvre, Theo Wanteu, Souheil Reache, Thierry Dumont, Robin Nesbitt, Ellen Dahl, Etienne Gignoux, Manuel Albela, Anna Righetti, Marie-Claude Bottineau, Jean-Clément Cabrol, Micaela Sarafini, Samuel Nzalapan, Pauline Lechevalier, Clotilde Rambaud & Monica Rull
http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.17.204321
Abstract
Objective
To rapidly increase childhood immunization through a preventive, multi-antigen, vaccination campaign in Mambéré-Kadéï prefecture, Central African Republic, where a conflict from 2012 to 2015 reduced vaccination coverage.
Methods
The three-round campaign took place between December 2015 and June 2016 using: (i) oral poliomyelitis vaccine (OPV); (ii) combined diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis (DTP) vaccine, Haemophilus influenza type B (Hib) and hepatitis B (DTP–Hib–hepatitis B) vaccine; (iii) pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV); (iv) measles vaccine; and (v) yellow fever vaccine. Administrative data were collected on vaccines administered by age group and vaccination coverage surveys were carried out before and after the campaign.
Findings
Overall, 294,054 vaccine doses were administered. Vaccination coverage for children aged 6 weeks to 59 months increased to over 85% for the first doses of OPV, DTP–Hib–hepatitis B vaccine and PCV and, in children aged 9 weeks to 59 months, to over 70% for the first measles vaccine dose. In children aged 6 weeks to 23 months, coverage of the second doses of OPV, DTP–Hib–hepatitis B vaccine and PCV was over 58% and coverage of the third doses of OPV and DTP–Hib–hepatitis B vaccine was over 20%. Moreover, 61% (5804/9589) of children aged 12 to 23 months had received two PCV doses and 90% (25933/28764) aged 24 to 59 months had received one dose.
Conclusion
A preventive, multi-antigen, vaccination campaign was effective in rapidly increasing immunization coverage in a post-conflict setting. To sustain high coverage, routine immunization must be reinforced.

Emergencies
 
POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
Polio this week as of 14 August 2018 [GPEI]
:: Take a look at how the Papua New Guinea Government, the World Health Organization, and partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative are responding to the country’s recent outbreak of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus.

Summary of new viruses this week:
Afghanistan – one new case of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) and one new WPV1 positive environmental sample.
Pakistan – four new WPV1 positive environmental samples.
Nigeria – one new case of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2).
Papua New Guinea – one new case of cVDPV1
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WHO Grade 3 Emergencies  [to 18 Aug 2018]
Iraq  
: Special health situation report from Mosulpdf, 543kb  27 July 2017
…WHO organized a 5-day polio data quality self-assessment training workshop in Erbil to support the five directorates of health of Erbil, Suleimaniya, Duhok, Kirkuk and Ninewa in the area of quality data collection and analysis…
Nigeria 
:: Circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 – Nigeria
Disease outbreak news   8 August 2018
On 5 June 2018, a circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) outbreak was confirmed in Sokoto State, Nigeria. From 30 January through 23 May 2018, ten environmental samples collected from two collection sites all tested positive for genetically-related VDPV2 viruses. No associated cases of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) have been detected with this cVDPV2.
Nigeria is also affected by an ongoing separate cVDPV2 outbreak. A cluster of cVDPV2 was detected in Yobe State from a stool sample from an AFP case with onset on 16 June 2018, and an environmental sample collected on 31 May 2018. The same cVDPV2 was detected in Gombe State from an environmental sample collected on 9 April 2018. Previously, the same cVDPV2 was detected in Jigawa State from an AFP case with onset of paralysis on 15 April 2018 and six environmental samples collected from 10 January through 2 May 2018…
 
South Sudan  – No new announcements identified
The Syrian Arab Republic – No new announcements identified
Yemen  – No new announcements identified
 
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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies  [to 18 Aug 2018]
[Several emergency pages were not available at inquiry]
Cameroon  – No new announcements identified
Central African Republic  – No new announcements identified.
Democratic Republic of the Congo  – No new announcements identified
Ethiopia  – No new announcements identified.
Libya – No new announcements identified.
Myanmar  – No new announcements identified
Niger  – No new announcements identified.
Ukraine – No new 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. 
Yemen
:: Yemen Humanitarian Update Covering 30 July – 9 August 2018 | Issue 23
Published on 09 Aug 2018

Syrian Arab Republic   – No new 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.
Ethiopia 
:: Ethiopia Humanitarian Bulletin Issue 61 | 30 July-12 August 2018  Published on 12 Aug 2018
Government continues peace and reconciliation process to return IDPs in Gedeo and Guji zones

Somalia   – No new announcements identified.
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The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
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Week ending 28 July 2018

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 28 July 2018

Contents
:: Week in Review  [See selected posts just below]
:: Key Agency/IGO/Governments Watch – Selected Updates from 30+ entities
:: 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

Global Governance

Crimea Declaration
Press Statement
Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State. Washington, DC
July 25, 2018
Russia, through its 2014 invasion of Ukraine and its attempted annexation of Crimea, sought to undermine a bedrock international principle shared by democratic states: that no country can change the borders of another by force. The states of the world, including Russia, agreed to this principle in the United Nations Charter, pledging to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state. This fundamental principle — which was reaffirmed in the Helsinki Final Act — constitutes one of the foundations upon which our shared security and safety rests.

As we did in the Welles Declaration in 1940, the United States reaffirms as policy its refusal to recognize the Kremlin’s claims of sovereignty over territory seized by force in contravention of international law. In concert with allies, partners, and the international community, the United States rejects Russia’s attempted annexation of Crimea and pledges to maintain this policy until Ukraine’s territorial integrity is restored.

The United States calls on Russia to respect the principles to which it has long claimed to adhere and to end its occupation of Crimea. As democratic states seek to build a free, just, and prosperous world, we must uphold our commitment to the international principle of sovereign equality and respect the territorial integrity of other states. Through its actions, Russia has acted in a manner unworthy of a great nation and has chosen to isolate itself from the international community.

Human Rights

Global Disability Summit sparks 170 commitments to tackle stigma and discrimination against people with disabilities
The UK Government’s first ever Global Disability Summit has yielded ambitious commitments from a host of governments and other organisations.
24 July 2018 DFID Press release
:: The Global Disability Summit has resulted in 170 ambitious commitments from all over the world to take action on stigma and discrimination against people with disabilities
:: The commitments follow the call to “move from rhetoric to action” from the International Development Secretary, Penny Mordaunt, in the build up to the Summit
:: 301 organisations and governments have signed the Charter for Change – an action plan to implement the UN International Convention on Disability

The UK Government’s first ever Global Disability Summit has yielded ambitious commitments from a host of governments and other organisations to tackle discrimination and stigma against peop
le with disabilities…

Among the most significant pledges made were commitments to pass transformative new laws to protect the rights of people with disabilities, as well as assurances to help those affected by humanitarian crises. There were also commitments to help people with disabilities to access vital technology and work with the private sector around the world to reduce their prices.
:: Nine national governments have committed to passing or formulating new or revised laws to give people with disabilities greater rights in the countries in which they live
:: 18 governments and other organisations have committed to new action plans on disability inclusion
:: 33 governments and other organisations have pledged to specifically support more people with disabilities affected by humanitarian crises – this includes the Australian government who will give $16.4m to support disability inclusive action in response to the Syria crisis
:: Nine organisations and governments, including USAID, The World Health Organisation and UNICEF, have, along with the UK, joined the Global Partnership on assistive technology, aimed at transforming access to, and the affordability of, life changing devices and basic technology, like wheelchairs and glasses

Seven UN agencies attended the Summit, and they committed to change the way they include people with disabilities into their work…

Featured Journal Content

The Lancet
Jul 28, 2018 Volume 392 Number 10144 p253-358
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/issue/current
The Lancet Commissions
Advancing global health and strengthening the HIV response in the era of the Sustainable Development Goals: the International AIDS Society—Lancet Commission
Linda-Gail Bekker, George Alleyne, Stefan Baral, Javier Cepeda, Demetre Daskalakis, David Dowdy, Mark Dybul, Serge Eholie, Kene Esom, Geoff Garnett, Anna Grimsrud, James Hakim, Diane Havlir, Michael T Isbell, Leigh Johnson, Adeeba Kamarulzaman, Parastu Kasaie, Michel Kazatchkine, Nduku Kilonzo, Michael Klag, Marina Klein, Sharon R Lewin, Chewe Luo, Keletso Makofane, Natasha K Martin, Kenneth Mayer, Gregorio Millett, Ntobeko Ntusi, Loyce Pace, Carey Pike, Peter Piot, Anton Pozniak, Thomas C Quinn, Jurgen Rockstroh, Jirair Ratevosian, Owen Ryan, Serra Sippel, Bruno Spire, Agnes Soucat, Ann Starrs, Steffanie A Strathdee, Nicholas Thomson, Stefano Vella, Mauro Schechter, Peter Vickerman, Brian Weir, Chris Beyrer

Key messages
:: The HIV pandemic is not on track to end, and the prevailing discourse on ending AIDS has bred a dangerous complacency and may have hastened the weakening of global resolve to combat HIV

:: Existing HIV tools and strategies are insufficient, and although dramatic gains can be made through maximizing existing prevention and treatment strategies, the HIV pandemic is likely to remain a major global challenge for the foreseeable future

:: Tens of millions of people will require sustained access to antiretroviral therapy for decades to come, vigilance will be needed to prevent a resurgence of the epidemic as the largest-ever generation of young people age into adolescence and young adulthood, and intensified efforts are required to address HIV among populations and settings that are being left behind

:: Allowing the pandemic to rebound after achieving such remarkable progress would not only increase the human and financial costs of HIV, but it would potentially demoralise the global health field and diminish support for similarly ambitious global health undertakings

:: A rejuvenated global effort on HIV is essential; to renew and strengthen the global HIV response, the world’s impressive commitment to the scaling up of HIV treatment services must be matched by a similarly robust commitment to expanded access to HIV prevention

:: The HIV response must make common cause with the broader global health field to herald a new era of global solidarity for health, and specific action is urgently needed to respond to the rapidly rising health toll associated with non-communicable diseases, including taking health into account in the development of public policies of all kinds. HIV services should, where feasible, be integrated with broader health services, in co-located sites where possible, with the aim of improving both HIV-related and non-HIV-specific health outcomes; greater integration of HIV and global health must preserve and build on key attributes of the HIV response, including participatory community and civil society engagement and an ironclad commitment to human rights, gender equality, and equitable access to health and social justice

:: The new era of global health solidarity should focus on the development of robust, flexible, people-centred health systems to end communicable diseases, develop effective measures to address the steady rise of non-communicable diseases, achieve universal health coverage, provide coordinated services tailored to the needs of health service users, and effectively address the social and structural determinants of health.

Featured Journal Content

American Journal of Preventive Medicine
August 2018 Volume 55, Issue 2, p133-280, e19-e52
http://www.ajpmonline.org/current
Global Health Promotion and Prevention
Human Rights as Political Determinants of Health: A Retrospective Study of North Korean Refugees
Jiho Cha, Pamela J. Surkan, Jaeshin Kim, Isabel A. Yoon, Courtland Robinson, Barbara Lopes Cardozo, Hayoung Lee
p271–279
Published online: June 19, 2018
Introduction
The gravity, scale, and nature of human rights violations are severe in North Korea. Little is known about the mental health consequences of the lifelong exposures to these violations.
Methods
In 2014–2015, a retrospective study was conducted among 383 North Korean refugees in South Korea using respondent-driven sampling to access this hidden population. This study collected information on the full range of political and economic rights violations and measured post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression symptoms, and social functioning by standard instruments. Multivariate regression analysis was performed with the adjustment of political, economic, and demographic variables in 2016–2017.
Results
The results indicate elevated symptoms of anxiety (60.1%, 95% CI=54.3%, 65.7%), depression (56.3%, 95% CI=50.8%, 61.9%), and post-traumatic stress disorder (22.8%, 95% CI=18.6%, 27.4%), which are significantly associated with exposures to political rights violations (ten to 19 items versus non-exposure: anxiety AOR=16.78, p<0.001, depression AOR=12.52, p<0.001, post-traumatic stress disorder AOR=16.71, p<0.05), and economic rights violations (seven to 13 items versus non-exposure: anxiety AOR=5.68, p<0.001, depression AOR=4.23, p<0.01, post-traumatic stress disorder AOR=5.85, p<0.05). The mean score of social functioning was also lower in those who were exposed to political (adjusted difference=–13.29, p<0.001) and economic rights violations (adjusted difference= –11.20, p<0.001).
Conclusions
This study highlights mental health consequences of lifelong human rights violations in North Korea. Beyond the conventional approach, it suggests the need for a collaborative preventive response from global health and human rights activists to address human rights in regard to mental health determinants of the 20 million people in North Korea.

Heritage Stewardship

African Development Bank reiterates support for Lake Chad Basin Heritage Project
25/07/2018 – The African Development Bank will continue its support for an environmental initiative to protect the shrinking Lake Chad – a source of water to millions of people in central and West Africa, the Bank’s Director General for Central Africa Region, Ousmane Dore told UN bodies and representatives of west and central African UN missions.

In the past decade, the Bank has invested more than $160 Million through regional projects aimed at fighting the ecological and humanitarian crises in the Lake Chad region.

The UNESCO Biosphere and Heritage of Lake Chad (BIOPALT) project, funded by the Bank, is a multi-disciplinary project, linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The project is implemented in five countries within the Lake Chad area: Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and the Central African Republic.

The lake has shrunk to nine tenths of its size due to climate change, population growth and irrigation.
Addressing participants at the meeting, UNESCO Assistant Director General Flavia Schlegel described it as a platform for governments, UN agencies, civil society and academia to reflect on the relevance of adopting a multisectoral response to solving the region’s humanitarian and ecological crisis.

The Lake Chad area is important for its terrestrial and aquatic biodiversity, but a 90% reduction in rainfall has affected more than 40 million people, Zacharie Serge Raoul Nyanid, Permanent Mission of Cameroon, said.

Dore who represented the Bank at the meeting, reiterated its commitment to work closely with the five member countries’ governments to restore and rehabilitate degraded ecosystems, improve the livelihoods of the communities and bring back lasting peace in the region…