ICRC [to 25 July 2015]

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ICRC [to 25 July 2015]
https://www.icrc.org/en/whats-new

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Yemen: Intensified ground fighting heightens civilian suffering
News release
24 July 2015
Geneva/Sana’a (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is alarmed by the recent spike in hostilities, including intense ground fighting, which has increased the suffering of civilians.

Faith-based organizations and religious leaders: essential partners in humanitarian action
Article
22 July 2015
Should the ICRC be talking to religious circles and, if so, how can the organization do it without compromising its neutral humanitarian mission? From Iraq to the Vatican, from Mexico to Jerusalem, from the Central African Republic to Bangladesh, the ICRC is engaging with religious leaders and faith-based organizations. The ICRC adviser for global affairs, Ronald Ofteringer, explains why it is essential to further enforce protection and respect for people and communities affected by conflict and violence.

Sudan: Promoting respect for children’s rights during armed conflict
Article
21 July 2015
On 30 June, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement – North (SPLM-N) signed the ‘Geneva Call’s’ Deed of Commitment for the Protection of Children, which aims to reduce the effects of armed conflict on children, in particular the recruitment and use of children in hostilities.

Syria: ICRC activities in Homs and Hama, January to June 2015
Article
21 July 2015
Since the beginning of 2015 the ICRC and the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC), working according to the principles of neutrality and impartiality, have assisted close to two million people, mostly the displaced population and the vulnerable residents in the governorates of Homs and Hama.

Burundi: First aid saves lives
Video
21 July 2015
The Burundi Red Cross and the ICRC have been working together to treat people injured in the violence surrounding upcoming elections. Mobile first aid teams were set up across the capital and have taken nearly 600 people to hospital since the end of April. We take a look back over the past few intense weeks with some first-hand accounts.

MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières [to 25 July 2015]

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MSF/Médecins Sans Frontières [to 25 July 2015]
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/news-stories/press/press-releases

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Press release
TPP Negotiators Must Fix the Most Damaging Trade Agreement Ever for Global Health
July 24, 2015
As U.S. aims to close deal, countries should reject damaging provisions that will block access to affordable medicines.

Press release
As HIV Burden Overwhelmingly Shifts to “Middle-Income” Countries, Access to Affordable Medicines is Under Threat
July 23, 2015
VANCOUVER—At the International AIDS Society (IAS) Conference today, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned that middle-income countries (MICs), which will be home to 70 percent of people living with HIV by 2020, face increasing threats to their ability to access affordable generic medicines, which are crucial to countries’ ability to reach the global UNAIDS 90/90/90* targets.

Press release
South Sudan: Urgent Humanitarian Access Needed in Upper Nile State
July 23, 2015
Tens of thousands of people are cut off from aid and medical care as fighting intensifies in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state, the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) warned today, calling on all parties to the conflict to allow unrestricted access to the state capital and surrounding areas.

Press release
MSF Warns Successful Global HIV Response Will Require Bigger Emphasis on Adherence
July 21, 2015
New MSF report surveying lay counselor policies across eight countries highlights major weaknesses for adherence support

Press release
MSF Response to START Trial Data Showing All People with HIV Should Be Treated Immediately
July 20, 2015
Vancouver, July 20, 2015—The international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières Borders (MSF) applauded the results of the Strategic Timing of Antiretroviral Treatment (START) trial, released today at the International AIDS Society Conference (IAS) in Vancouver, showing that immediate treatment is beneficial for individuals regardless of the status of their immune system.

Press release
Greece: Thousands of Migrants and Asylum Seekers Stranded in Precarious Conditions
July 20, 2015
MSF urges European leaders, UNHCR, and Greek authorities to urgently address reception system crisis.

Field news
Nepal: Three Months After Earthquakes, MSF Reduces Operations
July 20, 2015
Three months after two earthquakes killed an estimated 8,500 people and injured another 20,000 in Nepal, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is reducing its operations.
The international medical humanitarian organization will nonetheless continue monitoring for disease outbreaks in several remaining camps for displaced people and conducting surgical and post-operative support in hospitals where needs have been identified.

Field news
Tanzania: Camp for Burundian Refugees “At Breaking Point”
July 20, 2015
Note: An earlier version of this article erroneously reported that up to 1,000 people were crossing the border between Burundi and Tanzania each day. The article has been updated to reflect the correct figure.

Field news
Yemen: Houthis Indiscriminately Bomb Aden Neighborhood
July 20, 2015
Over the course of just a few hours yesterday, Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) teams in the southern Yemeni city of Aden received 150 people wounded in reprisal attacks by Houthi fighters, among them women, children, and the elderly. Of the 150 people, 42 were dead on arrival at MSF’s hospital in Aden.
The Houthis shelled the crowded neighborhood of Dar Saad, where many displaced people live…

OXFAM [to 25 July 2015]

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OXFAM [to 25 July 2015]
http://www.oxfam.org/en/pressroom/pressreleases

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Women living in fear for their safety three months on from Nepal earthquake: Oxfam
25 July 2015
Women in Nepal are living in fear of abuse because of the lack of privacy and security afforded by temporary shelters, Oxfam said today.

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Global mining companies improve policies on Community Consent, while oil and gas lag
23 July 2015
As conflicts with local communities are a problem for oil, gas and mining companies around the world, a new report by Oxfam finds that the number of mining companies with commitments to “Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC)” has almost tripled since 2012.

Norwegian Refugee Council [to 25 July 2015]

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Norwegian Refugee Council [to 25 July 2015]
http://www.nrc.no/

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New Report
19.3 million displaced by disasters but “mother nature not to blame”
IDMC (20.07.2015)
In the last seven years, an estimated one person every second has been displaced by a disaster, with 19.3 million people forced to flee their homes in 2014 alone. Disaster displacement is on the rise, and as policy leaders worldwide advance towards the adoption of a post-2015 global agenda, the time has never been better to address it.
The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) released today its global report, The Global Estimates: People displaced by disasters. The report reveals how, in 2014, 17.5 million people were forced to flee their homes by disasters brought on by weather-related hazards such as floods and storms, and 1.7 million by geophysical hazards such as earthquakes…

Partners In Health [to 25 July 2015]

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Partners In Health [to 25 July 2015]
http://www.pih.org/blog

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Jul 24, 2015
Mexico’s President Honors Chiapas Nurse
Mónica Córdoba received the Lucida Salcido national nursing prize in April for her years of service in the remote, rural community of Capitán in Chiapas. Nadia Sanchez, a social service doctor working with Compaňeros En Salud, Partners In Health’s sister organization in Mexico, nominated her for the prize and says she has learned many lessons from the seasoned nurse since arriving in the community last August.

Save The Children [to 25 July 2015]

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Save The Children [to 25 July 2015]
http://www.savethechildren.org/site/c.8rKLIXMGIpI4E/b.6150563/k.D0E9/Newsroom.htm

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New Report: Children Express Fears and Insecurity Following Devastating Nepal Earthquakes
Washington, D.C. (July 24, 2015) — In one of the largest ever child consultations undertaken following a disaster, nearly 2,000 children who survived the earthquakes in Nepal have expressed fear and insecurity at having to live in tents and overcrowded shelters, anxiety about the risks to their health from unsanitary conditions, and worry about their future if they cannot return to school.

The aid organizations that carried out the consultations – Plan International, Save the Children, UNICEF and World Vision – highlight the need to strengthen the resilience of communities against major disasters. They also warn of severe risks to children’s health, well-being and protection during the monsoon season unless urgent humanitarian needs are met.

In the research released today, children shared their top priorities as adequate shelter, to be able to return to school and to have access to safe water supplies, sanitation and health care. After the earthquake: Nepal’s children speak out reveals the deep fears and anxieties of children, who are among the hundreds of thousands of people whose homes were destroyed…

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Child Malnutrition Levels Soar in Tanzanian Refugee Camp as Burundian Presidential Election Approaches
July 21, 2015

SOS-Kinderdorf International [to 25 July 2015]

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SOS-Kinderdorf International [to 25 July 2015]
http://www.sos-childrensvillages.org/about-sos/press/press-releases

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Nearly 100 days after devastating Nepal earthquake, SOS continues to help thousands
22.07.2015 – Almost 100 days after a devastating earthquake struck Nepal, killing thousands and affecting millions, SOS Children’s Villages has reached more than 40,000 children through the various strands of its emergency programme in the country…

Disasters Emergency Committee [to 25 July 2015]

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Disasters Emergency Committee [to 25 July 2015]
http://www.dec.org.uk/media-centre
[Action Aid, Age International, British Red Cross, CAFOD, Care International, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Islamic Relief, Oxfam, Plan UK, Save the Children, Tearfund and World Vision]

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UK aid agencies battle monsoon rains to reach 2.2 million quake survivors in Nepal
24/07/2015
Three months after the devastating Nepal earthquake, 13 of the UK’s leading aid agencies have reached more than 2.2 million people with aid including emergency shelter, food, clean water, sanitation, education services, and healthcare.

The Elders [to 25 July 2015]

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The Elders [to 25 July 2015]
http://theelders.org/news-media

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Guest blog – Nathan J. Brown 23 July 2015
Israel & Palestine: Starting the peace process again, this time from the real world
Professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, Nathan J. Brown wonders if, one year on from the Gaza war, now is the appropriate time to internationalise the peace process.

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News 20 July 2015
Confronting the challenge of climate change is a problem for us all
Speaking at the Sommet des Consciences pour le Climat in Paris, 21 July, Kofi Annan reflects on what kind of world he will be leaving his grandchildren and suggests that change is not only in the hands governments, but also businesses and individuals.

InterAction [to 25 July 2015]

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InterAction [to 25 July 2015]
http://www.interaction.org/media-center/press-releases

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Respecting Local Traditions, Saving Lives
Jul 16, 2015
At the height of the Ebola Crisis in Liberia, Global Communities’ George Woryonwon realized that they key to reducing the rate of transmission was rapid, safe, and dignified burials. His team had been working in all 15 counties of Liberia…
…Woryonwon recieved the InterAction 2015 Humanitarian Award for his efforts, and spoke to Devex about his experience and lessons learned.

Start Network [to 25 July 2015]

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Start Network [to 25 July 2015]
http://www.start-network.org/news-blog/#.U9U_O7FR98E
[Consortium of British Humanitarian Agencies]

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Start Fund disburses £200,000 to address oil spill crisis in Colombia
July 23, 2015
Posted by Tegan Rogers in News.
On the 21st of June 2015, a rebel group sabotaged an oil pipeline in the rural area of Tumaco (Pacific coast of Colombia) causing the “the worst environmental and social damage in the last ten years in Colombia”, according to the Colombian Ministry of Environment. Large amounts of crude oil were spilled into water sources, threatening access to safe drinking water for over 160,000 people.

Following an initial response provided by the local government, Plan UK and Action Against Hunger (ACF) UK alerted the Start Fund to gaps in the response. In less than 72 hours, agencies submitted proposals which were technically peer reviewed and selected by a committee of Start Network representatives. Both ACF and Plan UK were awarded £100,000 each to conduct critical relief activities, including distribution of water tanks, filters and hygiene kits.

This rapid fund allocation will help respond to the needs of the most vulnerable households, and hopefully trigger some larger-scale involvement of international donors and NGOs. All Start Fund responses are completed within 45 days….

ODI [to 25 July 2015]

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ODI [to 25 July 2015]
http://www.odi.org/media

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Progress despite adversity: women’s empowerment and conflict in Colombia
Research reports and studies | July 2015 |
Pilar Domingo, Alina Rocha Menocal and Verónica Hinestroza
This case study explores the trajectory of women’s empowerment in Colombia over the past 20 years in the context of conflict. It analyses important changes in women’s political voice and legal activism, and how these in turn, are contributing to shaping policy on…

Managing crises together: towards coherence and complementarity in recurrent and protracted crises
Working and discussion papers | July 2015 |
Samuel Carpenter and Christina Bennett
Hundreds of millions of people are affected by recurrent and protracted crises every year. This paper calls for a more collective approach when responding to such crises and offers suggestions for fundamental technical and architectural change.

Strengthening access and proximity to serve the needs of people in conflict
Working and discussion papers | July 2015 |
Eva Svoboda
Many of today’s humanitarian crises are marked by conflict. This paper looks at the legal framework on armed conflict, operational difficulties on the ground and reflects on how to overcome some of the major challenges facing humanitarian operations in conflicts.

Uncommon bedfellows: local response to the crisis in Ukraine
Briefing papers | July 2015 |
Christina Bennett and Kristina Jovanovski
This IRIN/HPG Crisis Brief looks at how a Ukrainian oligarch, local organisations and Russian aid are providing a lifeline in rebel-held parts of eastern Ukraine.

Why investing in disaster risk management pays off
Briefing papers | July 2015 |
Thomas Tanner, Emma Lovell, Emily Wilkinson, Francis Ghesquiere, Robert Reid and Sumati Rajput
This briefing provides seven key messages that should be addressed by the Third Conference on Financing for Development to ensure that disaster risk does not hamper the progress of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

David and Lucile Packard Foundation [to 25 July 2015]

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David and Lucile Packard Foundation [to 25 July 2015]
http://www.packard.org/news/

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New Children’s Health Leadership Development Program Announced
July 22, 2015 • In Children, Families & Communities, Foundation News
The Annie E. Casey Foundation, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and The Atlantic Philanthropies are proud to introduce the Children’s Health Leadership Network, a new leadership development program to strengthen the field of state-based advocates for children’s health policy. With funding from these three foundations over the course of several 16-month cohorts, this program will build a powerful collective of nearly 100 advocates serving throughout the country in leadership capacities on behalf of our nation’s children.

This network of strong, adaptive and diverse leaders with experience in policy, advocacy and strategic communications will be uniquely positioned to inform policy and implementation that puts health and well-being of children and families first. Selection of the first class of up to 15 leaders will take place in the fall of 2015, with the leadership seminars beginning in January 2016.

The candidate application and additional details about the Children’s Health Leadership Network can be found here.

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth (Accessed 25 July 2015)

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BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcpregnancychildbirth/content
(Accessed 25 July 2015)

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Research article
The relationship of women’s status and empowerment with skilled birth attendant use in Senegal and Tanzania
Kyoko Shimamoto* and Jessica D. Gipson
Author Affiliations
BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 2015, 15:154 doi:10.1186/s12884-015-0591-3
Published: 24 July 2015
Abstract
Background
Maternal mortality remains unacceptably high in sub-Saharan Africa with 179,000 deaths occurring each year, accounting for 2-thirds of maternal deaths worldwide. Progress in reducing maternal deaths and increasing Skilled Birth Attendant (SBA) use at childbirth has stagnated in Africa. Although several studies demonstrate the important influences of women’s status and empowerment on SBA use, this evidence is limited, particularly in Africa. Furthermore, few studies empirically test the operationalization of women’s empowerment and incorporate multidimensional measures to represent the potentially disparate influence of women’s status and empowerment on SBA use across settings.
Methods
This study examined the relationship of women’s status and empowerment with SBA use in two African countries – Senegal and Tanzania – using the 2010 Demographic and Health Surveys (weighted births n = 10,688 in SN; 6748 in TZ). Factor analysis was first conducted to identify the structure and multiple dimensions of empowerment. Then, a multivariate regression analysis was conducted to examine associations between these empowerment dimensions and SBA use.
Results
Overall, women’s status and empowerment were positively related to SBA use. Some sociodemographic characteristics showed similar effects across countries (e.g., age, wealth, residence, marital relationship, parity); however, women’s status and empowerment influence SBA use differently by setting. Namely, women’s education directly and positively influenced SBA use in Tanzania, but not in Senegal. Further, each of the dimensions of empowerment influenced SBA use in disparate ways. In Tanzania women’s higher household decision-making power and employment were related to SBA use, while in Senegal more progressive perceptions of gender norms and older age at first marriage were related to SBA use.
Conclusions
This study provides evidence of the disparate influences of women’s status and empowerment on SBA use across settings. Results indicate that efforts to increase SBA use and to reduce maternal mortality through the improvement of women’s status and empowerment should focus both on improving girls’ education and delaying marriage, as well as transforming gender norms and decision-making power. However, given the multi-dimensional and contextual nature of women’s status and empowerment, it is critical to identify key drivers to increase SBA use in a given setting for contextually tailored policy and programming.

Research article
A cross sectional comparison of postnatal care quality in facilities participating in a maternal health voucher program versus non-voucher facilities in Kenya
Charlotte E Warren, Timothy Abuya, Lucy Kanya, Francis Obare, Rebecca Njuki, Marleen Temmerman, Ben Bellows
BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth 2015, 15:153 (24 July 2015)

Editorial: Rethinking governance for trade and health

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British Medical Journal
25 July 2015 (vol 351, issue 8018)
http://www.bmj.com/content/351/8018

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Editorials
Rethinking governance for trade and health
BMJ 2015; 351 doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmj.h3652 (Published 08 July 2015) Cite this as: BMJ 2015;351:h3652
Helen Walls, research fellow,
Richard Smith, professor
Author affiliations
1London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Leverhulme Centre for Integrative Research on Agriculture and Health, London, UK
The mechanism for dispute settlement in preferential trade agreements risks riding roughshod over health
[Initial text]
Strengthening governance for more “healthy” trade is a recognised public health priority,1 and increasingly so given recent shifts in the international trade regime.2 After the second world war increasing trade liberalisation became a focus of international attention, and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was set up to coordinate international trade agreements. This was highly successful, and average world tariff rates fell from about 40% in 1948 to 4% in the early 1990s.3
At this time, GATT was replaced by the World Trade Organization (WTO), which had an increased scope. However, over the past two decades bilateral and regional trade agreements have proliferated. These have generally been negotiated in extreme secrecy, with increasingly “deep” commitments that go beyond those required by the WTO.2 4 These commitments, the specifics of which have been well documented,2 5 6 7 have important implications for public health. One focus of concern is the investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) mechanism, which allows foreign companies to sue host governments for compensation when policy changes …

Prioritising Healthcare Workers for Ebola Treatment: Treating Those at Greatest Risk to Confer Greatest Benefit

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Developing World Bioethics
August 2015 Volume 15, Issue 2 Pages ii–iii, 59–114
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/dewb.2015.15.issue-2/issuetoc

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ARTICLE
Prioritising Healthcare Workers for Ebola Treatment: Treating Those at Greatest Risk to Confer Greatest Benefit
Priya Satalkar*, Bernice E. Elger and David M. Shaw
Article first published online: 6 FEB 2015
DOI: 10.1111/dewb.12079
Abstract
The Ebola epidemic in Western Africa has highlighted issues related to weak health systems, the politics of drug and vaccine development and the need for transparent and ethical criteria for use of scarce local and global resources during public health emergency. In this paper we explore two key themes. First, we argue that independent of any use of experimental drugs or vaccine interventions, simultaneous implementation of proven public health principles, community engagement and culturally sensitive communication are critical as these measures represent the most cost-effective and fair utilization of available resources. Second, we attempt to clarify the ethical issues related to use of scarce experimental drugs or vaccines and explore in detail the most critical ethical question related to Ebola drug or vaccine distribution in the current outbreak: who among those infected or at risk should be prioritized to receive any new experimental drugs or vaccines? We conclude that healthcare workers should be prioritised for these experimental interventions, for a variety of reasons.