HelpAge International [to 28 November 2015]
http://www.helpage.org/newsroom/press-room/press-releases/

.
Overstretched and underfunded refugee camps put over 110,000 Burundians in Tanzania at risk, as potential influx and heavy rains loom large, aid agencies warn
Health and shelter for Burundian refugees in Tanzania are poised to get worse in already overstretched camps, the aid agencies Oxfam, Help Age International, Plan International, Save the Children, International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) warned today, if there is an increased influx of refugees across the border.
Posted: 23 November 2015

IRC International Rescue Committee [to 28 November 2015]
http://www.rescue.org/press-release-index

.
27 Nov 2015
Central African Republic: Papal Visit Sheds Light on Security, Humanitarian Access Challenges in War-Torn Country
:: Pope’s visit to war-torn country amid continuing tensions symbol of much-needed reconciliation between communities.
:: International and local humanitarian agencies still working at limited capacity because of volatile and unpredictable security, both in and out of the capital.
:: Pope should support the International Rescue Committee’s call to condemn attacks against humanitarian actors, ask warring parties to cease hostilities and grant access to most vulnerable, specifically PK5 in Bangui.
:: International spotlight on CAR should not be limited to the pope’s visit; donors should redouble funding essential social services until the government is able to take over.

ICRC [to 28 November 2015]
https://www.icrc.org/en/whats-new

.
Kazakhstan: Round-table on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons
Astana (ICRC) – The Kazakh Humanitarian Law University will host a round-table on 30 November on the cost in human terms of nuclear weapons.
27-11-2015 | News release

.
European Microfinance Award. Speech by ICRC president Peter Maurer.
Sixth European Microfinance Award.
25-11-2015 | Statement

.
Niger: Seminar on Islamic law and humanitarianism
Niamey (ICRC) – A seminar on Islam, humanitarian action and protecting victims of armed conflict is bringing together 30 intellectuals and academics from Islamic and Arabic-speaking universities from across Africa.
25-11-2015 | News release

.
Kuwait: Authorities share health-care expertise with visiting Algerian team
Kuwait (ICRC) –The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), together with the health and interior ministries of Kuwait, facilitated a study trip to Kuwait from 22 to 25 November for a team of Algerian officials.
25-11-2015 | News release

IRCT [to 28 November 2015]
http://www.irct.org/

.
News
Human Rights Council tells Georgia, Lebanon and Nepal to enhance fight against torture and ensure rehabilitation for victims
27 November 2015

.
News
IRCT calls on States to reject move at UN General Assembly to restrict protection of human rights defenders
25 November 2015

Islamic Relief [to 28 November 2015]
http://www.islamic-relief.org/category/news/

.
Putting an end to early and forced marriage
November 25, 2015
The right of girls to a childhood free of early and forced marriage is the subject of an interfaith conference being held today in Zambia.
Organised by Islamic Relief and the World YWCA in collaboration with World Vision International, the two-hour discussion will centre on faith responses to child, early and forced marriage…

.
Campaigning for climate justice
November 24, 2015
Islamic Relief is launching a toolkit to help Muslim communities around the world share the messages of the Islamic Declaration on Climate Change and join a fast-growing international community of faith groups that are actively working to tackle climate change ahead of COP21.

The Islamic Climate Change Declaration Toolkit will equip individuals and groups with ideas on how to use the Islamic Climate Change Declaration to mobilise for change and will provide a platform for them to deliver climate justice in their local communities, helping them to live up to Allah’s responsibility bestowed upon humankind as: “stewards placed on this earth”…

MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières [to 28 November 2015]
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news-stories/press/press-releases

.
Press release
Missiles Hit MSF-Supported Hospital Near Damascus
November 21, 2015
BRUSSELS—A Damascus area hospital supported by the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was struck by missiles on November 19, during an attack on a town in a besieged area east of the Syrian capital.

.
Field News
MSF Initial Reaction to US Military Investigation into Kunduz Attack
November 25, 2015
The US version of events presented today leaves MSF with more questions than answers. It is shocking that an attack can be carried out when US forces have neither eyes on a target nor access to a no-strike list, and have malfunctioning communications systems. It appears that 30 people were killed and hundreds of thousands of people are denied lifesaving care in Kunduz simply because the MSF hospital was the closest large building to an open field and “roughly matched” a description of an intended target.

The frightening catalogue of errors outlined today illustrates gross negligence on the part of US forces and violations of the rules of war. The destruction of a protected facility without verifying the target—in this case a functioning hospital full of medical staff and patients—cannot only be dismissed as individual human error or breaches of the US rules of engagement. MSF reiterates its call for an independent and impartial investigation into the attack on our hospital in Kunduz. Investigations of this incident cannot be left solely to parties to the conflict in Afghanistan.

.
Field news
Key MSF Articles, Statements, and Reports on Kunduz
November 24, 2015

.
Field news
In Memoriam: MSF Colleagues Killed in the Kunduz Trauma Hospital Attack
November 23, 2015

OXFAM [to 28 November 2015]
http://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases

.
Delays in cutting emissions set to cost developing countries hundreds of billions of dollars more
25 November 2015
Climate change alert: Oxfam report reveals spiralling costs of 3 degree compared to 2 degrees warming.

.
Huge majority of public call for new laws to clamp down on tax havens – Pan-European poll
24 November 2015
Eight of ten Europeans say laws need to change to clamp down on the use of tax havens, a poll published on Tuesday shows.

.
Overstretched and underfunded refugee camps in Tanzania put over 110,000 Burundian refugees at risk
23 November 2015
Health and shelter for Burundian refugees in Tanzania are poised to get worse in already overstretched camps, the aid agencies Oxfam, HelpAge International, Plan International, Save the Children, International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) warned today, if there is an increased influx of refugees across the border.

Norwegian Refugee Council [to 28 November 2015]
http://www.nrc.no/

.
Mediterranean
More deaths at sea likely as winter looms
Tiril Skarstein (27.11.2015)
Friday six children drowned off the Turkish coast. The Norwegian Refugee Council fears that more children will die in the Mediterranean in the coming months as the sea gets rougher and refugees and migrants continue to come.

“The EU and its Member States must prioritise the saving of lives at sea as the weather gets worse and people continue to cross the sea from Turkey to Greece,” said Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council Jan Egeland. “Today’s tragic accidents outside Turkey’s coast highlight the need for more and better rescue capacity between Turkey and Greece, and for alternative safe and legal routes to Europe”.

.

News
Verdict in court case against NRC
Tuva Raanes Bogsnes (25.11.2015)
NRC has received the verdict in the court case related to the attack and kidnapping in Dadaab, Kenya in June 2012.
Oslo District Court has awarded Steve Dennis compensation for financial and non-financial loss of NOK 4.4 million. The court found that NRC was grossly negligent in regards to the safe-guarding of staff during the visit of the Secretary General in Dadaab in 2012.

“We will now need time to evaluate all the aspects of the verdict before we decide whether to appeal the ruling,” said NRC Deputy Secretary General, Geir Olav Lisle.

On 29 June 2012, a group of armed men opened fire on an NRC convoy in the IFO II Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya. Several people suffered gunshot wounds and one driver was fatally injured. Four NRC staff were abducted and taken across the border into Somalia. NRC’s then Secretary General, the Regional Director for the Horn of Africa and the Area Manager for Dadaab managed to escape the scene unharmed. The abducted staff were rescued and returned to Kenya four days later.

Steve Dennis was one of the NRC staff abducted in Dadaab. He filed a claim against NRC seeking financial and non-financial damages on the basis that the kidnapping and subsequent loss of work ability was directly caused by negligence and gross negligence on NRC’s part in Dadaab in 2012.The court case took place in Oslo in late October this year.

“It is important to underline that the Dadaab attack profoundly impacted the entire organisation and that NRC deeply regrets the loss and the traumatic experience suffered by all NRC staff in Dadaab in June 2012. It has been important for us to learn from the incident and we will continue to learn from this in the time to come, Lisle said…

Plan International [to 28 November 2015]
http://plan-international.org/about-plan/resources/media-centre
.
Publications & Research
Young, Woman and Unemployed: The Triple Challenge – Youth Economic Empowerment in developing and emerging countries
26 November 2015
Young women are the first victims of economic instability throughout the world. They represent the majority of the 628 million young people aged 15-24 who have neither a job nor an education.
This report highlights situations experienced by the most vulnerable young women in terms of accessing decent employment or self-employment in developing countries. Working from a grid analysis and field experiences, it also shows how to mainstream gender at all stages of youth economic empowerment programmes…

Save The Children [to 28 November 2015]
http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6150563/k.D0E9/Newsroom.htm

.
Overstretched and Underfunded Refugee Camps Put over 110,000 Burundians in Tanzania at Risk, as Potential Influx and Heavy Rains Loom Large, Warn Aid Agencies
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (Nov. 23, 2015) — Health and shelter for Burundian refugees in Tanzania are poised to get worse in already overstretched camps, if there is an increased influx of refugees across the border, the aid agencies Oxfam, HelpAge International, Plan International, Save the Children, International Rescue Committee (IRC) and the Danish Refugee Council (DRC) warned today. Reports of escalating political instability inside Burundi have prompted fears of a new exodus of refugees into neighboring countries, which would push the current limits of the camps in western Tanzania to breaking point. Nyarugusu, where Burundians began arriving in April this year, is now the world’s third largest refugee camp…

Tostan [to 28 November 2015]
http://www.tostan.org/latest-news

.
November 24, 2015
Communities in Senegal Embrace Positive Parental Practices
…The RPP program—implemented in communities that have already taken part in Tostan’s Community Empowerment Program (CEP)—equips parents with the knowledge and tools to improve the quality of their interactions with children, stimulating brain development and preparing them for school. Since the pilot phase in 2012, the program has been implemented in 342 communities, and has reached many more as a result of communities spreading their new knowledge within their social networks. The program includes class sessions tailored to the local context and delivered in three national languages—Wolof, Pulaar and Mandinka—by a trained facilitator who lives in the community throughout the one-year program. Parents are also given a set of illustrated storybooks written in national languages to encourage reading with children…

CONCORD [to 28 November 2015]
http://www.concordeurope.org/news-room
European NGO confederation for relief and development
.
EU misses its own target for development aid: A false start for the EU Agenda 2030 ambitions
(Brussels 24/11/2015) Action remains well short of ambition in the European Union, a new report by CONCORD, the European NGO confederation for relief and development shows.
Despite repeated promises, the EU as a whole did not deliver on its commitment to spend 0.7% of Gross National Income (GNI) as aid by 2015. More worryingly, there is an emerging trend in EU countries to divert aid budgets from sustainable development to domestic costs associated with hosting refugees and asylum seekers.

The Elders [to 28 November 2015]
http://theelders.org/news-media

.
Guest blog Mai Abu Moghli 26 November 2015
Palestine Refugees in Syria: A Recurring Tragedy
Refugees for over six decades, Palestinians in Syria face a precarious legal status given the civil war and renewed displacement. Mai Abu Moghli – a PhD candidate at the Institute of Education, University of London explains how some are falling through the cracks of the international protection regime and calls for a solution based on human rights and international law.

.
Guest blog Arifa Nasim 23 November 2015
How young people can combat violence against women
Violence against women is sometimes justified by abusers and perpetrators as a matter of ‘honour’. In this guest blog to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, 18 year-old youth activist Arifa Nasim from London explains how she uses education to challenge prejudice within communities and encourages women of all ages and backgrounds to empower themselves.

Gavi [to 28 November 2015]
http://www.gavialliance.org/library/news/press-releases/

.
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation approves Gavi membership to key health committee
Vaccine Alliance support already helping to immunise millions of children in OIC member states.
Geneva, 26 November 2015 – Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance has been officially invited to become a member of the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) Steering Committee on Health.

The invitation, which recognises Gavi’s support for childhood immunisation in OIC member states, meant the Vaccine Alliance was able to participate in the 10th Steering Committee on Health (SCH) in Istanbul last week. The SCH, set up at the first Islamic Conference of Health Ministers (ICHM) in 2007, tracks implementation of a framework for action through progress and evaluation reports.

From 2000 to 30 September 2015, Gavi provided more than US$ 4 billion to support immunisation in 33 OIC member states – equivalent to 49% of Gavi disbursements. This has helped developing countries immunise more than 210 million children, saving over four million lives.

Ambassador Mohammed Naeem Khan, Assistant Secretary-General of Science and Technology at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), said: “We welcome Gavi as a member of SCH and highly appreciate its active support to OIC member states and look forward to further strengthening of the partnership between OIC and Gavi.”…

Global Fund [to 28 November 2015]
http://www.theglobalfund.org/en/news/

.
The Link Between HIV and Violence Against Women
in Voices on 24 November 2015

.
Accelerating the Elimination of Malaria in Southern Africa
By Dr. Richard Kamwi, Elimination 8 Ambassador and former Minister of Health of Namibia, and Mark Dybul, Executive Director of the Global Fund
in Voices on 23 November 2015

Start Network [to 28 November 2015]
http://www.start-network.org/news-blog/#.U9U_O7FR98E
[Consortium of British Humanitarian Agencies]

.
Spotlight on the Start Fund: Peer field review of the Malawi & Mozambique flood response
November 23, 2015
Posted by Helen James in Blog.
In January 2015, the Start Fund responded to flooding in Malawi and Mozambique. The floods had caused mass displacement and destroyed the vast majority of agricultural livelihoods, affecting more than 1 million people.

The Learning and Evaluation Committee conducted its normal peer-review of the response, and a number of key questions arose. With their approval, the Monitoring and Evaluation team at Action Against Hunger decided to launch a learning exercise from July 11-18 using the 1% learning budget.

A bespoke methodology was developed for the Start Fund’s first ever peer field review. The pilot was successful and led to a number of key findings, detailed in this case study…

CHS International Alliance [to 28 November 2015]
http://chsalliance.org/news-events/news

.
25/11/2015
The CHS is now available in Urdu
The Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) is now available in Urdu. The Standard was translated into Urdu by Community World Service Asia (CWSA).

Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA) [to 28 November 2015]
http://www.globalhumanitarianassistance.org/

.
Ebola virus disease in Liberia
Report Synopsis
Date: 2015/11/23
On 20 November 2015 we responded to a funding alert for a new case of the Ebola virus disease in Liberia. The day before, less than three months after Liberia was last declared free of Ebola, it was confirmed that a 10-year-old boy had tested positive for the virus.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)’s Financial Tracking Service (FTS), donors have committed/contributed US$236.9 million of humanitarian assistance to Liberia since the start of 2015. At least US$227.7 million of this is for the Ebola response. However, there are currently no financial contributions or pledges in response to this new outbreak of the disease.

Read our full analysis of the current funding situation.

The Sphere Project [to 28 November 2015]
http://www.sphereproject.org/news/

.
Launching the global survey “Growing the Sphere network”
26 November 2015 | Sphere Project
The purpose of this survey is to help Sphere become a stronger, more robust and inclusive network whose mission it is to convene and support individuals, communities, organisations and like-minded standards-setting bodies who apply, promote and encourage voluntary adherence to humanitarian standards and principles….
The survey is available in English, Arabic, French and Spanish. You can take this survey online until 11 December 2015…

Center for Global Development [to 28 November 2015]
http://www.cgdev.org/page/press-center

.
Changes in Funding Patterns by Latin American Banking Systems: How Large? How Risky? – Working Paper 420
11/20/15
Liliana Rojas-Suarez and José María Serena
This paper investigates the shifts in Latin American banks’ funding patterns in the post-global financial crisis period. To this end, we introduce a new measure of exposure of local banking systems to international debt markets that we term: International Debt Issuances by Locally Supervised Institutions. In contrast to well-known BIS measures, our new metric includes all entities that fall under the supervisory purview of the local authority.