Journal of Humanitarian Logistics and Supply Chain Management
Volume 6 Issue 1 2016
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/toc/jhlscm/6/1

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Conceptual Paper
A theoretical framework for consolidation in humanitarian logistics
(pp. 2 – 23)
Alain Vaillancourt
Abstract
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to develop a theoretical framework to better understand incentives and obstacles to consolidation of materials in humanitarian logistics.
Design/methodology/approach
– This study uses a content analysis for its literature review method to code 87 articles related to supply chain and logistics and understand what are the incentives and obstacles to consolidation. It then discusses these issues from the point of view of humanitarian logistics.
Findings
– Through the combination of a literature review and discussion, the framework developed in this conceptual paper identifies specific sources of delays and impediments to cooperation present in disaster response and development activities. These issues can be related to disaster type, the focus of the organization and the stakeholders as well as the resources required for consolidation themselves.
Research limitations/implications
– There are limitations to a conceptual paper, one being the lack of empirical proof for the findings. Another limitation is the use of coding; even though the coding grid was iterative to take into account the findings in the literature, there might still be shortcomings inherent to the categories.
Originality/value
– This study offers a comprehensive review of consolidation activities in the last decades and offers an abstract model to further investigate consolidation in the context of humanitarian logistics.

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Research paper
Developing organisational capabilities to support agility in humanitarian logistics: An exploratory study
(pp. 72 – 99)
Cécile L’Hermitte , Peter Tatham , Marcus Bowles , Ben Brooks
Abstract:
Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to explore the underlying strategic mechanisms of agility in a humanitarian logistics context. Based on the research conducted in business disciplines, the paper empirically examines a set of four strategic dimensions (being purposeful, being action-focused, being collaborative, and being learning-oriented) and identifies an emergent relationship between these capabilities and agile humanitarian logistics operations.
Design/methodology/approach
– Leadership and management actions perceived to support the four capabilities were identified and used as a basis to complete the exploratory research. Specifically, a case study with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) was undertaken and, in this context, a qualitative analysis of 29 face-to-face interviews with humanitarian logistics experts working for WFP was conducted.
Findings
– The research corroborates the relevance of the four strategic-level capabilities to the humanitarian logistics context and confirms that these capabilities play a role in the development of agility in humanitarian operations. The work also identifies a set of key strategic decision-making areas that relate to the building of agility.
Research limitations/implications
– Additional research is needed to further investigate and measure the strategic-level capabilities and to quantify their impact on operational agility. Further research should also be undertaken to extend this study to a wider range of humanitarian organisations.
Originality/value
– This paper is the first empirical research that takes a strategic approach to the concept of agility in humanitarian logistics. It highlights that the leaders and managers of humanitarian organisations have a significant role to play in the building of an agile system.

New England Journal of Medicine
March 24, 2016 Vol. 374 No. 12
http://www.nejm.org/toc/nejm/medical-journal

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Original Article
Symptomatic Dengue in Children in 10 Asian and Latin American Countries
Maïna L’Azou, M.Sc., Annick Moureau, M.Sc., Elsa Sarti, Ph.D., Joshua Nealon, M.Sc., Betzana Zambrano, M.D., T. Anh Wartel, M.D., Luis Villar, M.D., Maria R.Z. Capeding, M.D., and R. Leon Ochiai, Ph.D., for the CYD14 and CYD15 Primary Study Groups*
N Engl J Med 2016; 374:1155-1166 March 24, 2016
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1503877
Abstract
Background
The control groups in two phase 3 trials of dengue vaccine efficacy included two large regional cohorts that were followed up for dengue infection. These cohorts provided a sample for epidemiologic analyses of symptomatic dengue in children across 10 countries in Southeast Asia and Latin America in which dengue is endemic.
Methods
We monitored acute febrile illness and virologically confirmed dengue (VCD) in 3424 healthy children, 2 to 16 years of age, in Asia (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam) from June 2011 through December 2013 and in 6939 children, 9 to 18 years of age, in Latin America (Brazil, Colombia, Honduras, Mexico, and Puerto Rico) from June 2011 through April 2014. Acute febrile episodes were determined to be VCD by means of a nonstructural protein 1 antigen immunoassay and reverse-transcriptase–polymerase-chain-reaction assays. Dengue hemorrhagic fever was defined according to 1997 World Health Organization criteria.
Results
Approximately 10% of the febrile episodes in each cohort were confirmed to be VCD, with 319 VCD episodes (4.6 episodes per 100 person-years) occurring in the Asian cohort and 389 VCD episodes (2.9 episodes per 100 person-years) occurring in the Latin American cohort; no trend according to age group was observed. The incidence of dengue hemorrhagic fever was less than 0.3 episodes per 100 person-years in each cohort. The percentage of VCD episodes requiring hospitalization was 19.1% in the Asian cohort and 11.1% in the Latin American cohort. In comparable age groups (9 to 12 years and 13 to 16 years), the burden of dengue was higher in Asia than in Latin America.
Conclusions
The burdens of dengue were substantial in the two regions and in all age groups. Burdens varied widely according to country, but the rates were generally higher and the disease more frequently severe in Asian countries than in Latin American countries. (Funded by Sanofi Pasteur; CYD14 and CYD15 ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT01373281 and NCT01374516.)

PLOS Currents: Disasters
http://currents.plos.org/disasters/
[Accessed 26 March 2016]

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Review
Leveraging Social Computing for Personalized Crisis Communication using Social Media
March 24, 2016 ·
Introduction: The extensive use of social media in modern life redefines social interaction and communication. Communication plays an important role in mitigating, or exacerbating, the psychological and behavioral responses to critical incidents and disasters. As recent disasters demonstrated, people tend to converge to social media during and following emergencies. Authorities can then use this media and other computational methods to gain insights from the public, mainly to enhance situational awareness, but also to improve their communication with the public and public adherence to instructions.
Methods: The current review presents a conceptual framework for studying psychological aspects of crisis and risk communication using the social media through social computing.
Results: Advanced analytical tools can be integrated in the processes and objectives of crisis communication. The availability of the computational techniques can improve communication with the public by a process of Hyper-Targeted Crisis Communication.
Discussion: The review suggests that using advanced computational tools for target-audience profiling and linguistic matching in social media, can facilitate more sensitive and personalized emergency communication.

PLoS Medicine
http://www.plosmedicine.org/
(Accessed 26 March 2016)

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Research Article |
Global Role and Burden of Influenza in Pediatric Respiratory Hospitalizations, 1982–2012: A Systematic Analysis
Kathryn E. Lafond, Harish Nair, Mohammad Hafiz Rasooly, Fátima Valente, Robert Booy, Mahmudur Rahman, Paul Kitsutani, Hongjie Yu, Guiselle Guzman, Daouda Coulibaly, Julio Armero, Daddi Jima, Stephen R. C. Howie, William Ampofo, Ricardo Mena, Mandeep Chadha, Ondri Dwi Sampurno, Gideon O. Emukule, Zuridin Nurmatov, Andrew Corwin, Jean Michel Heraud, Daniel E. Noyola, Radu Cojocaru, Pagbajabyn Nymadawa, Amal Barakat, Adebayo Adedeji, Marta von Horoch, Remigio Olveda, Thierry Nyatanyi, Marietjie Venter, Vida Mmbaga, Malinee Chittaganpitch, Tran Hien Nguyen, Andros Theo, Melissa Whaley, Eduardo Azziz-Baumgartner, Joseph Bresee, Harry Campbell, Marc-Alain Widdowson, Global Respiratory Hospitalizations—Influenza Proportion Positive (GRIPP) Working Group
Research Article | published 24 Mar 2016 | PLOS Medicine
10.1371/journal.pmed.1001977
Abstract
Background
The global burden of pediatric severe respiratory illness is substantial, and influenza viruses contribute to this burden. Systematic surveillance and testing for influenza among hospitalized children has expanded globally over the past decade. However, only a fraction of the data has been used to estimate influenza burden. In this analysis, we use surveillance data to provide an estimate of influenza-associated hospitalizations among children worldwide.
Methods and Findings
We aggregated data from a systematic review (n = 108) and surveillance platforms (n = 37) to calculate a pooled estimate of the proportion of samples collected from children hospitalized with respiratory illnesses and positive for influenza by age group ( Influenza was associated with 10% (95% CI 8%–11%) of respiratory hospitalizations in children Conclusions
Influenza is an important contributor to respiratory hospitalizations among young children worldwide. Increasing influenza vaccination coverage among young children and pregnant women could reduce this burden and protect infants

PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
http://www.plosntds.org/
(Accessed 26 March 2016)

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Research Article
Willingness to Pay for Dog Rabies Vaccine and Registration in Ilocos Norte, Philippines (2012)
Meseret G. Birhane, Mary Elizabeth G. Miranda, Jessie L. Dyer, Jesse D. Blanton, Sergio Recuenco
Research Article | published 21 Mar 2016 | PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
10.1371/journal.pntd.0004486
Abstract
Background
The Philippines is one of the developing countries highly affected by rabies. Dog vaccination campaigns implemented through collaborative effort between the government and NGOs have played an important role in successfully reducing the burden of disease within the country. Nevertheless, rabies vaccination of the domestic animal population requires continuous commitment not only from governments and NGOs, but also from local communities that are directly affected by such efforts. To create such long-term sustained programs, the introduction of affordable dog vaccination and registration fees is essential and has been shown to be an important strategy in Bohol, Philippines. The aim of this study, therefore, was to estimate the average amount of money that individuals were willing to pay for dog vaccination and registration in Ilocos Norte, Philippines. This study also investigated some of the determinants of individuals’ willingness to pay (WTP).
Methods
A cross-sectional questionnaire was administered to 300 households in 17 municipalities (out of a total of 21) selected through a multi-stage cluster survey technique. At the time of the survey, Ilocos Norte had a population of approximately 568,017 and was predominantly rural. The Contingent Valuation Method was used to elicit WTP for dog rabies vaccination and registration. A ‘bidding game’ elicitation strategy that aims to find the maximum amount of money individuals were willing to pay was also employed. Data were collected using paper-based questionnaires. Linear regression was used to examine factors influencing participants’ WTP for dog rabies vaccination and registration.
Key Results
On average, Ilocos Norte residents were willing to pay 69.65 Philippine Pesos (PHP) (equivalent to 1.67 USD in 2012) for dog vaccination and 29.13PHP (0.70 USD) for dog registration. Eighty-six per cent of respondents were willing to pay the stated amount to vaccinate each of their dogs, annually. This study also found that WTP was influenced by demographic and knowledge factors. Among these, we found that age, income, participants’ willingness to commit to pay each year, municipality of residency, knowledge of the signs of rabies in dogs, and number of dogs owed significantly predicted WTP.

PNAS – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/
(Accessed 26 March 2016)

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Biological Sciences – Medical Sciences – Social Sciences – Sustainability Science:
Analysis and valuation of the health and climate change cobenefits of dietary change
Marco Springmann, H. Charles J. Godfray, Mike Rayner, and Peter Scarborough
PNAS 2016 ; published ahead of print March 21, 2016, doi:10.1073/pnas.1523119113
Significance
The food system is responsible for more than a quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions while unhealthy diets and high body weight are among the greatest contributors to premature mortality. Our study provides a comparative analysis of the health and climate change benefits of global dietary changes for all major world regions. We project that health and climate change benefits will both be greater the lower the fraction of animal-sourced foods in our diets. Three quarters of all benefits occur in developing countries although the per capita impacts of dietary change would be greatest in developed countries. The monetized value of health improvements could be comparable with, and possibly larger than, the environmental benefits of the avoided damages from climate change.
Abstract
What we eat greatly influences our personal health and the environment we all share. Recent analyses have highlighted the likely dual health and environmental benefits of reducing the fraction of animal-sourced foods in our diets. Here, we couple for the first time, to our knowledge, a region-specific global health model based on dietary and weight-related risk factors with emissions accounting and economic valuation modules to quantify the linked health and environmental consequences of dietary changes. We find that the impacts of dietary changes toward less meat and more plant-based diets vary greatly among regions. The largest absolute environmental and health benefits result from diet shifts in developing countries whereas Western high-income and middle-income countries gain most in per capita terms. Transitioning toward more plant-based diets that are in line with standard dietary guidelines could reduce global mortality by 6–10% and food-related greenhouse gas emissions by 29–70% compared with a reference scenario in 2050. We find that the monetized value of the improvements in health would be comparable with, or exceed, the value of the environmental benefits although the exact valuation method used considerably affects the estimated amounts. Overall, we estimate the economic benefits of improving diets to be 1–31 trillion US dollars, which is equivalent to 0.4–13% of global gross domestic product (GDP) in 2050. However, significant changes in the global food system would be necessary for regional diets to match the dietary patterns studied here.

Reproductive Health
http://www.reproductive-health-journal.com/content
[Accessed 26 March 2016]

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Review
Reducing the global burden of Preterm Birth through knowledge transfer and exchange: a research agenda for engaging effectively with policymakers
Gavin Yamey, Hacsi Horváth, Laura Schmidt, Janet Myers and Claire D. Brindis
Published on: 18 March 2016
Abstract
Preterm birth (PTB) is the world’s leading cause of death in children under 5 years. In 2013, over one million out of six million child deaths were due to complications of PTB. The rate of decline in child death overall has far outpaced the rate of decline attributable to PTB. Three key reasons for this slow progress in reducing PTB mortality are: (a) the underlying etiology and biological mechanisms remain unknown, presenting a challenge to discovering ways to prevent and treat the condition; (ii) while there are several evidence-based interventions that can reduce the risk of PTB and associated infant mortality, the coverage rates of these interventions in low- and middle-income countries remain very low; and (c) the gap between knowledge and action on PTB—the “know-do gap”—has been a major obstacle to progress in scaling up the use of existing evidence-based child health interventions, including those to prevent and treat PTB.
In this review, we focus on the know-do gap in PTB as it applies to policymakers. The evidence-based approaches to narrowing this gap have become known as knowledge transfer and exchange (KTE). In our paper, we propose a research agenda for promoting KTE with policymakers, with an ambitious but realistic goal of reducing the global burden of PTB. We hope that our proposed research agenda stimulates further debate and discussion on research priorities to soon bend the curve of PTB mortality.

Science
25 March 2016 Vol 351, Issue 6280
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

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Policy Forum
Ethics review for international data-intensive research
By Edward S. Dove, David Townend, Eric M. Meslin, Martin Bobrow, Katherine Littler, Dianne Nicol, Jantina de Vries, Anne Junker, Chiara Garattini, Jasper Bovenberg, Mahsa Shabani, Emmanuelle Lévesque, Bartha M. Knoppers
Science25 Mar 2016 : 1399-1400
Summary
Historically, research ethics committees (RECs) have been guided by ethical principles regarding human experimentation intended to protect participants from physical harms and to provide assurance as to their interests and welfare. But research that analyzes large aggregate data sets, possibly including detailed clinical and genomic information of individuals, may require different assessment. At the same time, growth in international data-sharing collaborations adds stress to a system already under fire for subjecting multisite research to replicate ethics reviews, which can inhibit research without improving the quality of human subjects’ protections (1, 2). “Top-down” national regulatory approaches exist for ethics review across multiple sites in domestic research projects [e.g., United States (3, 4), Canada (5), United Kingdom, (6), Australia (7)], but their applicability for data-intensive international research has not been considered. Stakeholders around the world have thus been developing “bottom-up” solutions. We scrutinize five such ef orts involving multiple countries around the world, including resource-poor settings (table S1), to identify models that could inform a framework for mutual recognition of international ethics review (i.e., the acceptance by RECs of the outcome of each other’s review).

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health ::
Holistic Development :: Sustainable Resilience
__________________________________________________
Week ending 19 March 2016

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 &
Founding Managing Director
GE2P2 – Center for Governance, Evidence, Ethics, Policy, Practice
david.r.curry@ge2p2center.net

pdf version: The Sentinel_ week ending 19 March 2016

blog edition: comprised of the 35+ entries  posted below.

Editor’s Note:
The “EU-Turkey Agreement” reached yesterday is quickly generating a high volume of analysis and challenges from across media, human rights groups, governments and more. Since the agreement is complex and raises a number of questions about its compliance with refugee conventions and international law, we include the Q&A published by the EU today, and selected additional comment on the Plan below.

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EU-Turkey Agreement: Questions and Answers
Brussels, 19 March 2016
Factsheet on the EU-Turkey Agreement
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What has been agreed?
On 18 March, following on from the EU-Turkey Joint Action Plan activated on 29 November 2015 and the 7 March EU-Turkey statement, the European Union and Turkey decided to end the irregular migration from Turkey to the EU. Yesterday’s agreement targets the people smugglers’ business model and removes the incentive to seek irregular routes to the EU, in full accordance with EU and international law.

The EU and Turkey agreed that:
1) All new irregular migrants crossing from Turkey to the Greek islands as of 20 March 2016 will be returned to Turkey;
2) For every Syrian being returned to Turkey from the Greek islands, another Syrian will be resettled to the EU;
3) Turkey will take any necessary measures to prevent new sea or land routes for irregular migration opening from Turkey to the EU;
4) Once irregular crossings between Turkey and the EU are ending or have been substantially reduced, a Voluntary Humanitarian Admission Scheme will be activated;
5) The fulfilment of the visa liberalisation roadmap will be accelerated with a view to lifting the visa requirements for Turkish citizens at the latest by the end of June 2016. Turkey will take all the necessary steps to fulfil the remaining requirements;
6) The EU will, in close cooperation with Turkey, further speed up the disbursement of the initially allocated €3 billion under the Facility for Refugees in Turkey. Once these resources are about to be used in full, the EU will mobilise additional funding for the Facility up to an additional €3 billion to the end of 2018;
7) The EU and Turkey welcomed the ongoing work on the upgrading of the Customs Union.
8) The accession process will be re-energised, with Chapter 33 to be opened during the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the European Union and preparatory work on the opening of other chapters to continue at an accelerated pace;
9) The EU and Turkey will work to improve humanitarian conditions inside Syria.

On what legal basis will irregular migrants be returned from the Greek islands to Turkey?
People who do not have a right to international protection will be immediately returned to Turkey. The legal framework for these returns is the bilateral readmission agreement between Greece and Turkey. From 1 June 2016, this will be succeeded by the EU-Turkey Readmission Agreement, following the entry into force of the provisions on readmission of third country nationals of this agreement.

On what legal basis will asylum seekers be returned from the Greek islands of Turkey?
People who apply for asylum in Greece will have their applications treated on a case by case basis, in line with EU and international law requirements and the principle of non-refoulement. There will be individual interviews, individual assessments and rights of appeal. There will be no blanket and no automatic returns of asylum seekers.

The EU asylum rules allow Member States in certain clearly defined circumstances to declare an application “inadmissible”, that is to say, to reject the application without examining the substance.

There are two legal possibilities that could be envisaged for declaring asylum applications inadmissible, in relation to Turkey:
1) first country of asylum (Article 35 of the Asylum Procedures Directive): where the person has been already recognised as a refugee in that country or otherwise enjoys sufficient protection there;
2) safe third country (Article 38 of the Asylum Procedures Directive): where the person has not already received protection in the third country but the third country can guarantee effective access to protection to the readmitted person.

What safeguards exist for asylum seekers?
All applications need to be treated individually and due account must be paid to the situation of vulnerable groups, in particular unaccompanied minors for whom all decisions must be in their best interests.
Moreover, specific attention should be given also to persons who have members of their close family in other Member States and for whom the Dublin rules should be applied.
All applicants will also be able to appeal their decision.

Will asylum seekers remain in Greece during the appeal procedure?
When applying the “safe third country” concept, any return decision is suspended automatically while the appeal is being treated.
When applying the “first country of asylum” concept, there is a possibility to make a request to suspend the transfer while the appeal is being treated.

Where will migrants be accommodated whilst they await return?
Irregular migrants may be held in closed reception centres on the Greek islands, subject to EU legislation – in particular the EU Return Directive. Asylum seekers will be accommodated in open reception centres on the Greek islands.

How can you be sure that people will be given protection in Turkey?
Only asylum seekers that will be protected in accordance with the relevant international standards and in respect of the principle of non-refoulement will be returned to Turkey.
The EU will speed up the disbursement of funds from the €3 billion Facility for Refugees in Turkey. This funding will support Syrians in Turkey by providing access to food, shelter, education and healthcare. An additional €3 billion will be made available after this money is used to the full, up to the end of 2018. The UNHCR will be a key actor in the readmission and resettlement processes to provide additional support and supervision.

What operational support will Greece need in order to implement the scheme?
The implementation of the agreement will require huge operational efforts from all involved, and most of all from Greece. EU Member States agreed to provide Greece at short notice with the necessary means, including border guards, asylum experts and interpreters.

The Commission estimates that Greece will need:
Around 4,000 staff from Greece, Member States, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and FRONTEX
:: For the asylum process: 200 Greek asylum service case workers, 400 asylum experts from other Member States deployed by EASO and 400 interpreters
:: For the appeals process: 10 Appeals Committees made up of 30 members from Greece as well as 30 judges with expertise in asylum law from other Member States and 30 interpreters
:: For the return process: 25 Greek readmission officers, 250 Greek police officers as well as 50 return experts deployed by Frontex. 1,500 police officers seconded on the basis of bilateral police cooperation arrangements (costs covered by FRONTEX)
:: Security: 1,000 security staff/army
Material assistance:
:: Transport: return from the islands: 8 FRONTEX vessels with a capacity of 300-400 passengers per vessel) and 28 buses
:: Accommodation: 20,000 short-term capacity on the Greek islands (of which 6,000 already exist)
:: Administration: 190 containers, including 130 for EASO case workers

Who will coordinate this support?
Heads of State or Government meeting in the European Council on 18-19 March 2016 agreed that “the Commission will coordinate and organise together with Member States and Agencies the necessary support structures to implement it effectively.”
President Juncker has appointed Maarten Verwey to act as the EU coordinator to implement the EU-Turkey statement. Maarten Verwey is the Director-General of the European Commission’s Structural Reform Support Service. He leads a team which has already been on the ground in Greece since October 2015, working hand in hand with the Greek authorities to address the refugee crisis, by accelerating access to emergency funding, improving the coordination between the various actors, addressing administrative bottlenecks and facilitating knowledge sharing on border management and relocation. The EU coordinator has at his disposal significant resources from relevant European Commission services in Brussels (in particular DG HOME) and EU agencies (FRONTEX, EASO, Europol).
The EU coordinator will organise the work and coordinate the dispatching of the 4,000 staff that will be needed from Greece, Member States, the European Asylum Support Office (EASO) and FRONTEX. Staff needed include case workers, interpreters, judges, return officers and security officers.

What financial support will be provided to Greece?
The Commission estimates the costs of the practical implementation of the agreement to be around €280 million euro over the next six months.
The EU will support Greece to put in place the necessary human resources, infrastructure and reception capacity in order to carry out registrations appeals processes and large scale return operations. In particular, the hotspots in the islands in Greece will need to be adapted – with the current focus on registration and screening before swift transfer to the mainland replaced by the objective of implementing returns to Turkey.

Emergency assistance
Since the beginning of 2015, Greece has been awarded €181 million in emergency assistance. For 2016, the Commission has significantly increased the emergency assistance budget under the Asylum Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF) and the Internal Security Fund (ISF) – the total amount of emergency funding available in 2016 for the refugee crisis now stands at €464 million. €267 million has been earmarked for Greece, out of which €193,7 million is still available to support the Greek authorities and International Organisations operating in Greece in managing the refugee and humanitarian crisis, provided requests for financing are submitted to the Commission. This funding can be made available for the funding of reception centres on the islands, as well as support for return operations (transport and accompanying measures). This funding can also be used for the temporary deployment of additional Greek staff or Member States’ experts deployed to Greece. Yesterday, the Commission awarded an additional €30.5 million from the available emergency funding for Greece to support the Greek Ministry of Defence in providing shelter, accommodation, food and health care to refugees.

Funding available under the Greek multiannual National Programmes
The emergency funding comes on top of the €509 million already allocated to Greece under the national programmes for 2014-2020 (€294.5 million from AMIF and €214.7 million from ISF).

Frontex funding
€60 million euro is available in funding for return operations, including the reimbursement of the costs of Frontex return experts, the reimbursement of transport costs (including vessels made available through Frontex) and the reimbursement of police officers for return escorts (including police officers seconded by other Member States on the basis of bilateral police cooperation agreements).

EASO funding
Under the budget of the European Asylum Support Office, €1,9 million (additional allocations are foreseen) is available to support Member States under particular pressure in 2016 with the funding of for example case worker and judges and part of the mobile containers.
Emergency Assistance mechanism
On 2 March, the Commission proposed an Emergency Assistance instrument, providing €700 million over the next three years, to be used within the European Union to provide a faster, more targeted response to major crises, including helping Member States cope with large numbers of refugees. The estimated needs for 2016 are €300 million with a further €200 million each for use in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

When will the new agreement take effect?
The agreement will take effect from 20 March 2016. What this means in practice is that anyone arriving in the Greek islands from this date will be returned directly to Turkey if they have no right to international protection or do not claim asylum. Those who claim asylum will have their application processed, in an expedited fashion, with a view to their immediate return to Turkey if the claim is declared inadmissible.

When will resettlements from Turkey start?
Resettlements of Syrians under the 1:1 scheme will commence as of the beginning of April.
What happens to migrants who are already in Greece?
The Greek authorities, EU Member States and EU Agencies will accelerate relocations from Greece and provide rapid humanitarian assistance to Greece. In view of the emergency situation on the ground, 6,000 relocations should be achieved within the next month and at least 20,000 relocations completed by mid-May 2016.

UNHCR on EU-Turkey deal: Asylum safeguards must prevail in implementation
Press Release
18 March 2016
UNHCR notes today’s agreement between the European Union and Turkey on the situation of refugees and migrants seeking to make their way to Europe.

We recognize the shared need of countries to find properly managed solutions to this situation. Indeed UNHCR has on several occasions in recent months offered its own specific recommendations to Europe in this regard. The chaos that has prevailed in 2015 and till now in 2016 serves neither the interests of people fleeing war and needing safety, nor of Europe itself.

Today’s agreement clarifies a number of elements. Importantly, it is explicit that any modalities of implementation of the agreement will respect international and European law. In UNHCR’s understanding, in light of relevant jurisprudence, this means that people seeking international protection will have an individual interview on whether their claim can be assessed in Greece, and the right to appeal before any readmission to Turkey. This would also entail that once returned, people in need of international protection will be given the chance to seek and effectively access protection in Turkey. We now need to see how this will be worked out in practice, in keeping with the safeguards set out in the agreement – many of which at present are not in place.

How this plan is to be implemented is thus going to be crucial. Ultimately, the response must be about addressing the compelling needs of individuals fleeing war and persecution. Refugees need protection, not rejection.

Firstly, Greece’s reception conditions and its systems for assessing asylum claims and dealing with people accepted as refugees must be rapidly strengthened. The safeguards in the agreement have to be established and implemented. This will be an enormous challenge needing urgent addressing.

Secondly, people being returned to Turkey and needing international protection must have a fair and proper determination of their claims, and within a reasonable time. Assurances against refoulement, or forced return, must be in place. Reception and other arrangements need to be readied in Turkey before anyone is returned from Greece. People determined to be needing international protection need to be able to enjoy asylum, without discrimination, in accordance with accepted international standards, including effective access to work, health care, education for children, and, as necessary, social assistance.

Thirdly, while UNHCR has noted the commitment in this agreement to increase resettlement opportunities for Syrian refugees out of Turkey, it is crucial that such commitments are meaningful and predictable. Increased EU resettlement from Turkey should not be at the expense of the resettlement of other refugee populations around the world who also have great needs – especially in today’s context of record forced displacement worldwide.

Leaders Launch New Humanitarian-Development Partnership to Respond To Forced Displacement and Global Crises
WASHINGTON, March 16, 2016 — Signaling a great urgency to address the crisis of millions of people forcibly displaced from their homes, leaders of multilateral development banks, UN agencies and major NGOs today agreed to strengthen collective action and to work together more effectively.

At an unprecedented meeting on humanitarian-development collaboration — co-chaired by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim — about 30 leaders of the international organizations called for a new action-oriented humanitarian-development partnership. The meeting focused on forced displacement as an example of a humanitarian emergency that also presents a significant development challenge, emphasizing the need for more work to address the drivers of fragility and prevention.

The leaders expressed their commitment to build on comparative advantages in three key areas for joint action:
:: Data and evidence:
Work together to launch initiatives such as joint risk assessments, to strengthen and harmonize the data and evidence base to inform policies and programs, and to develop a clear action plan with specific deliverables and milestones.

:: Joint engagements:
Work together and with national counterparts to develop a set of multi-year joint initiatives in select groups of countries facing protracted and recurring crises. This could include the development of joint assessments and planning based on synergies and complementarities that reflect respective comparative advantages.

:: Financing instruments:
Commit to developing innovative financing instruments that “follow the need,” including concessional financing, and in particular leverage private sector resources.
Partners agreed to further develop this agenda and to establish a set of concrete proposals by the time of the World Humanitarian Summit in May 2016.

The meeting, held at World Bank Group headquarters, came in response to the Secretary General’s call for action in the report “One Humanity: Shared Responsibility,” and the Agenda for Humanity. It launched an agenda for collective action leading up to the World Humanitarian Summit and the Summit on Addressing Large Movements of Refugees and Migrants, to be held by the UN General Assembly on September 19, 2016.

“We need to shift from a disproportionate focus on crisis management to investing in crisis prevention and building up community resilience. Our planning and financing tools need to identify how to strengthen local capacity and resilience, including through increased cash-based programming. We should set ambitious targets and use the Summit and its follow-up process to monitor and measure achievement,” said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.

“These humanitarian crises are among the biggest challenges of our time – we must safeguard the lives and livelihoods of millions of people who are driven from their homes because of conflict or natural disasters,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. “In this meeting, we identified steps for urgent action, which we will set in motion immediately. We have a collective responsibility to work together to build a secure and stable foundation for sustainable development.”

Humanitarian development action is already under way: one example is the World Bank Group and UNHCR are rapidly expanding collaboration, deepened through joint analytics and operations in several regions in Africa and in the response to the Syrian crisis.

Organizations represented at this high-level meeting included:
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Islamic Development Bank, United Nations Development Programme, International Monetary Fund, World Food Programme, International Finance Corporation, International Organization for Migration, European Investment Bank, Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, World Health Organization, United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund, Results, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Inter-American Development Bank, International Rescue Committee, Islamic Relief Worldwide, International Committee of the Red Cross, International Federation of the Red Cross, International Council of Voluntary Agencies, Save the Children, OXFAM America, InterAction, Catholic Relief Services

More than 100 humanitarian agencies call for immediate and sustained access in Syria
GENEVA/NEW YORK, 15 March 2016 – Today, 102 humanitarian agencies urged sustained and unconditional humanitarian access to all Syrians. The appeal was made on the fifth anniversary of the start of the conflict in Syria. The appeal and signatories below.

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Syria Humanitarian Appeal – 5th Anniversary of the Syrian Conflict
As the parties to the conflict in Syria resume talks to end a war that now enters its sixth horrific year, there is renewed hope for peace. For an end to the suffering of millions of the innocent.
Two months ago our organizations appealed for urgent access to all those in desperate need inside Syria: for the lifting of sieges; for the full protection of civilians. Today, there are some encouraging signs of progress.

The cessation of hostilities has allowed humanitarian organizations to rush more food and other relief to communities desperate for help.

But access has to go beyond a temporary lifting of seiges and checkpoints and allowing more aid convoys to move.

Humanitarian access and freedom of movement of civilians in Syria has to be sustained. It has to be unconditional. And it should include access to all people in need by whatever routes necessary.

The parties to this conflict and their international sponsors must from now on guarantee:
:: Full access for humanitarian and medical workers to assess the wellbeing of civilians in all communities and treat those who are sick and injured without obstacle or restriction.
:: Allowing all humanitarian aid, as required by international humanitarian law, to reach, unimpeded, those who urgently need it – including medical supplies, surgical equipment, and nutritional necessities.
:: Support for an urgently needed nationwide immunization campaign for children.

These are practical actions that would mean the difference between life and death. All parties to the conflict can agree on them, now.

And in doing so, they can take another step to peace. Peace for Syria. The peace that Syrians so desperately deserve.

[List of 102 signatories at UNICEF press release]

No Place for Children – The Impact of Five Years of War n Syria’s Children and Their Childhoods
UNICEF
14 March 2016 :: 15 pages
PDF: http://www.unicef.org/media/files/SYRIA5Y_REPORT_12_MARCH.pdf

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Press Release
1 in 3 Syrian children has grown up knowing only crisis as conflict reaches 5 year point – UNICEF
AMMAN/NEW YORK, 14 March 2016 – An estimated 3.7 million Syrian children – 1 in 3 of all Syrian children – have been born since the conflict began five years ago, their lives shaped by violence, fear and displacement, according to a UNICEF report. This figure includes 306,000 children born as refugees since 2011.
In total, UNICEF estimates that some 8.4 million children – more than 80 per cent of Syria’s child population – are now affected by the conflict, either inside the country or as refugees in neighbouring countries.

“In Syria, violence has become commonplace, reaching homes, schools, hospitals, clinics, parks, playgrounds and places of worship,” said Dr. Peter Salama, UNICEF’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “Nearly 7 million children live in poverty, making their childhood one of loss and deprivation.”

According to “No Place for Children”, UNICEF verified nearly 1,500 grave violations against children in 2015. More than 60 per cent of these violations were instances of killing and maiming as a result of explosive weapons used in populated areas. More than one-third of these children were killed while in school or on their way to or from school.

In Syria’s neighbouring countries, the number of refugees is nearly 10 times higher today than in 2012. Half of all refugees are children. More than 15,000 unaccompanied and separated children have crossed Syria’s borders.

“Five years into the war, millions of children have grown up too fast and way ahead of their time,” Salama said. “As the war continues, children are fighting an adult war, they are continuing to drop out of school, and many are forced into labour, while girls are marrying early.”…

…One of the most significant challenges to the conflict has been providing children with learning. School attendance rates inside Syria have hit rock bottom. UNICEF estimates that more than 2.1 million children inside Syria, and 700,000 in neighbouring countries, are out-of-school. In response, UNICEF and partners launched the “No Lost Generation Initiative”, which is committed to restoring learning and providing opportunities to young people.

“It’s not too late for Syria’s children. They continue to have hope for a life of dignity and possibility. They still cherish dreams of peace and have the chance to fulfill them,” Salama said.

The report calls on the global community to undertake five critical steps to protect a vital generation of children.
:: End violations of children’s rights;
:: Lift sieges and improve humanitarian access inside Syria;
:: Secure US$ 1.4 billion in 2016 to provide children with learning opportunities;
:: Restore children’s dignity and strengthen their psychological wellbeing; and
:: Turn funding pledges into commitments. UNICEF has received only 6 per cent of the funding required in 2016 to support Syrian children both inside the country and those living as refugees in neighbouring countries.

Harnessing the collective strengths of the UN system to reach every woman, child, and adolescent
Joint Press Statement
18 March 2016
As part of the global effort to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), countries around the world reported major gains in the health and wellbeing of women and children between 1990 and 2015. The global rate of maternal mortality fell by 47 per cent and child mortality declined by 49 per cent. However, any celebration of progress is tempered by the reality that millions of women, children,

Newborns, and adolescents continue to die every year; mostly from preventable causes. As the world transitions from the MDGs to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we must uphold our commitment to keep reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (RMNCAH) at the heart of the global agenda. Fulfilling this promise is both a practical imperative and a moral obligation.

The UN Secretary-General’s Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s, and Adolescents’ Health sets out a plan to give every woman, child, and adolescent the opportunity to not only survive, but to thrive and transform his or her community. Implementing the Global Strategy and achieving the SDG targets requires an unprecedented level of alignment and coordination amongst each and every one of us working in the field of RMNCAH.

On behalf of the six organizations responsible for promoting and implementing the global health agenda across the UN system, UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNICEF, UN Women, WHO, and the World Bank Group, we, the undersigned, stand united in our commitment to operationalize the Global Strategy.

Building on our tradition of working together to support countries in achieving the MDGs, we, as members of the H6 (previously known as the H4+), will provide coordinated technical support to country-led efforts to implement the Global Strategy and achieve the ambitious targets of the health-related SDGs. At the same time, we will continue to advocate for evidence-based RMNCAH programmes and policies at the global, regional, and national levels.

As the current H6 chair (2016-2018), UNAIDS will lead the partnership in fulfilling its mandate to leverage the strengths and capacities of each of the six member organizations in order to support high-burden countries in their efforts to improve the survival, health, and well-being of every woman, newborn, child, and adolescent.

As representatives of the H6, we renew our commitment to implement this mandate in support of the Global Strategy. We call on RMNCAH activists and advocates worldwide to join us in fulfilling this shared pledge to women, children, and adolescents everywhere.

Michel Sidibé, Executive Director, UNAIDS
Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director, UNFPA
Anthony Lake, Executive Director, UNICEF
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Executive Director, UN Women
Margaret Chan, Director General, WHO
Tim Evans, Senior Director, Health, Nutrition and Population Global Practice, The World Bank Group

Pdf of Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s, and Adolescents’ Health: http://www.who.int/life-course/partners/global-strategy/globalstrategyreport2016-2030-lowres.pdf?ua=1

THE COMING PENSIONS CRISIS – Recommendations for Keeping the Global Pensions System Afloat  Citi GPS: Global Perspectives & Solutions
March 2016 :: 127 pages Pdf
Overview [p.3]
…Improvements in healthcare are increasing life expectancies meaning retirement money needs to last much longer. At the same time demographic shifts — an increase in the retirement age population accompanied by a decrease in the working age population — are starting to put a strain on pay-as-you-go government pension schemes such as social security.

How much of a problem is it? According to our estimates, the total value of unfunded or underfunded government pension liabilities for twenty OECD countries is a staggering $78 trillion, or almost double the $44 trillion published national debt number. Corporations have also not consistently met their pension obligation and most US and UK corporate pension plans remain underfunded with an aggregate fund status in the US of just 82%.

In the report that follows, the authors look at the scope of the pension problem both on the public and the private side. But instead of being all doom and gloom, they offer a set of recommendations to policymakers, corporate and public pension plan sponsors and managers, and product providers to deal with the crisis. These include:
(1) publishing the amount of underfunded government pension obligations so that everyone can see them,
(2) raising the retirement age,
(3) creating a new system that utilizes Collective Defined Contribution plans which share both the risks and benefits of the plan between plan sponsors and individuals,
(4) creating powerful ‘soft compulsion’ incentives to ensure that private pension savings
increase,
(5) encouraging pension plan sponsors to make their full pension contributions when they are due, and
(6) encouraging corporates with frozen plans to get out of the insurance business.

Finally, the silver lining of the pensions crisis is for product providers such as insurers and asset managers. Private pension assets are forecast to grow $5-$11 trillion over the next 10-30 years and strong growth is forecast in insurance pension buy-outs, private pension schemes, and asset and guaranteed retirement income solutions.

World Bank, USAID Strengthen Violence Prevention Partnership
WASHINGTON, March 17, 2016 – The gravity of violence and its impact on development in Latin America and the Caribbean was underscored in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) announced by the World Bank and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The MOU, which deepens an ongoing partnership between the World Bank and USAID in the region, elevates violence prevention as a global development challenge, and seeks to help cities and governments develop peaceful, just, and inclusive communities.

“The new agreement gives us the opportunity for even more strategic engagement in this area,” said Ede Ijjasz-Vasquez, Senior Director for the Social, Urban, Rural and Resilience Global Practice at the World Bank. “It underscores our two organizations’ ongoing commitment to treat violence as a preventable public health issue with close links to development.”

Violence has tremendous economic costs globally – up to 10 percent of GDP in some countries – and negative long-term consequences on human, social, economic, and sustainable development. Nearly a half million people lose their lives to intrapersonal violence each year, and youth violence is the fourth leading cause of death for young people worldwide.

“None of our development efforts will take root in societies that are plagued by insecurity,” said Beth Hogan, Acting Assistant Administrator for USAID’s Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean. “We look to partnerships like this one with the World Bank to help us address complex and longstanding challenges. Together, we can help improve conditions and enable peaceful and prosperous growth in the region.”

In Latin America and the Caribbean, citizen security is arguably the greatest challenge to the region’s broader development. The region is home to eight of the 10 most violent countries in the world, and 41 of the 50 most dangerous cities. And while only 9 percent of the world’s population live in the region, it comprises 33 percent of the world’s murders.

Social protection for domestic workers: Key policy trends and statistics
ILO – Social Protection Policy Paper. Paper 16
10 March 2016 :: 79 pages
Pdf: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_protect/—soc_sec/documents/publication/wcms_458933.pdf

Overview
This working paper: (i) provides an overview of the global situation of social security provisions for domestic workers in 163 countries; (ii) analyses trends, policies and gaps in terms of legal and effective social security coverage for domestic workers; (iii) describes and analyses the configuration of social security schemes for domestic workers, such as their institutional organization, financing and administration; (iv) informs on challenges to extending coverage; and (v) provides a compilation and description of international practices of social security schemes for the domestic work sector, including comparative information.

This report aims to provide systematized information on the international situation of social protection in the domestic work sector. To this end, it presents recent information on the
characteristics of social security schemes that provide coverage to domestic workers. The report compiles and disseminates information on legal practices, institutional organization, financing and registration, collection and payment of contributions. This information and the corresponding analysis can provide useful inputs for policy making.

Key messages
:: Due to the atypical characteristics of domestic work, workers are considered a “difficult-to-cover” group by social security; it is estimated that globally 90 per cent of domestic workers are legally excluded from social security systems. These characteristics include the fact that work is performed in a private household which makes it difficult to control and inspect; workers frequently have more than one employer; there is a high job turnover rate; in-kind payment is common; receipt of wage income is highly irregular and labour relations are not usually established through an employment contract. These difficulties are also associated with other factors such as the lack of legal recognition of domestic work as an occupation, the existence of discriminatory social and legal practices, as well as other socio-cultural elements which engender a low social value for domestic work.

:: Information compiled by the ILO highlights an important coverage deficit. It is estimated that of the 67 million domestic workers worldwide, 60 million are excluded from coverage of social security.

:: Of the 163 countries included in this study, at least 70 (43 per cent) have laws mandating legal coverage for domestic workers of one or more of the nine branches of social security established in the ILO’s Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention (No. 102).

:: The largest gaps in social security coverage for the domestic work sector are concentrated in developing countries, where few nations provide legal coverage for this sector. Moreover, developing regions have the largest share of domestic workers worldwide, Asia and Latin America regroup 68 per cent of domestic workers worldwide.

:: Social security coverage deficits for domestic workers also exist in industrialized countries. For example, in Italy approximately 60 per cent of domestic workers are not registered with or contributing to social security systems. In Spain and France, 30 per cent of domestic workers are excluded from social security coverage.

:: The information presented in this report demonstrates that coverage of domestic workers by social security schemes is feasible, including in lower middle and low income countries, such as evidence shows for Mali, Senegal and Viet Nam.

:: There is no single social protection model for the sector. Most countries have opted to provide social protection to domestic workers through general social security schemes, guaranteeing legally the same conditions of coverage as those established for other employees, or with minor variations.

:: Eight countries report having voluntary social security coverage for domestic workers. The low rate of effective coverage existing in those countries indicates that voluntary coverage is a practice that hinders efforts to extend social security to domestic workers, for a variety of reasons. However, effective coverage continues to be low in other countries with mandatory systems, which points to the existence of other barriers and national practices that likewise impede effective coverage.

:: Women comprise the majority of domestic workers, accounting for 80 per cent of all workers in the sector globally; which means that approximately 55 million women participate in this activity. Given that it is predominantly a female workforce subject to conditions of discrimination and social and economic vulnerability, policies to extend social protection to domestic workers are a key component of efforts to fight poverty and promote gender equality.

:: Migrant domestic workers, estimated at approximately 11.5 million persons worldwide, face even greater discrimination than that experienced by domestic workers in general. Approximately 14 per cent of countries whose social security systems provide some type of coverage for domestic workers do not extend the same rights to migrant domestic workers.

:: The main barriers for extending social security coverage to the domestic work sector are associated with the following: legal exclusion; voluntary rather than mandatory coverage; lack of provisions or strategies to cover workers who have more than one employer (multi-employer) or who work part-time; narrow legal definition of domestic work; restrictions on legally protected contingencies; lack of contributory incentives, including the absence of contributory conditions adapted to the low contributory capacity of the sector; complexity or inadequacy of administrative procedures for registration and contribution collection; difficulty in ensuring inspection, lack of information on rights and responsibilities; and low level of organization of domestic workers, among others.

:: Mandatory coverage is identified as a crucial element and a necessary, but insufficient, condition for achieving adequate rates of effective coverage of domestic workers. Mandatory enrolment should be complemented by strategies associated amongst others with institutional organization, financing, registration and promotion of coverage, collection and recovery of contributions, and coverage of migrant domestic workers.

:: Countries with high levels of social protection coverage for the domestic work sector have implemented a combination of strategies that include: the application of mandatory rather than voluntary coverage; differentiated contributory schemes in relation to those applied to other employees; government subsidies; fiscal incentives; registration plans for workers who have more than one employer (multi-employer) or who work part-time; education and awareness-raising programmes targeting domestic workers and their employers; intensive use of information technologies; and implementation of service voucher mechanisms and presumptive schemes.

:: It is important to bear in mind that policies and strategies to extend social security coverage in the domestic work sector form part of a broader set of interventions guided by formalization policies in general. These policies are part of the labour protection system, which includes the domestic work sector. At the same time, this system has a variety of components that go beyond the specific configuration and strategies of social security systems or their institutions.

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Press Release
Discrimination at work
ILO: 90 per cent of domestic workers excluded from social protection
New ILO study highlights huge decent work deficits for domestic workers throughout the world.
News | 14 March 2016
GENEVA (ILO News) – 60 million of the world’s 67 million domestic workers still do not have access to any kind of social security coverage, says a new ILO study.

“The vast majority of domestic workers are women, accounting for 80 per cent of all workers in the sector globally,” explained Isabel Ortiz, Director of the ILO Social Protection Department. “Most of their work is undervalued and unprotected, when domestic workers become old or injured, they are fired, without a pension or adequate income support. This can and must be redressed.”

Domestic work is considered as a sector that is difficult to cover, partly because work is performed in private households and frequently for more than one employer. The occupation is also characterized by high job turnover, frequent in-kind payments, irregular wages and a lack of formal work contracts.

“Given that it is predominantly a female workforce highly subject to discrimination as well as social and economic vulnerability, policies to extend social protection to domestic workers are key elements in the fight against poverty and the promotion of gender equality,” said Philippe Marcadent, Chief of the ILO’s Inclusive Labour Markets, Labour Relations and Working Conditions Branch…

Preventing disease through healthy environments: a global assessment of the burden of disease from environmental risks
WHO – A Prüss-Ustün, J Wolf, C Corvalán, R Bos and M Neira
March 2016 :: 176 pages
ISBN 978 92 4 156519 6
Executive Summary (excerpt)
In 2012, this present study estimates, 12.6 million deaths globally, representing 23% (95% CI: 13–34%) of all deaths, were attributable to the environment. When accounting for both death and disability, the fraction of the global burden of disease due to the environment is 22% (95% CI: 13–32%). In children under five years, up to 26% (95% CI: 16–38%) of all deaths could be prevented, if environmental risks were removed. Of the 12.6 million deaths attributable to the environment, 8.1 million (15%) were estimated using comparative risk assessment (CRA) methods, and the remaining 4.5 million using a combination of methods including expert opinion.

This study provides an approximate estimate of how much disease can be prevented by
reducing the environmental risks to health. It includes a meta-synthesis of key evidence
relating diseases and injuries to the environment. It brings together quantitative estimates of
the disease burden attributable to the environment using a combination of approaches that
includes CRA, epidemiological data, transmission pathways and expert opinion. The synthesis
of evidence linking 133 diseases and injuries, or their groupings, to the environment has been
reviewed to provide an overall picture of the disease burden that could be prevented through
healthier environments.

Environmental risks to health are defined, in this study, as “all the physical, chemical and
biological factors external to a person, and all related behaviours, but excluding those natural
environments that cannot reasonably be modified.” To increase the policy relevance of this
study, its focus is on that part of the environment which can reasonably be modified…

Download: Preventing disease through healthy environments: a global assessment of the burden of disease from environmental risks pdf, 2.41Mb

Editor’s Note:
We include the link to the extraordinary press conference given by Anthony Banbury on allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by UN peace keeping forces just before he left UN service. We note that this archive video has cut several minutes of the extraordinary closing minutes exchange with press from the live broadcast. We also include the text of an equally extraordinary New York Times opinion piece by Mr. Banbury this week [it has generated over 350 online comments so far]. He is now chief philanthropy officer for Vulcan Inc., a private company.

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29 Jan 2016
Anthony Banbury (DFS) on allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse cases in the Central African Republic – Press Conference (29 January 2016) (English)
[Video:: 45:58]
Anthony Banbury, the Assistant Secretary-General for Field Support, on allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse cases in the Central African Republic.

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New York Times Sunday Review
MARCH 18, 2016
Opinion
I Love the U.N., but It Is Failing
By ANTHONY BANBURY
Anthony Banbury was a United Nations assistant secretary general for field support until this month.

I HAVE worked for the United Nations for most of the last three decades. I was a human rights officer in Haiti in the 1990s and served in the former Yugoslavia during the Srebrenica genocide. I helped lead the response to the Indian Ocean tsunami and the Haitian earthquake, planned the mission to eliminate Syrian chemical weapons, and most recently led the Ebola mission in West Africa. I care deeply for the principles the United Nations is designed to uphold.

And that’s why I have decided to leave.

The world faces a range of terrifying crises, from the threat of climate change to terrorist breeding grounds in places like Syria, Iraq and Somalia. The United Nations is uniquely placed to meet these challenges, and it is doing invaluable work, like protecting civilians and delivering humanitarian aid in South Sudan and elsewhere. But in terms of its overall mission, thanks to colossal mismanagement, the United Nations is failing.

Six years ago, I became an assistant secretary general, posted to the headquarters in New York. I was no stranger to red tape, but I was unprepared for the blur of Orwellian admonitions and Carrollian logic that govern the place. If you locked a team of evil geniuses in a laboratory, they could not design a bureaucracy so maddeningly complex, requiring so much effort but in the end incapable of delivering the intended result. The system is a black hole into which disappear countless tax dollars and human aspirations, never to be seen again.

The first major problem is a sclerotic personnel system. The United Nations needs to be able to attract and quickly deploy the world’s best talent. And yet, it takes on average 213 days to recruit someone. In January, to the horror of many, the Department of Management imposed a new recruitment system that is likely to increase the delay to over a year.

During the Ebola epidemic, I was desperate to get qualified people on the ground, and yet I was told that a staff member working in South Sudan could not travel to our headquarters in Accra, Ghana, until she received a new medical clearance. We were fighting a disease that killed many thousands and risked spinning out of control and yet we spent weeks waiting for a healthy colleague to get her forms processed.

Too often, the only way to speed things up is to break the rules. That’s what I did in Accra when I hired an anthropologist as an independent contractor. She turned out to be worth her weight in gold. Unsafe burial practices were responsible for about half of new Ebola cases in some areas. We had to understand these traditions before we could persuade people to change them. As far as I know, no United Nations mission had ever had an anthropologist on staff before; shortly after I left the mission, she was let go.

The heads of billion-dollar peace operations, with enormous responsibilities for ending wars, are not able to hire their immediate staff, or to reassign non-performers away from critical roles. It is a sign of how perversely twisted the bureaucracy is that personnel decisions are considered more dangerous than the responsibility to lead a mission on which the fate of a country depends.

One result of this dysfunction is minimal accountability. There is today a chief of staff in a large peacekeeping mission who is manifestly incompetent. Many have tried to get rid of him, but short of a serious crime, it is virtually impossible to fire someone in the United Nations. In the past six years, I am not aware of a single international field staff member’s being fired, or even sanctioned, for poor performance.

The second serious problem is that too many decisions are driven by political expediency instead of by the values of the United Nations or the facts on the ground.

Peacekeeping forces often lumber along for years without clear goals or exit plans, crowding out governments, diverting attention from deeper socioeconomic problems and costing billions of dollars. My first peacekeeping mission was in Cambodia in 1992. We left after less than two years. Now it’s a rare exception when a mission lasts fewer than 10.

Look at Haiti: There has been no armed conflict for more than a decade, and yet a United Nations force of more than 4,500 remains. Meanwhile, we are failing at what should be our most important task: assisting in the creation of stable, democratic institutions. Elections have been postponed amid allegations of fraud, and the interim prime minister has said that “the country is facing serious social and economic difficulties.” The military deployment makes no contribution at all to solving these problems.

Our most grievous blunder is in Mali. In early 2013, the United Nations decided to send 10,000 soldiers and police officers to Mali in response to a terrorist takeover of parts of the north. Inexplicably, we sent a force that was unprepared for counterterrorism and explicitly told not to engage in it. More than 80 percent of the force’s resources are spent on logistics and self-protection. Already 56 people in the United Nations contingent have been killed, and more are certain to die. The United Nations in Mali is day by day marching deeper into its first quagmire.

BUT the thing that has upset me most is what the United Nations has done in the Central African Republic. When we took over peacekeeping responsibilities from the African Union there in 2014, we had the choice of which troops to accept. Without appropriate debate, and for cynical political reasons, a decision was made to include soldiers from the Democratic Republic of Congo and from the Republic of Congo, despite reports of serious human rights violations by these soldiers. Since then, troops from these countries have engaged in a persistent pattern of rape and abuse of the people — often young girls — the United Nations was sent there to protect.

Last year, peacekeepers from the Republic of Congo arrested a group of civilians, with no legal basis whatsoever, and beat them so badly that one died in custody and the other shortly after in a hospital. In response there was hardly a murmur, and certainly no outrage, from the responsible officials in New York.

As the abuse cases piled up, impassioned pleas were made to send the troops home. These were ignored, and more cases of child rape came to light. Last month, we finally kicked out the Democratic Republic of Congo soldiers, but the ones from the Republic of Congo remain

In 1988, my first job with the United Nations was as a human rights officer in Cambodian refugee camps along the Thai-Cambodian border, investigating rapes and murders of the poor and helpless. Never could I have imagined that I would one day have to deal with members of my own organization committing the same crimes or, worse, senior officials tolerating them for reasons of cynical expediency.

I am hardly the first to warn that the United Nations bureaucracy is getting in the way of its peacekeeping efforts. But too often, these criticisms come from people who think the United Nations is doomed to fail. I come at it from a different angle: I believe that for the world’s sake we must make the United Nations succeed.

In the run-up to the election of a new secretary general this year, it is essential that governments, and especially the permanent members of the Security Council, think carefully about what they want out of the United Nations. The organization is a Remington typewriter in a smartphone world. If it is going to advance the causes of peace, human rights, development and the climate, it needs a leader genuinely committed to reform.

The bureaucracy needs to work for the missions; not the other way around. The starting point should be the overhaul of our personnel system. We need an outside panel to examine the system and recommend changes. Second, all administrative expenses should be capped at a fixed percentage of operations costs. Third, decisions on budget allocations should be removed from the Department of Management and placed in the hands of an independent controller reporting to the secretary general. Finally, we need rigorous performance audits of all parts of headquarters operations.

Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is a man of great integrity, and the United Nations is filled with smart, brave and selfless people. Unfortunately, far too many others lack the moral aptitude and professional abilities to serve. We need a United Nations led by people for whom “doing the right thing” is normal and expected.