Science
20 November 2015 vol 350, issue 6263, pages 885-1000
http://www.sciencemag.org/current.dtl

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Feature
What does a disease deserve?
Jocelyn Kaiser
Since the early 1990s, Congress and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have agreed to dedicate roughly 10% of the NIH budget to fighting HIV/AIDS. Now, however, that special arrangement is under fire. Health policy experts, lawmakers, and even NIH officials have wondered why, 2 decades after AIDS death rates began dropping dramatically in the United States, the disease still gets a lion’s share of NIH resources, or $3 billion this year. As questions have arisen about how HIV/AIDS research funds are spent, NIH has also resolved to refocus AIDS money on ending the epidemic. Some voice a broader critique: that NIH’s spending on a disease often doesn’t align with how much suffering it causes. They note that diseases imposing a relatively small burden on U.S. society, such as AIDS, can get a larger share of NIH funding than those that cause greater harm, such as heart disease. Recently, while responding to pointed questions from a member of Congress about the issue, NIH Director Francis Collins said the agency is ready to abandon the 10% set-aside. And next month officials are expected to release an agency-wide strategic plan that they say will address how disease burden should influence the allocation of research dollars.

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Policy Forum
Energy and Environment
Transport: A roadblock to climate change mitigation?
Felix Creutzig1,2,*, Patrick Jochem3, Oreane Y. Edelenbosch4, Linus Mattauch1,2, Detlef P. van Vuuren4,5, David McCollum6, Jan Minx1,7
Author Affiliations
1Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change (MCC), 10829 Berlin, Germany.
2Technical University Berlin, 10623 Berlin, Germany.
3Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), 76131 Karlsruhe, Germany.
4PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, 3720AH Bilthoven, Netherlands.
5Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development of Geosciences, Utrecht University, 3584CS Utrecht, Netherlands.
6International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), 2361 Laxenburg, Austria.
7Hertie School of Governance, 10117 Berlin, Germany.
Summary
Global emissions scenarios studies, such as those informing the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th Assessment Report (AR5), highlight the importance of the transport sector for climate change mitigation—along with the difficulties of achieving deep reductions therein (1) [supplementary materials (SM)]. Transport is responsible for about 23% of total energy-related CO2 emissions worldwide (2). The sector is growing more rapidly than most others, with emissions projected to double by 2050. Global scenario studies, specifically those produced by integrated assessment models (IAMs), communicate aggregate mitigation potentials by sectors in IPCC reports. Yet recent evidence indicates that emissions may be reduced further than these global scenario studies suggest—if policy-makers use the full suite of policies at their disposal.

ocial Science & Medicine
Volume 144, Pages 1-148 (November 2015)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/02779536/144

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Toward a multidimensional understanding of culture for health interventions
Original Research Article
Pages 79-87
Asad L. Asad, Tamara Kay
Abstract
Although a substantial literature examines the relationship between culture and health in myriad individual contexts, a lack of comparative data across settings has resulted in disparate and imprecise conceptualizations of the concept for scholars and practitioners alike. This article examines scholars and practitioners’ understandings of culture in relation to health interventions. Drawing on 169 interviews with officials from three different nongovernmental organizations working on health issues in multiple countries—Partners in Health, Oxfam America, and Sesame Workshop—we examine how these respondents’ interpretations of culture converge or diverge with recent developments in the study of the concept, as well as how these understandings influence health interventions at three different stages—design, implementation, and evaluation—of a project. Based on these analyses, a tripartite definition of culture is built—as knowledge, practice, and change—and these distinct conceptualizations are linked to the success or failure of a project at each stage of an intervention. In so doing, the study provides a descriptive and analytical starting point for scholars interested in understanding the theoretical and empirical relevance of culture for health interventions, and sets forth concrete recommendations for practitioners working to achieve robust improvements in health outcomes.

Social Science & Medicine
Volume 144, Pages 1-148 (November 2015)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/02779536/144

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Toward a multidimensional understanding of culture for health interventions
Original Research Article
Pages 79-87
Asad L. Asad, Tamara Kay
Abstract
Although a substantial literature examines the relationship between culture and health in myriad individual contexts, a lack of comparative data across settings has resulted in disparate and imprecise conceptualizations of the concept for scholars and practitioners alike. This article examines scholars and practitioners’ understandings of culture in relation to health interventions. Drawing on 169 interviews with officials from three different nongovernmental organizations working on health issues in multiple countries—Partners in Health, Oxfam America, and Sesame Workshop—we examine how these respondents’ interpretations of culture converge or diverge with recent developments in the study of the concept, as well as how these understandings influence health interventions at three different stages—design, implementation, and evaluation—of a project. Based on these analyses, a tripartite definition of culture is built—as knowledge, practice, and change—and these distinct conceptualizations are linked to the success or failure of a project at each stage of an intervention. In so doing, the study provides a descriptive and analytical starting point for scholars interested in understanding the theoretical and empirical relevance of culture for health interventions, and sets forth concrete recommendations for practitioners working to achieve robust improvements in health outcomes.

Stability: International Journal of Security & Development
http://www.stabilityjournal.org/articles
[accessed 21 November 2015]

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Research Article
Preparing Stabilisation for 21st Century Security Challenges
Steven A. Zyck, Robert Muggah
Abstract
Stabilisation, as a concept and set of practices, has proliferated over the past two decades and is now implicitly integrated into a range of global frameworks. However, this enthusiasm has at times risked turning this increasingly common, albeit contested, idea into a piece of jargon that discounts its unique facets: a focus on all sorts of violence, not just conflict, that create political instability and human harm and a problem-solving approach that draws selectively on various forms of intervention (e.g., statebuilding, counterinsurgency, peacekeeping, etc.) without being beholden to any one toolkit. The pragmatism inherent within the concept of stabilisation will grow increasingly important as new security challenges emerge or proliferate. These include the fragmentation and regionalisation of conflict systems, transnational organised crime, large-scale migration and new, disruptive technologies. Novel approaches rooted in big data and technology will increasingly need to be applied. Most importantly, in foreign policy, military and development communities often driven by perceptions about what causes, ends or prevents violence, stabilisation must maintain its agnostic, problem-solving roots and allegiance to evidence over ideology.
DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/sta.gs

Tropical Medicine & International Health
November 2015 Volume 20, Issue 11 Pages 1405–1589
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tmi.2015.20.issue-11/issuetoc

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Improving survey data on pregnancy-related deaths in low-and middle-income countries: a validation study in Senegal (pages 1415–1423)
Stéphane Helleringer, Gilles Pison, Bruno Masquelier, Almamy Malick Kanté, Laetitia Douillot, Cheikh Tidiane Ndiaye, Géraldine Duthé, Cheikh Sokhna and Valérie Delaunay
Article first published online: 28 AUG 2015 | DOI: 10.1111/tmi.12583

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Reduction in symptomatic malaria prevalence through proactive community treatment in rural Senegal (pages 1438–1446)
Annē M. Linn, Youssoupha Ndiaye, Ian Hennessee, Seynabou Gaye, Patrick Linn, Karin Nordstrom and Matt McLaughlin
Article first published online: 7 AUG 2015 | DOI: 10.1111/tmi.12564

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Use of a bibliometric literature review to assess medical research capacity in post-conflict and developing countries: Somaliland 1991–2013 (pages 1507–1515)
Ross Boyce, Richard Rosch, Alexander Finlayson, Djibril Handuleh, Said Ahmed Walhad, Susannah Whitwell and Andy Leather
Article first published online: 14 SEP 2015 | DOI: 10.1111/tmi.12590

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Disease mapping for informing targeted health interventions: childhood pneumonia in Bohol, Philippines (pages 1525–1533)
Deborah S. K. Thomas, Peter Anthamatten, Elisabeth Dowling Root, Marilla Lucero, Hanna Nohynek, Veronica Tallo, Gail M. Williams, Eric A. F. Simões and the ARIVAC Consortium
Article first published online: 21 JUL 2015 | DOI: 10.1111/tmi.12561

World Heritage Review
n°77 – October 2015
http://whc.unesco.org/en/review/77

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Climate Change
The network of World Heritage properties was inter alia intended to ensure the proper preservation of the natural and cultural values of sites inscribed on the World Heritage List. Today, as the planet finds itself confronted with the impact of climate change, the existence of this network is proving to be of the highest importance in monitoring changing conditions and advancing solutions on the ground….

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health ::
Holistic Development :: Sustainable Resilience
__________________________________________________
Week ending 14 November 2015

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 14 November 2015

blog edition: comprised of the 35+ entries  posted below on 19 November 2015

Secretary-General Nominates Filippo Grandi of Italy United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
11 November 2015
SG/A/1605-REF/1217
Press Release
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, following consultations with the Chairs of the regional groups of Member States, today informed the General Assembly of his intention to appoint Filippo Grandi of Italy as the new United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Mr. Grandi was Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from 2010 to 2014 and it’s Deputy Commissioner-General from 2005 until 2010. He served as the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and has a long-standing career with UNHCR, notably as Chief of Mission in Afghanistan and Chief of Staff in the High Commissioner’s Executive Office. His vast UNHCR field experience includes various positions in Sudan, Syria, Turkey and Iraq, having also led emergency operations in Kenya, Benin, Ghana, Liberia, the Great Lakes region of Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo and Yemen.

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High Commissioner welcomes nomination of successor
Press Releases, 12 November 2015
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres on Thursday welcomed the announcement in New York of the nomination of Italian diplomat Filippo Grandi as his successor.

Mr. Grandi’s nomination was announced yesterday at United Nations headquarters by Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. The General Assembly is expected to elect the new High Commissioner in the coming days.

“Mr. Grandi is a highly respected leader with a wealth of international and refugee experience,” Mr. Guterres said. “Given the scale and urgency of today’s refugee crisis, with 60 million people worldwide uprooted by conflict and persecution, someone of his abilities and profound knowledge of forced displacement will be of great benefit to UNHCR and the people we are mandated to protect and assist.”

Mr. Guterres ends over 10 years as High Commissioner on 31 December 2015. His term, which began in June 2005, spanned one of the most tumultuous decades in UNHCR’s history. The agency, which has more than 9,300 staff in some 123 countries, marks the 65th anniversary of its founding next month.

Valletta Summit: Launch of the EU Trust Fund for Africa
President Juncker launches the EU Emergency Trust Fund (€1.8 billion) to tackle the root causes of irregular migration in Africa. Yesterday, a Common Agenda for Mobility and Migration (CAMM) with Ethiopia was signed
News 12/11/2015
European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, together with a number of European Heads of State or Government, launched today in Valletta (Malta) the EU’s Emergency Trust Fund for stability and addressing root causes of irregular migration and displaced persons in Africa.

The Emergency Trust Fund is made up of €1.8 billion from the European Union financing instruments as well as contributions from EU Member States and other donors. So far, 25 EU Member States and 2 non-EU donors (Norway and Switzerland) have announced a total contribution of around €78.2 million.

The Emergency Trust Fund is an innovative way how the EU is stepping up its collective response to current challenges on the ground and is a complementary tool to the EU’s already existing development cooperation in the region to assist the most fragile and vulnerable countries across Africa. It will benefit the Sahel region and Lake Chad area; the Horn of Africa and the North of Africa. Together, these encompass the major African migration routes to Europe. Neighbouring countries in these regions may also benefit from the Trust Fund’s projects to address regional migration flows and related cross-border challenges.

The first meeting of the Strategic Board of the EU’s Emergency Trust Fund will take place already today in Valletta to ensure the swift launch of activities.

Yesterday, in the margins of the Valletta Summit, President Juncker and High Representative / Vice-President Mogherini also signed the Common Agenda for Mobility and Migration (CAMM) with Ethiopia.

The Agenda reflects the importance of Ethiopia as a key country of origin, transit and destination of irregular migrants and refugees from the Horn of Africa on the route to Europe.

The two parties will cooperate on issues of international protection and refugees’ needs, legal migration and mobility, irregular migration, smuggling and trafficking in human beings and development policy. Funding will be made available for implementation of concrete activities, notably through the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa.

The Valletta Summit also adopts a political declaration and a joint action plan. The aim of the Action Plan is to step up cooperation on migration, including concrete actions in order to:
:: maximise the development benefits of migration and address root causes;
:: better organise legal channels for migration and mobility;
:: ensure international protection for migrants and asylum seekers;
:: intensify the fight against criminal networks engaged in migrant smuggling and human trafficking,
:: step up the cooperation on return and readmission.

RIGHT TO A FUTURE – Empowering refugees from Syria and host governments to face a long-term crisis
JOINT AGENCY BRIEFING PAPER 9 NOVEMBER 2015 :: 20 pages
Download full report
Signatories: Care, Danish Refugee Council, International Rescue Committee, Norwegian Refugee Council, Oxfam, Save the Children and World Vision International

Overview
With no end to the conflict in Syria in sight, the four million people forced to flee the country have no foreseeable prospect of safe return. And as the impact of the crisis on neighbouring countries grows and aid dries up, the situation for these refugees is becoming increasingly dire.
This briefing calls for a new approach by the international community, including Syria’s neighbours; one which offers hope, safety and dignity to the millions of refugees, and gives them a chance to contribute to the societies and economies of their hosts.

Excerpt
…To address the challenges facing refugees and the countries that received them, seven organizations call on international donors and refugee-hosting governments to work together on five different areas:
:: Ensuring the ‘resilience agenda’ benefits the most vulnerable. The resilience agenda should include and benefit all those affected by displacement – including refugees and vulnerable members of host communities.
:: Enabling refugees from Syria to reside in neighbouring countries legally without discrimination. Procedures to maintain valid documentation and registration must be clear, accessible, and affordable.
:: Allowing refugees from Syria to access basic services, including adequate and affordable education, medical care and housing, without compromising the quality of public services for host communities. This means significant new investment in national institutions and infrastructure to boost service delivery.
:: Supporting refugees to be more self-reliant through greater livelihoods opportunities, without negatively affecting the economies of host communities. Donors and host governments should work together to unlock the potential economic contribution that refugees can make to meet their basic needs, while also benefiting the countries where they temporarily reside.
:: Ensuring countries neighbouring Syria receive adequate support to change policies and practices to allow refugees and the communities hosting them to cope better; pending a political solution to the conflict in Syria and options for the safe return of refugees or resettlement or other forms of admission to third countries…

G20 Antalya Summit: The Elders’ letter to leaders on climate change
12 November 2015
The Elders have written to world leaders attending the G20 Summit in Antalya, Turkey. They call for strong leadership to ensure an equitable and ambitious international agreement on climate change in Paris in December.

Your excellency,
We are writing to you ahead of your meeting in Antalya with fellow G20 Heads of State on 15 and 16 November, to urge strong G20 leadership for an equitable and ambitious international agreement on climate change in Paris in December.

In September in New York, all governments agreed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We applaud your vision and leadership in concluding these Goals. Yet without a strong agreement in Paris, the SDGs will not be deliverable. Instead development gains achieved to date will be wiped out by the impacts of climate change.

This is a human rights and justice issue, not just an economic one. As we rapidly approach the tipping point beyond which climate change may become irreversible, we risk denying future generations their right to a liveable, sustainable planet.

Time and leadership are of the essence. The draft text for Paris still contains too many complex options and competing views. Your engagement as a G20 leader is thus crucial in reaching a strong, inclusive and equitable agreement at Paris.

When you meet in Turkey, we urge you to resolve with your fellow G20 heads to include these crucial elements in the Paris agreement:
:: an overarching goal for all nations to reach a state of carbon neutrality by 2050. The world’s governments agreed in 2010 to limit the increase in average global temperature rise to less than 2 degrees Celsius. But to shift investments in the real economy away from fossil fuels and into clean energy, it will be necessary to fix a precise goal and timeline in the Paris agreement;

:: a clear and strong commitment on climate finance. Public climate finance is crucial to enable developing countries to shift to clean energy production and to adapt to the impacts of climate change. Developed countries cannot simply insist that poorer countries refrain from using fossil fuels on account of climate change, but should provide feasible alternatives to enable a transition to a carbon-neutral future. Public climate finance should be new money and not a redistribution of other pledged funds. Crucially the Least Developed Countries Fund must be replenished to allow the most vulnerable countries to continue to implement urgent adaptation actions. Small Island Developing States face an existential threat from climate change and require urgent financial support to allow them to adapt and shift to renewable energy sources;

:: a mechanism that will assess collective progress and ratchet up the commitments of all countries on mitigation and adaptation every five years. The Intended Nationally Determined Contributions are an important beginning, but they will not limit global temperature rise to below 2 degrees Celsius. So the Paris agreement must be designed to increase ambition progressively over time;

:: enabling conditions for the introduction of a global carbon price. Accurately pricing carbon is crucial to accelerate development of alternative sources of energy. No clauses or protocols should be included in the Paris agreement that could negate any future decisions on carbon pricing.

Without these crucial elements in the Paris agreement, we will be unable to address climate change, and will thus fail the ultimate challenge of our globalised age. For the sake of our children and grandchildren, this cannot be allowed to happen. We urge you to rise to this challenge and to seize the opportunity to achieve sustainable growth and development, harnessing technological advances in renewable energy to create jobs, increase prosperity and end poverty.

As an African proverb says: the Earth is not ours; it is a treasure we hold in trust for our children and grand-children. We are confident you agree with us.

Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to 2015
Estimates by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and the United Nations Population
Publication date: November 2015 :: 12 pages
WHO reference number: WHO /RHR/15.23
Full report pdf, 5 MB :: Executive summary pdf, 1 MB
Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5 Target 5A called for the reduction of maternal mortality ratio by three quarters between 1990 and 2015. It has been a challenge to assess the extent of progress due to the lack of reliable and accurate maternal mortality data – particularly in developing-country settings where maternal mortality is high. As part of ongoing efforts, the WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and the United Nations Population Division updated estimates of maternal mortality for the years 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2015.

Joint news release
Maternal deaths fell 44% since 1990 – UN
Report from WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and the United Nations Population Division highlights progress

12 NOVEMBER 2015 ¦ GENEVA ¦ NEW YORK – Maternal mortality has fallen by 44% since 1990, United Nations agencies and the World Bank Group reported today.
Maternal deaths around the world dropped from about 532 000 in 1990 to an estimated 303 000 this year, according to the report, the last in a series that has looked at progress under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). This equates to an estimated global maternal mortality ratio (MMR) of 216 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births, down from 385 in 1990.

Maternal mortality is defined as the death of a woman during pregnancy, childbirth or within 6 weeks after birth.

“The MDGs triggered unprecedented efforts to reduce maternal mortality,” said Dr Flavia Bustreo, WHO Assistant Director-General, Family, Women’s and Children’s Health. “Over the past 25 years, a woman’s risk of dying from pregnancy-related causes has nearly halved. That’s real progress, although it is not enough. We know that we can virtually end these deaths by 2030 and this is what we are committing to work towards.”

Achieving that goal will require much more effort, according to Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin, the Executive Director of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund. “Many countries with high maternal death rates will make little progress, or will even fall behind, over the next 15 years if we don’t improve the current number of available midwives and other health workers with midwifery skills,” he said. “If we don’t make a big push now, in 2030 we’ll be faced, once again, with a missed target for reducing maternal deaths.”

The analyses contained in Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to 2015 – Estimates by WHO, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank Group and the United Nations Population Division are being published simultaneously in the medical journal The Lancet.

Ensuring access to high-quality health services during pregnancy and child birth is helping to save lives. Essential health interventions include: practising good hygiene to reduce the risk of infection; injecting oxytocin immediately after childbirth to reduce the risk of severe bleeding; identifying and addressing potentially fatal conditions like pregnancy-induced hypertension; and ensuring access to sexual and reproductive health services and family planning for women.

Uneven gains
Despite global improvements, only 9 countries achieved the MDG 5 target of reducing the maternal mortality ratio by at least 75% between 1990 and 2015. Those countries are Bhutan, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Iran, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Maldives, Mongolia, Rwanda and Timor-Leste. Despite this important progress, the MMR in some of these countries remains higher than the global average.

“As we have seen with all of the health-related MDGs, health system strengthening needs to be supplemented with attention to other issues to reduce maternal deaths,” said UNICEF Deputy Executive Director, Geeta Rao Gupta. “The education of women and girls, in particular the most marginalized, is key to their survival and that of their children. Education provides them with the knowledge to challenge traditional practices that endanger them and their children.”

By the end of this year, about 99% of the world’s maternal deaths will have occurred in developing regions, with Sub-Saharan Africa alone accounting for 2 in 3 (66%) deaths. But that represents a major improvement: Sub-Saharan Africa saw nearly 45% decrease in MMR, from 987 to 546 per 100 000 live births between 1990 and 2015.
The greatest improvement of any region was recorded in Eastern Asia, where the maternal mortality ratio fell from approximately 95 to 27 per 100 000 live births (a reduction of 72%). In developed regions, maternal mortality fell 48% between 1990 and 2015, from 23 to 12 per 100 000 live births.

Working towards ending preventable maternal deaths
A new Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, launched by the UN Secretary General in September 2015, aims to help achieve the ambitious target of reducing maternal deaths to fewer than 70 per 100,000 live births globally, as included in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Reaching that goal will require more than tripling the pace of progress – from the 2.3% annual improvement in MMR that was recorded between 1990 and 2015 to 7.5% per year beginning next year.

The Global Strategy highlights the need to reinforce country leadership by mobilizing domestic and international resources for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health. It will be important to strengthen health systems so they can provide good quality care in all settings, promote collaboration across sectors, and support individuals and communities to make informed decisions about their health and demand the quality care they need. The strategy emphasizes that special attention is imperative during humanitarian crises and in fragile settings, since maternal deaths tend to rise in these contexts.

“The SDG goal of ending maternal deaths by 2030 is ambitious and achievable provided we redouble our efforts,” said Dr Tim Evans, Senior Director of Health, Nutrition and Population at the World Bank Group. “The recently launched Global Financing Facility in Support of Every Woman Every Child, which focuses on smarter, scaled and sustainable financing, will help countries deliver essential health services to women and children.”

Need for better data
The 2015 maternal mortality estimates present the tremendous progress achieved towards the Millennium Development Goal 5 on maternal mortality reduction. They show a strong trend of reduction over the years. At the same time, we have seen more and better data coming from various countries, enhancing the accuracy of the absolute numbers reported.

Efforts to strengthen data and accountability especially over the past years have helped fuel this improvement. However, much more needs to be done to develop complete and accurate civil and vital registration systems that include births, deaths and causes of death.

Maternal death audits and reviews also need to be implemented to understand why, where and when women die and what can be done to prevent similar deaths. Since 2012, WHO, UNFPA and partners have developed Maternal Death Surveillance and Response for identification and timely notification of all maternal deaths, followed by review of their causes and the best methods of prevention. An increasing number of low- and middle-income countries are now implementing this approach.

NEW REPORT HIGHLIGHTS GAINS IN CHILD SURVIVAL, BUT THERE’S STILL WORK TO BE DONE TO ADDRESS LEADING KILLERS
International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health releases its 2015 Pneumonia and Diarrhea Progress Report: Sustainable Progress in the Post-2015 Era

Baltimore, MD, November 12, 2015: The 2015 Pneumonia and Diarrhea Progress Report: Sustainable Progress in the Post-2015 Era, released today on World Pneumonia Day by the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, documents the progress of the 15 countries experiencing the greatest burden of pneumonia and diarrhea.

Although global progress has been made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals and reducing child deaths, in 2015 a projected 5.9 million children around the world will die before reaching their fifth birthday. Of these 5.9 million deaths, pneumonia was responsible for 16% and diarrhea was responsible for 9%, making them two of the leading killers of children worldwide. This report highlights the need for sustained efforts to decrease the global burden of pneumonia and diarrhea, especially in the 15 highest burden countries.

Progress in countries is evaluated through “Global Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhea (GAPPD) intervention scores” a calculated average of coverage levels for the vital pneumonia and diarrhea interventions outlined in the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF’s integrated GAPPD for which data are available, including vaccination, exclusive breastfeeding, access to care, and use of antibiotics, oral rehydration solution, and zinc.

“This World Pneumonia Day, we celebrate the progress made in preventing pneumonia and reducing child deaths around the world. This year’s Pneumonia and Diarrhea Report highlights the need for sustainable progress as we move beyond 2015 toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. This means increasing equitable access to vaccines, diagnostic tools, and medication to prevent unnecessary pneumonia and diarrhea deaths,” said Kate O’Brien, Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Executive Director of IVAC.

Vaccine introductions and scale ups, promotion of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a child’s life, increasing access to appropriate pneumonia treatment, and ensuring sustainability for the post-2015 agenda are all required to put an end to these preventable diseases.

Key Findings from this year’s report:
:: Overall GAPPD scores in 2015 varied widely from a low of 20% (Somalia) to a high of 72% (Tanzania), with all 15 focus countries falling below the 86% target for the overall GAPPD score.
:: Rates of exclusive breastfeeding during a child’s first six months of life remain low. Currently, 12 of the 15 countries with the most child pneumonia and diarrhea deaths have exclusive breastfeeding rates that still fall short of the 50% GAPPD target for this protective intervention.
:: Currently, 3 of the 15 countries (Sudan, Bangladesh, and Tanzania) have met or exceeded the 90% GAPPD coverage target for Hib vaccination and several countries are relatively close to reaching the target, including Pakistan (73%), DRC (80%), Angola, (80%), Ethiopia (77%), and Afghanistan (75%). Still, many countries continue to have extremely low coverage, such as India (20%), Indonesia (21%), Somalia (42%), and Chad (46%).
:: Fifteen years after PCV’s first introduction in 2000, five of the highest burden countries (India, Indonesia, Chad, China, and Somalia) are still not using the vaccine in their routine immunization programs.
:: Of the 10 GAPPD interventions evaluated in this report, pneumonia and diarrhea treatment tend to have the lowest coverage rates; some countries are not reporting any data at all, creating blind spots on progress and program performance.
:: To meet the Strategic Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths of neonates and under-five children by the year 2030 and achieving high coverage of GAPPD interventions in places where the most children are dying of preventable causes is undoubtedly needed.

Business and the United Nations: Working together towards the Sustainable Development Goals: A Framework for Action
Report: SDG Fund Private Advisory Group in collaboration with Harvard Kennedy School and Business Fights Poverty.
November 2015 ::: 48 pages
SDG Fund: http://www.sdgfund.org/

Overview
This report published in conjunction with Harvard’s Kennedy School and Business Fights Poverty, entitled, Business and the United Nations: Working together towards the Sustainable Development Goals: A Framework for Action outlines the business and development case for increased UN business engagement as well as recommendations on the ways that the UN can work more effectively on this shared imperative.

There is a renewed emphasis across the United Nations on partnering with responsible businesses to deliver sustainable development on the ground. This report offers fresh perspectives on a variety of topics including improving the climate for partnership design, co-creation, combining complementary skills, and developing solutions to harness the full potential of what business can bring to the development table.

This publication focuses on insight and best practices culled from interviews with business leaders which are designed to help both the private sector, the UN, and other practitioners learn from each other. These business leaders represent a selected group of companies from several regions of the world and a variety of industries that are part of the SDG Fund Private Sector Advisory Group.

The report is divided into three chapters:
:: Executive Summary and Imperative for Action
:: The Framework for Action
:: Agenda for Action

Raising the Bar – Advancing Environmental Disclosure in Sustainability Reporting
United Nations Environment Programme
November 2015 :: 70 pages
Pdf: http://apps.unep.org/publications/index.php?option=com_pub&task=download&file=011862_en
Overview
This global cross-sector report assesses the environmental dimension of sustainability reporting and provides recommendations to make environmental reporting important to all stakeholders. It analyses what the key and most common environmental disclosure items are and provides practical recommendations for companies and other reporting organizations on how these items should be measured and reported, supported with best practice examples. In addition, it explores emerging areas of research in this domains, as well as innovative reporting practices.

Press Release
Raising the Bar on Corporate Sustainability Reporting to Meet Ecological Challenges Globally
A new UNEP Report urges companies to align their sustainability performance and reporting to match expectations of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Paris, 12 November 2015 – Companies are failing to accurately reflect the scale and extent of their environmental impacts, a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has found.

In the case of greenhouse gas emissions, only 9 out of 108 (8 per cent) surveyed companies have established reduction targets in accordance with the science-based target of limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius – the central goal of the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, December 2015.

Launched today at the Reporting 3.0 Conference in Berlin, Germany, the report, Raising the Bar – Advancing Environmental Disclosure in Sustainability Reporting, calls on companies to do more to address the environmental and social impacts of their operations, as required in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

UNEP’s analysis of 108 company sustainability reports found that they typically disclose data on four key areas:
:: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (reported by 95 per cent of surveyed companies);
:: Energy (83 per cent);
:: Water (81 per cent);
:: Materials/Waste (75 per cent).

However, the quality of these reports is insufficient to represent the full impacts of a company’s use of resources and materials on the environment and on communities. Such information would improve corporate decision-making and add value to businesses in the short and long terms…

United Nations – Secretary General, Security Council, General Assembly  [to 21 November 2015]
http://www.un.org/en/unpress/
Selected Press Releases/Meetings Coverage

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13 November 2015
GA/L/3513
As Working Groups Present Reports, Legal Committee Chair Disappointed Delegations Still Unable to Conclude Draft Convention on International Terrorism
Prior to approving without a vote the request for Observer status in the General Assembly for the Union for the Mediterranean, the Sixth Committee (Legal) today heard oral reports of its three working groups, noting once again that delegations had been unable to conclude a draft comprehensive convention on measures to eliminate international terrorism, a situation the Chair lamented.

12 November 2015
GA/EF/3439
Second Committee Passes Resolutions Reaffirming Rights of Palestinian People over Natural Resources, Recognizes Right to Claim Restitution
The Second Committee (Economic and Financial) approved three resolutions today, one of them reaffirming the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and the population of occupied Syrian Golan over their land, water and energy resources.

12 November 2015
GA/11722
Examining Security Council’s Annual Report, Speakers in General Assembly Urge More Analysis, Criticize Response to Syrian Crisis, Terrorism as Inadequate
Sounding a united call for future reports of the Security Council to the General Assembly to be more analytical and less descriptive, a score of non-Council Member States today addressed specific conflict situations, as well as cross-cutting issues affecting cooperation between the Council and other organs of the United Nations.

12 November 2015
SC/12117
Condemning Increasing Violence in Burundi, Security Council Unanimously Adopts Resolution 2248 (2015), States Intention to Consider ‘Additional Measures’
The Security Council today strongly condemned increasing killings, torture and other human rights violations in Burundi, and stated its intention to consider “additional measures” against all actors whose actions and statements impeded the search for a peaceful solution to the crisis in the East African nation.

11 November 2015
SC/12115
Iraqi Government Efforts to Advance Reform, National Reconciliation Face Increased Security, Humanitarian Challenges, Special Representative Tells Security Council
The Government led by Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi continued efforts to fulfil its reform agenda even as the scope and complexity of Iraq’s security, political, social, budgetary and humanitarian challenges increased, Ján Kubiš, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI), told the Security Council this morning.

11 November 2015
DSG/SM/915-REF/1218
Failure of Refugee, Migration Governance Fatal, Deputy Secretary-General Tells Valletta Summit, Noting Death of Thousands on Journey to Better Life

10 November 2015
SC/12113
Security Council Renews Measures to Combat Piracy, Armed Robbery off Somali Coast, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2446 (2015)
The Security Council this morning renewed the measures granted to States and regional organizations cooperating with authorities in Somalia in the fight against piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of that country for a further period of 12 months.

UN OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights [to 21 November 2015]
http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/media.aspx?IsMediaPage=true
Selected Press Releases/Announcements

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UN experts welcome the Security Council call on Burundi and urge concrete actions
11/13/2015
:: Sp. Rapporteur on freedom of expression
:: Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association
:: Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders
:: Sp. Rapporteur on torture
:: Sp. Rapporteur on summary executions
:: Special Rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence
:: Representative of the S-G on internally displaced persons

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UN rights expert raises alarm on “the critical situation faced by indigenous peoples in Honduras”
11/12/2015
:: Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people

SRSG/SVC Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict [to 21 November 2015]
http://www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict/media/press-releases/

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South Sudan: UN Special Representative welcomes SPLA-IO action plan to combat rape in war and undertakings by Commanders
(New York, 10 November 2015) The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Zainab Hawa Bangura, today commended senior officers from the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Sudan People’s Liberation Army (In Opposition), for signing explicit undertakings to prevent conflict-related sexual violence…

UN OCHA [to 21 November 2015]
http://www.unocha.org/media-resources/press-releases
[We generally do not include OCHA Flash Updates on humanitarian crises in this digest]

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13 Nov 2015
Somalia: Somalia: Flash Update 3 Humanitarian Impact of Heavy Rains | 13 November 2015
Somalia Situation overview: While wet conditions persisted in some parts of northern Somalia and areas along the Juba and Shabelle river basins in Somalia and in the Ethiopian Highlands, most areas did not experience heavy rains and floods over the past week, according to the FAO-Managed Somalia Land and Water Information Network (SWALIM)…

12 Nov 2015
Ethiopia: UN Emergency Fund releases $17 million to help communities affected by worst drought to hit Ethiopia in decades
(New York, 12 November 2015) – United Nations humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien today released US$17 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to support people affected by the worst drought in Ethiopia in decades. UN and partners are supporting the ongoing response led by the Government of Ethiopia. The El Niño global climactic event has wreaked havoc on Ethiopia’s summer rains…

10 Nov 2015
Mali: Women are playing a key role in Mali’s recovery
(New York, 10 November 2015): The Head of Operations at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, John Ging, today applauded the pivotal role played by women in Mali’s recovery from violent conflict. Mr. Ging has just returned from a three-day visit to Mali…

10 Nov 2015
Ethiopia: Ethiopia: Government and Humanitarian partners responding to an El Niño-caused drought emergency
Addis Ababa, 10 November 2015: The El Niño global climactic event has wreaked havoc on Ethiopia’s summer rains. This comes on the heels of failed spring rains, and has driven food insecurity, malnutrition and water shortages in affected areas of the country. Following a rapid assessment in early October, the Government and partners concluded that the number of people requiring emergency food assistance…

UNICEF [to 21 November 2015]
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_78364.html
Selected press releases

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UNICEF: Major spike in number of refugee and migrant children on the move in Europe
GENEVA, 13 November 2015 – With record numbers of child refugees and migrants – 700 a day seeking asylum in Europe – UNICEF has identified five groups of vulnerable children and is mobilizing tailored actions to meet their needs.

A digital necklace and a wearable soap win ‘Wearables for Good’ Design Challenge with UNICEF, ARM and frog
HELSINKI/NEW YORK/LONDON, 12 November 2015 – A necklace that stores electronic health data to track child immunization and a wearable soap that helps limit the spread of infectious viruses by encouraging hand washing, have won the Wearables for Good challenge run by UNICEF, ARM and frog.

Maternal deaths fell 44% since 1990 – UN
NEW YORK/GENEVA/WASHINGTON, 12 November 2015 – Maternal mortality has fallen by 44% since 1990, United Nations agencies and the World Bank Group reported today.
[See Week in Review above]

Children’s lives at stake as El Niño strengthens: UNICEF
NEW YORK/GENEVA, 10 November 2015 – An estimated 11 million children are at risk from hunger, disease and lack of water in eastern and southern Africa as a result of a strengthening El Niño, which is also causing droughts and floods in parts of Asia, the Pacific and Latin America, UNICEF warned on Tuesday.

Innovators determined to advance results for children
HELSINKI, Finland/NEW YORK, 9 November 2015 – Over 500 leading thinkers from the technological, academic, corporate, development and humanitarian world are convening in Helsinki today to unlock the way new technologies can drive change for the world’s most vulnerable children.