The Elders [to 26 March 2016]
http://theelders.org/news-media
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Opinion Hina Jilani 20 March 2016
Remembering the people who make human rights meaningful
Hina Jilani celebrates Nelson Mandela and the individuals like him who challenge injustice and safeguard the fundamental rights we all share.
Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA) [to 26 March 2016]
http://www.globalhumanitarianassistance.org/
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2016/03/23
Somalia (including Somaliland) drought
Report Synopsis
On 22 March 2016 we responded to a funding alert in response to drought in Somalia (including Somaliland).
About 731,000 Somalis face acute food insecurity while an additional 2.3 million people are at risk of sliding into the same situation, bringing the number of Somalis in need to about 3 million (WHO, 2015 Humanitarian Needs Overview), specifically agro-pastoralist and pastoralist communities.
According to the United Nation’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA)’s Financial Tracking Service (FTS), donors have committed/contributed US$156.4 million of humanitarian assistance to Somalia since the start of 2016. The three largest donors in 2016 so far are the United Kingdom (US$39.0 million), the EU Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO; US$32.4 million) and Germany (US$16.4 million). In 2015, a total of US$608.6 million was committed/contributed to Somalia.
The UN-coordinated Somalia Humanitarian Response Plan for 2016 has requested US$885 million from donors. The appeal is currently 11% covered at US$97 million. A further US$59.3 million was committed or contributed outside of the appeal.
Center for Global Development [to 26 March 2016]
http://www.cgdev.org/page/press-center
Selected Press Releases, Blog Posts, Publications
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Population Policy: Abortion and Modern Contraception Are Substitutes – Working Paper 426
3/24/16
Grant Miller and Christine Valente
There is longstanding debate in population policy about the relationship between modern contraception and abortion. Although theory predicts that they should be substitutes, the existing body of empirical evidence is difficult to interpret. In this paper, we study Nepal’s 2004 legalization of abortion provision and subsequent expansion of abortion services.
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Financial Regulations for Improving Financial Inclusion
3/22/16
Task Force on Regulatory Standards for Financial Inclusion
As recently as 2011, only 42 percent of adult Kenyans had a financial account of any kind; by 2014, according to the Global Findex database, that number had risen to 75 percent, including 63 percent of the poorest two-fifths. In Sub-Saharan Africa as a whole, the share of adults with financial accounts, either a traditional bank account or a mobile account, rose by nearly half over the same period. Many countries in other developing regions have also recorded, if less dramatic, gains in access to the basic financial services that most people in richer countries take for granted. Much of this progress is being facilitated by the digital revolution of recent decades, which has led to the emergence of new financial services and new delivery channels.
ODI [to 26 March 2016]
http://www.odi.org/media
Publications
Are we underestimating urban poverty?
Research reports and studies | March 2016 | Paula Lucci, Tanvi Bhatkal, Amina Khan
This report demonstrates that the urban poor are often undercounted, and provides a package of suggestions for improved data collection and use.
Politically smart support to economic development
Research reports and studies | March 2016
New research on the potential of politically smart approaches to aid in achieving more inclusive and transformative economic growth.
Projecting national poverty to 2030
Research reports and studies | March 2016 | Chris Hoy
This report explores the feasibility of reaching the Sustainable Development Goal target to halve poverty according to national definitions by 2030.
Gender, agriculture and water insecurity
Research reports and studies | March 2016 | Helen Parker; Nathaniel Mason; Naomi Oates; Roger Calow; William Chadza and Eva Ludi
World Economic Forum [to 26 March 2016]
https://agenda.weforum.org/news/
News 22 Mar 2016
Building Foundations for Transparency – Designing Tools for Transformation at the State Level
:: A new report from the World Economic Forum, Building Foundations for Transparency, focuses on the second phase of the Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI) project to address the needs of the infrastructure and urban development industries
::The report provides a solutions-based framework, a deep-dive at the state level in India and a diagnostic tool that can be replicated and enhanced
::The report includes proposals and policy recommendations on processes and strategies to enhance transparency in the project pilot state of Maharashtra, India
Download the full report here
Clinton Foundation [to 26 March 2016]
https://www.clintonfoundation.org/press-releases-and-statements
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Press Release
More than 1,200 College and University Student Leaders Convene to Tackle Global Challenges at Ninth Annual CGI University Meeting
March 25, 2016
President Bill Clinton and Chelsea Clinton to Host Students and Thought Leaders to Discuss and Develop Commitments to Action that Address Some of This Generation’s Most Pressing Concerns April 1-3 at the University of California, Berkeley.
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation [to 26 March 2016]
http://www.hiltonfoundation.org/news
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Our News
Rising Up to the Global Challenge: SDG 6
March 22, 2016 By Andrea Jones
On March 22, we celebrate World Water Day, an international observance and an opportunity to learn more about water related issues, be inspired to tell others and take action to make a difference.
Press Release
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation Awards $5.44 Million To UCLA To Create Program To Train Future
March 21, 2016
Grant Invests in the Next Generation of Leaders to Advance the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals
IKEA Foundation [to 26 March 2016]
https://www.ikeafoundation.org/category/press-releases/
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March 22, 2016
IKEA Foundation announces new grant to Water.org on World Water Day
IKEA Foundation today, World Water Day, announced a new grant to Water.org to expand efforts to provide safe water and sanitation to one million people in India and Indonesia. IKEA Foundation is committing €12.4 million to Water.org to expand its WaterCredit model, helping families have access to small, affordable loans so they can get safe water and sanitation…
MacArthur Foundation [to 26 March 2016]
http://www.macfound.org/
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March 25, 2016
Report Says Dirty Bomb Threat Must Be Addressed
Most of the 23 countries that pledged at the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit to secure radiological materials have fulfilled that commitment or are on track to do so by the end of 2016, according to report by the MacArthur-supported Nuclear Threat Initiative. However, the report finds significant gaps in the system for securing dangerous radiological materials from theft. It recommends that governments and the private sector work together to develop a more effective system for securing radiological sources, and replace the use of dangerous isotopes with alternate technologies, where feasible.
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation [to 26 March 2016]
https://www.moore.org/newsroom/press-releases
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March 24, 2016
More than $90 Million Awarded to Promote Sustainable Supply Chains
PALO ALTO, – The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, one of the world’s largest conservation funders, announced more than $90 million in grants designed to advance conservation by decoupling food production from negative environmental impacts.
The grant funds will support the formation of a series of collaborations supporting the Moore Foundation’s Forests and Agriculture Markets Initiative, Conservation and Financial Markets Initiative, and Oceans and Seafood Markets Initiative. Collaborators will include Ceres, FishWise, Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch, National Wildlife Federation, New Venture Fund, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, The Nature Conservancy, World Business Council for Sustainable Development and World Wildlife Fund. Their involvement illustrates the growing importance of partnerships between the non-profit and private sectors to address the market pressures placed on the world’s forests and oceans.
“The anticipated global population growth and related demand for richer diets, including more protein, sugars and oils, will place unprecedented pressures on our natural resources,” said Aileen Lee, program director for the conservation and markets strategies and incoming chief program officer for environmental conservation at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. “Now more than ever, the need to produce food without causing severe environmental degradation is essential to maintaining the productive capacity and integrity of the Earth’s ecosystems.”…
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Moore Foundation commits $100 million to consolidate Andes Amazon Initiative conservation gains
PALO ALTO, March 21, 2016 – The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, one of the world’s largest private conservation funders, announced a renewed commitment to its Andes Amazon Initiative with a new pledge of $100 million through 2020.
Today, the protected areas and indigenous lands in the Amazon basin cover nearly 400 million hectares – almost two thirds of the remaining forest. Since the Moore Foundation first began supporting conservation efforts in the region in 2001—with an aim to help secure the biodiversity and climate function of the Amazon basin—the area legally protected has nearly doubled. While this increase is significant, formal designation often does not ensure that effective conservation of those lands will be achieved in the long run.
“Over fifteen years, our grantees have helped conserve more than 140 million hectares in the Amazon,” explained Avecita Chicchón, Ph.D., Andes Amazon Initiative director at the foundation. “We are proud of their significant impacts in protecting forest cover and biodiversity. Threats to those lands have intensified, however, with increased and unsustainable logging, cattle ranching and soy farming, and poorly planned mining, hydrocarbon and infrastructure development. We want to help make sure that local communities and the management and finance structures for conservation units have the resilience and long-term resources they need so conservation gains can withstand current and foreseeable pressures.”
For the next five years, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s Andes Amazon Initiative will continue its focus on three priority strategies to help reinforce and advance effective management of protected areas and indigenous lands across Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Bolivia that grantees have helped conserve:
:: Individual conservation units. Creating and consolidating already existing individual indigenous lands and protected areas.
:: Land-use planning. Conserving forest cover by incorporating protected areas and indigenous lands into relevant state, municipal or district jurisdictional development and land-use plans.
:: Protected area systems. Securing long-term, effective funding mechanisms for national park systems, as well as effective monitoring and management systems informed through participatory processes…
Open Society Foundation [to 26 March 2016]
https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/issues/media-information
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March 24, 2016
Journalists in Pakistan Unite to Fight Violence Against Media
by Owais Aslam Ali
In a country where violence against media is common, an initiative is creating a united front—and a sense that an attack on one media outlet is an attack on them all….
…Launched in December 2015, the Editors for Safety (EfS) initiative has improved news coverage of violence against Pakistani media professionals. Comprised of the country’s leading editors, publishers, and media owners, EfS’s philosophy is that an attack on one media professional or organization should be considered an attack on the entire Pakistani media…
Pew Charitable Trusts [to 26 March 2016]
http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/about/news-room/press-releases
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March 22, 2016
Pew Announces Grants to Support Philadelphia’s Low-Income Children and Families
Funding to assist more than 22,000 children annually through 45 local organizations
Press Release
The Pew Charitable Trusts announced today that it will provide $8,728,000 over the next three years to 46 Philadelphia-area organizations that work to improve the lives of the region’s low-income children, youth, and their families. More than 22,000 local young people will be assisted through these grants on an annual basis
Wellcome Trust [to 26 March 2016]
http://www.wellcome.ac.uk/News/2016/index.htm
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24 March 2016
Immunotherapy for diabetes being trialled in London
A new treatment for Type 1 diabetes is being evaluated in a phase I clinical trial at Guy’s Hospital in London. Developed with Wellcome Trust Innovations funding, the new therapy, called MultiPepT1De, targets the autoimmune attack that leads to the development of the condition.
Exploration of dementia announced as second project of The Hub at Wellcome Collection
A group exploring dementia and the arts have been invited to take up the 2016-2018 residency in The Hub at Wellcome Collection, a flagship space and resource for interdisciplinary projects exploring health and wellbeing. Bringing together a rich network including scientists, artists, clinicians, public health experts and broadcasters, the group will examine and challenge perceptions of dementia through scientific and creative experimentation. They have been awarded £1 million to develop the project over two years.
24 March 2016
26 Zika projects receive £3.2m funding boost
Research into the link between Zika virus infection and neurological disease, an online data-sharing platform for images of newborn heads and improved diagnostic tests are among 26 new projects to receive funding through the Zika Rapid Response initiative.
21 March 2016
BMC Infectious Diseases
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcinfectdis/content
(Accessed 26 March 2016)
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Research article
Characterization of outbreak response strategies and potential vaccine stockpile needs for the polio endgame
Radboud J. Duintjer Tebbens, Mark A. Pallansch, Steven G. F. Wassilak, Stephen L. Cochi and Kimberly M. Thompson
BMC Infectious Diseases 2016 16:137
Published on: 24 March 2016
Abstract
Background
Following successful eradication of wild polioviruses and planned globally-coordinated cessation of oral poliovirus vaccine (OPV), national and global health leaders may need to respond to outbreaks from reintroduced live polioviruses, particularly vaccine-derived polioviruses (VDPVs). Preparing outbreak response plans and assessing potential vaccine needs from an emergency stockpile require consideration of the different national risks and conditions as they change with time after OPV cessation.
Methods
We used an integrated global model to consider several key issues related to managing poliovirus risks and outbreak response, including the time interval during which monovalent OPV (mOPV) can be safely used following homotypic OPV cessation; the timing, quality, and quantity of rounds required to stop transmission; vaccine stockpile needs; and the impacts of vaccine choices and surveillance quality. We compare the base case scenario that assumes aggressive outbreak response and sufficient mOPV available from the stockpile for all outbreaks that occur in the model, with various scenarios that change the outbreak response strategies.
Results
Outbreak response after OPV cessation will require careful management, with some circumstances expected to require more and/or higher quality rounds to stop transmission than others. For outbreaks involving serotype 2, using trivalent OPV instead of mOPV2 following cessation of OPV serotype 2 but before cessation of OPV serotypes 1 and 3 would represent a good option if logistically feasible. Using mOPV for outbreak response can start new outbreaks if exported outside the outbreak population into populations with decreasing population immunity to transmission after OPV cessation, but failure to contain outbreaks resulting in exportation of the outbreak poliovirus may represent a greater risk. The possibility of mOPV use generating new long-term poliovirus excretors represents a real concern. Using the base case outbreak response assumptions, we expect over 25 % probability of a shortage of stockpiled filled mOPV vaccine, which could jeopardize the achievement of global polio eradication. For the long term, responding to any poliovirus reintroductions may require a global IPV stockpile. Despite the risks, our model suggests that good risk management and response strategies can successfully control most potential outbreaks after OPV cessation.
Conclusions
Health leaders should carefully consider the numerous outbreak response choices that affect the probability of successfully managing poliovirus risks after OPV cessation.
BMC Infectious Diseases
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcinfectdis/content
(Accessed 26 March 2016)
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Debate
End TB strategy: the need to reduce risk inequalities
M. Gabriela M. Gomes, Maurício L. Barreto, Philippe Glaziou, Graham F. Medley, Laura C. Rodrigues, Jacco Wallinga and S. Bertel Squire
BMC Infectious Diseases 2016 16:132
Published on: 22 March 2016
Abstract
Background
Diseases occur in populations whose individuals differ in essential characteristics, such as exposure to the causative agent, susceptibility given exposure, and infectiousness upon infection in the case of infectious diseases.
Discussion
Concepts developed in demography more than 30 years ago assert that variability between individuals affects substantially the estimation of overall population risk from disease incidence data. Methods that ignore individual heterogeneity tend to underestimate overall risk and lead to overoptimistic expectations for control. Concerned that this phenomenon is frequently overlooked in epidemiology, here we feature its significance for interpreting global data on human tuberculosis and predicting the impact of control measures.
Summary
We show that population-wide interventions have the greatest impact in populations where all individuals face an equal risk. Lowering variability in risk has great potential to increase the impact of interventions. Reducing inequality, therefore, empowers health interventions, which in turn improves health, further reducing inequality, in a virtuous circle.
BMC Medicine
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcmed/content
(Accessed 26 March 2016)
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World TB Day 2016 – Article Collection
In recognition of World TB Day 2016, BMC Medicine and BMC Infectious Diseases have launched an article collection. In collaboration with the UCL-TB Centre and the LSHTM TB Centre, guest edited by Ibrahim Abubakar, Helen Fletcher, Marc Lipman and Tim McHugh. The collection includes articles addressing the most up-to-date evidence and innovation in the diagnosis, management and prevention of TB, as well as particular challenges affecting vulnerable populations.
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcpregnancychildbirth/content
(Accessed 26 March 2016)
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Call for papers: The Role of Structural and Interpersonal Violence in the Lives of Women
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth is currently accepting submissions to a thematic series entitled ‘The Role of Structural and Interpersonal Violence in the Lives of Women’.
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Research article
Towards universal access to skilled birth attendance: the process of transforming the role of traditional birth attendants in Rural China
Institution-based childbirth, with the ultimate goal of universal access to skilled birth attendance (SBA), has been selected as a key strategy to reduce the maternal mortality rate in many developing countries…
Hong Jiang, Xu Qian, Lili Chen, Jian Li, Erin Escobar, Mary Story and Shenglan Tang
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 2016 16:58
Published on: 21 March 2016
BMC Public Health
http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles
(Accessed 26 March 2016)
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Research article
Fish, food security and health in Pacific Island countries and territories: a systematic literature review
Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) face a double burden of disease, with a high prevalence of household food insecurity and childhood micronutrient deficiencies, accompanied by a burgeoning incre…
Karen E. Charlton, Joanna Russell, Emma Gorman, Quentin Hanich, Aurélie Delisle, Brooke Campbell and Johann Bell
BMC Public Health 2016 16:285
Published on: 24 March 2016
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Research article
The role of micro health insurance in providing financial risk protection in developing countries- a systematic review
Out of pocket payments are the predominant method of financing healthcare in many developing countries, which can result in impoverishment and financial catastrophe for those affected.
Shifa Salman Habib, Shagufta Perveen and Hussain Maqbool Ahmed Khuwaja
BMC Public Health 2016 16:281
Published on: 22 March 2016
Conflict and Health
http://www.conflictandhealth.com/
[Accessed 26 March 2016]
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Debate
Why don’t humanitarian organizations provide safe abortion services?
Therese McGinn and Sara E. Casey
Published on: 24 March 2016
Abstract
Background
Although sexual and reproductive health services have become more available in humanitarian settings over the last decade, safe abortion services are still rarely provided. The authors’ observations suggest that four reasons are typically given for this gap: ‘There’s no need’; ‘Abortion is too complicated to provide in crises’; ‘Donors don’t fund abortion services’; and ‘Abortion is illegal’.
Discussion
However, each of these reasons is based on false premises. Unsafe abortion is a major cause of maternal mortality globally, and the collapse of health systems in crises suggests it likely increases in humanitarian settings. Abortion procedures can be safely performed in health centers by mid-level providers without sophisticated equipment or supplies. Although US government aid does not fund abortion-related activities, other donors, including many European governments, do fund abortion services. In most countries, covering 99 % of the world’s population, abortion is permitted under some circumstances; it is illegal without exception in only six countries. International law supports improved access to safe abortion.
Summary
As none of the reasons often cited for not providing these services is valid, it is the responsibility of humanitarian NGOs to decide where they stand regarding their commitment to humanitarian standards and women’s right to high quality and non-discriminatory health services. Providing safe abortion to women who become pregnant as a result of rape in war may be a more comfortable place for organizations to begin the discussion. Making safe abortion available will improve women’s health and human rights and save lives.
Ethics & International Affairs
Spring 2016 (Issue 30.1) | March 10, 2016
http://www.ethicsandinternationalaffairs.org/2016/spring-2016-issue-30-1/
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Essay
Defining Down Sovereignty: The Rights and Responsibilities of Nations
Amitai Etzioni | March 10, 2016
[Initial text]
“Defining down sovereignty” refers to the normative thesis that sovereignty should not grant a state absolute protection against armed intervention in its internal affairs by other states, and that instead the international community should condition such immunity on states living up to particular standards. This essay suggests two modifications to this thesis. First, the international community should spell out the kinds of failures to protect civilians that can justify armed interventions by other states, as well as which agency has the authority to determine when such failures have occurred. In other words, the international community should determine how low to set the bar for intervention, and who makes the rules. Second, the international community needs to establish an additional international responsibility, namely, a responsibility to prevent international terrorism. The essay treats both of these modifications as shared international normative understandings; it does not attempt to translate these changes into international law…
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FEATURES
Democracies and the Power to Revoke Citizenship
Patti Tamara Lenard
[Initial text]
Citizenship status is meant to be secure, that is, inviolable. Recently, however, several democratic states have adopted or are considering adopting laws that allow them the power to revoke citizenship. This claimed right forces us to consider whether citizenship can be treated as a “conditional” status, in particular whether it can be treated as conditional on the right sort of behavior. Those who defend such a view argue that citizenship is a privilege rather than a right, and thus in principle is revocable. Participating in a foreign state’s military, treason, spying, or committing acts that otherwise threaten the national security of one’s state may all warrant revocation. This article assesses the justifications given for the claimed power to revoke citizenship in democratic states and concludes that, ultimately, such a power is incompatible with democracy…
GE2P2 Global :: Knowledge Sharing; Ideas; Operations 