The Nobel Peace Prize for 2014
[Announcement – Full text]
Oslo, 10 October 2014
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014 is to be awarded to Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzay for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education. Children must go to school and not be financially exploited. In the poor countries of the world, 60% of the present population is under 25 years of age. It is a prerequisite for peaceful global development that the rights of children and young people be respected. In conflict-ridden areas in particular, the violation of children leads to the continuation of violence from generation to generation.

Showing great personal courage, Kailash Satyarthi, maintaining Gandhi’s tradition, has headed various forms of protests and demonstrations, all peaceful, focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain. He has also contributed to the development of important international conventions on children’s rights.

Despite her youth, Malala Yousafzay has already fought for several years for the right of girls to education, and has shown by example that children and young people, too, can contribute to improving their own situations. This she has done under the most dangerous circumstances. Through her heroic struggle she has become a leading spokesperson for girls’ rights to education.

The Nobel Committee regards it as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism. Many other individuals and institutions in the international community have also contributed. It has been calculated that there are 168 million child labourers around the world today. In 2000 the figure was 78 million higher. The world has come closer to the goal of eliminating child labour.

The struggle against suppression and for the rights of children and adolescents contributes to the realization of the “fraternity between nations” that Alfred Nobel mentions in his will as one of the criteria for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Report: Because I am a Girl: The State of the World’s Girls 2014 – Pathways to Power: Creating Sustainable Change for Adolescent Girls
Plan International
October 2014 ::: 202 pages
Full report pdf: http://plan-international.org/files/global/publications/campaigns/biaag-full-report-2014-english.pdf

This is the eighth in the annual ‘Because I am a Girl’ report series, published by Plan, which assesses the current state of the world’s girls. While women and children are recognised in policy and planning, girls’ needs and rights are often ignored. The reports provide evidence, including the voices of girls themselves, as to why they need to be treated differently from boys and adult women. They also use information from primary research, in particular a small study set up in 2006 following 142 girls from nine countries. Past reports have covered education, conflict, economic empowerment, cities and technology, adolescent girls and
disasters and how boys and young men can support gender equality.

[Excerpt]
Girls’ lives – a brief review in numbers p.18
Changes for the better
:: More girls are going to primary school – In 2000 there were only 92 girls in school for every 100 boys; by 2011, this had increased to 97 girls for every 100 boys.21,22

:: 51 per cent of women above the age of 15 are participating in the labour force (in comparison to 77 per cent of men). This varies considerably from country to country – from as low as 22 per cent in the Middle East and North Africa to roughly 65 per cent in East Asia and the Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa.23

:: 125 countries currently have constitutional, electoral or political party quotas to improve women’s participation (as of March 2014).24

:: A raft of legislation is in place to support women’s rights at both international and national levels. For example, the number of states with specific legislation to combat domestic violence increased to 76 by 2014.25

:: In Africa and the Middle East, 25 countries have prohibited Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) by law or constitutional decree.26 In 29 developing countries with a history of practising FGM – including Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone – 25 now have laws or decrees aimed at targeting those who perpetrate the practice.

What still needs to change
:: While the Millennium Development Goals have been successful in getting more girls into primary education, many countries will still not have reached gender parity. It is projected that 75 per cent of countries will have achieved parity in primary education by 2015, but only 56 per cent in lower secondary education.27 There are 65 million girls out of school, nearly one in five adolescent girls.28, 29

:: There is no country in the world where women and men have equal opportunities, equal pay or equal distribution of assets.30

:: Globally, women make up only 21.9 per cent of parliamentarians.31 In February 2014, there were 19 female world leaders in power.32

:: On average, women hold only 15 per cent of land titles; 86 out of 121 countries still have discriminatory inheritance laws or practices.33, 34

:: Across the world, over a third of women will experience gender-based violence from an intimate partner.35

:: Son preference continues to prevail. In many countries, more boys than girls are born and more survive. In China, figures published by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that in 2011, there were 118 boys born for every 100 girls – one of the highest imbalances ever recorded in a country.36

:: One in five women still has an unmet need for family planning.37

:: Domestic work remains largely the provenance of women and girls, often on top of full-time paid work.38

:: One in three girls in the developing world will be married by her 18th birthday.39 If nothing is done to stop current trends, more than 140 million girls will be married as children by 2020. That is 14 million every year or nearly 39,000 girls married every day.40

:: Complications in pregnancy and childbirth are a leading cause of mortality for girls aged 15 to 19 in developing countries.41 Infant deaths are 50 per cent higher among babies born to mothers under 20 than among those born to women in their twenties.42

Migration and Remittances: Recent Developments and Outlook – Special Topic: Forced Migration
Migration and Development Brief 23
World Bank October 6, 2014 :: 29
pdf: http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTPROSPECTS/Resources/334934-1288990760745/MigrationandDevelopmentBrief23.pdf
Remittances to developing countries to grow by 5% this year

Key Messages
:: Remittances to developing countries are projected to grow by 5.0 percent to reach US$435 billion in 2014 (accelerating from the 3.4 percent expansion of 2013), and rise further by 4.4 percent to US$454 billion in 2015. In 2013, remittances were more than three times larger than ODA and, excluding China, significantly exceeded foreign direct investment flows to developing countries. Growth of remittances in 2014 is being led by three regions: East Asia and the Pacific, South Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

:: The global average cost of sending remittances continued its downward trend in the third quarter of 2014, falling to 7.9 percent of the value sent, compared to 8.9 percent a year earlier. Competition and the expansion of mobile-phone and internet-based technologies hold much potential to continue driving down fees. Risk-based approaches to the application of anti-money laundering regulations to remittance operators and international banks hosting their bank accounts will be important to ensuring that compliance does not result in undue costs, which could slow the fall in remittance costs and leave substantial flows underground.

:: Forced migration due to conflict is at its highest level since World War II, affecting more than 51 million people. In addition, forced migration driven by natural disasters affects another 22 million people, bringing the total to at least 73 million. Forced displacement is typically viewed as a humanitarian issue, but given that it has impacts on growth, employment, and public spending for countries of both origin and destination, it is also a major development issue.

:: Nine out of ten refugees were being hosted in developing countries at the end of 2013, with Pakistan and Iran the largest of these hosts. Many refugees and internally displaced people are living in protracted situations of displacement; in 2013, an estimated two-thirds of the world’s refugees had been in exile for more than five years, and half of them were children.

2014 Aid Transparency Index (ATI)
Released on 10 October 2014 at: http://ati.publishwhatyoufund.org/
[Excerpt from “Results” summary]
“The results follow the trends observed in previous years. A lead group of organisations are making significant and continuous improvements to the information they publish on their current aid activities – and many others have taken steps towards improving their publication in 2014 – but the majority have not made significant progress and continue to lag behind….

[Very good]
1.UNDP
2. UK, DFID
3. U.S., MCC
4. GAVI
5. AsDB
6. Sweden, MFA-Sida
7. World Bank, IDA

… some high performing organisations from the 2013 ATI are performing even better in 2014. This includes the African Development Bank; the Asian Development Bank; Canada; three EC agencies – the Directorates General for Enlargement and for Development Cooperation, and the Service for Foreign Policy Instruments; the Global Fund; the Inter-American Development Bank; Sweden; UNICEF; and the World Bank’s International Development Association. Big improvements have also been made by Finland; the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development; the Gates Foundation; the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (U.S.); Spain and Switzerland– all have published information on their current activities to IATI, leapfrogging others that have not made significant changes to the amount of information they publish or its accessibility.

Policy Paper: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Humanitarian Response
OCHA POLICY AND STUDIES SERIES June 2014 | 010
Occasional Policy Paper :: 20 pages
Full report pdf: https://docs.unocha.org/sites/dms/Documents/Unmanned%20Aerial%20Vehicles%20in%20Humanitarian%20Response%20OCHA%20July%202014.pdf

KEY MESSAGES:
:: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), also known as remotely piloted aircraft or “drones” are small aircraft that fly by remote control or autonomously. Although previously associated with the military, UAVs are increasingly performing civilian tasks as the technology becomes more com¬mon – 57 countries and 270 companies were producing UAVs in 2013. In the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) forecast that some 7,500 commercial small UAVs could be flying in the U.S. within five years.
:: Humanitarian organizations have started to use UAVs, including in Haiti and the Philippines, for data collection and information tasks that include real time information and situation mon¬itoring, public information and advocacy, search and rescue, and mapping.
:: The most likely humanitarian application in the area of delivery and logistics would be delivery of small medical supplies, such as vaccines.
:: The use of UAVs raises serious practical and ethical issues that humanitarian organizations must address through transparency, community engagement, and guidelines for privacy and data security.
:: Developing safeguards and guidance for the use of UAVs in conflict settings, whether strictly for humanitarian purposes or for protection and human rights work, will be a significant chal¬lenge. The humanitarian system should therefore focus on uses in natural disasters and early recovery settings.
:: As more peacekeeping and military actors acquire UAVs, humanitarians will need to have clear guidance and common positions on when it is appropriate to use those capacities.
:: To tap into the growing interest in UAVs, particularly in technical communities, humanitarian organizations should engage in networks that promote good practices and guidance, and that can serve as a source of surge capacity.
:: Despite their potential to enhance humanitarian operations, more research and evidence is needed to identify the comparative advantages of using UAVs. More research is needed on in¬tegrating aerial observation and data collection into needs and damage assessments, search and rescue, and other humanitarian functions.

Report: Global Biodiversity Outlook 4: A mid-term assessment of progress towards the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020
CBD October 2014 :: 157 pages
Full report pdf: http://www.cbd.int/gbo/gbo4/publication/gbo4-en.pdf

Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO) is the flagship publication of the Convention on Biological Diversity. It is a periodic report that summarizes the latest data on the status and trends of biodiversity and draws conclusions relevant to the further implementation of the Convention. The fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook is being officially launched on the opening day of the Twelfth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 12) in Pyeongchang, Korea from 6-17 October 2014.
[Excerpts from Report; Editor’s text bolding]

Background
Published almost at the halfway point of the 2011–2020 Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, this fourth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-4) provides a timely report: on progress
towards meeting the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets and potential actions to accelerate that progress; on prospects for achieving the 2050 Vision on ‘Living in Harmony with Nature’; and on the importance of biodiversity in meeting broader goals for sustainable human development during this century.

Key messages
There has been significant progress towards meeting some components of the majority of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Some target components, such as conserving at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas, are on track to be met.

However, in most cases this progress will not be sufficient to achieve the targets set for 2020, and additional action is required to keep the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 on course….

…Plausible pathways exist for achieving the 2050 vision for an end to biodiversity loss, in conjunction with key human development goals, limiting climate change to two degrees Celsius warming and combating desertification and land degradation. However, reaching these joint objectives requires changes in society including much more efficient use of land, water, energy and materials, rethinking our consumption habits and in particular major transformations of food systems.

Analysis of the major primary sectors indicates that drivers linked to agriculture account for 70 per cent of the projected loss of terrestrial biodiversity. Addressing trends in food systems is therefore crucial in determining whether the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 will succeed. Solutions for achieving sustainable farming and food systems include sustainable productivity increases by restoring ecosystem services in agricultural landscapes, reducing waste and losses in supply chains, and addressing shifts in consumption patterns…

EBOLA/EVD [to 11 October 2014]

WHO Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) – web site
:: Ebola response roadmap – Situation report – 10 October 2014
Excerpt
A total of 8399 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of Ebola virus disease (EVD) have been reported in seven affected countries (Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Spain, and the United States of America) up to the end of 8 October. There have been 4033 deaths. Following the WHO Ebola Response Roadmap structure1, country reports fall into two categories: 1) those with widespread and intense transmission (Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone); and 2), those with an initial case or cases, or with localized transmission (Nigeria, Senegal, Spain, and the United States of America). An overview of the situation in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, where a separate, unrelated outbreak of EVD is occurring, is also provided (see Annex 1)….

.

FAO
:: FAO launches new initiative to tackle growing food security threat (08 October 2014)
8 October 2014, Rome/Dakar – FAO today launched a new programme to urgently assist 90 000 vulnerable households in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone whose food supplies and livelihoods are threatened by the disruptive effect the Ebola epidemic is having on rural economies, agricultural activities and markets.
The Regional Response Programme for West Africa will scale-up the work FAO is currently doing with governments, United Nations partners and local networks of agriculture, veterinary and forestry workers, to help stop the spread of the disease, meet immediate and long-term food and nutrition security needs and build resilience.
FAO is urgently calling for $30 million to support activities linked to the programme over the next 12 months. Programme activities are organized around four key objectives:
– contribute to saving lives by stopping the spread of the disease through social mobilization,
training and awareness raising;
– boost incomes and agricultural production to safeguard livelihoods;
– build resilience of communities to disease threats; and
– strengthen coordination for improved response.

.

UNMEER (UN Mission for Ebola Emergency Response)
http://www.un.org/ebolaresponse/index.shtml
External Situation Reports
:: 10 October 2014
Media Releases
:: Secretary-General appoints Marcel Rudasingwa of Rwanda as Ebola Crisis Manager for Guinea, Peter Jan Graaff of the Netherlands as Ebola Crisis Manager for Liberia and Amadu Kamara of the United States as Ebola Crisis Manager for Sierra Leone (09 October 2014)

7 October 2014
GA/AB/4119
Budget Committee Approves $50 Million for United Nations Ebola Response Mission, Reviews Assessment Scale to Calculate Financial Contributions of Member States
The Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) today approved by consensus a draft resolution to provide nearly $50 million for the United Nations operations to control the Ebola outbreak.

.

CDC/MMWR Watch [to 11 October 2014]
http://www.cdc.gov/media/index.html
: Enhanced Ebola Screening to Start at Five U.S. Airports and New Tracking Program for all People Entering U.S. from Ebola-affected Countries – Press Release
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
New layers of screening at airports that receive more than 94% of West African Travelers.
:: Questions and Answers on Experimental Treatments and Vaccines for Ebola

.

USAID [to 11 October 2014]
http://www.usaid.gov/
:: USAID Announces Grand Challenge to Fight Ebola
October 7, 2014
Call for ideas opens today; focus on solutions in protective gear and frontline tools
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah today launched the Fighting Ebola: A Grand Challenge for Development with a call to innovators around the world to submit ideas focused on improving the tools used by frontline healthcare workers in the fight against Ebola in West Africa. The initial focus of the Challenge, as announced by President Obama on Sept. 26, is to generate pioneering solutions to improve the personal protective equipment (PPE) and tools used by healthcare workers battling Ebola. Shah detailed the initiative today at the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting in Seattle, Wash.

.

World Bank
:: Transcript of Remarks at the Event: Impact of the Ebola Crisis: A Perspective from the Countries
The World Bank convened a special event focused on the impact of the Ebola Crisis. This transcript captures comments by World Bank President Jim Kim as host, President CONDÉ of Guinea; President Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia; President Koroma of Sierra Leone, UNSG Ban Ki-moon, and many others including IMF, WHO, CDC, UNICEF, USAID, and leaders from a range of counties providing support.

:: World Bank Group President Calls for New Global Pandemic Emergency Facility
October 10, 2014
WASHINGTON, October 10, 2014—In the wake of a “late, inadequate and slow” global response to the Ebola outbreak, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim today called for the creation of a new pandemic emergency facility that would rapidly respond to future outbreaks by delivering money to countries in crisis.
Speaking before the Annual Meetings plenary, a meeting of the governors of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, Kim said he would like to develop the proposals for a financial instrument with the United Nations, the IMF and regional development banks.
He said even as the focus should now be intensely on doing everything possible to stop Ebola, planning must also begin for the next pandemic, which “could spread much more quickly, kill even more people and potentially devastate the global economy”.
“The world has an IMF to coordinate and work with central banks and ministries to respond to financial crises,” he said. “When it comes to health emergencies, however, our institutional toolbox is empty: There’s no such center of knowledge and skill for response and coordination.”
He said the Bank Group’s financial teams have proposed several solutions, including the pandemic emergency facility. “The device would pre-package a response, establishing contingent funding agreements with donors and receipt mechanisms for possible recipients. So when a global health emergency is declared, financial support would be readily available and flow quickly to support an immediate response”…

:: Ebola: New World Bank Group Study Forecasts Billions in Economic Loss if Epidemic Lasts Longer, Spreads in West Africa
WASHINGTON, October 8, 2014–With the latest death toll from Ebola now at 3,439 in the three worst-affected countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, a new economic impact assessment from the World Bank Group says that if the epidemic was to significantly infect people in neighboring countries, some of which have much larger economies, the two-year regional financial impact could reach US$32.6 billion by the end of 2015.The new World Bank Group report notes, “as it is far from certain that the epidemic will be fully contained by December 2014 and in light of the considerable uncertainty about its future trajectory, two alternative scenarios are used to estimate the medium-term (2015) impact of the epidemic, extending to the end of calendar year 2015.” A “Low Ebola” scenario corresponds to rapid containment within the three most severely affected countries, while “High Ebola” corresponds to slower containment in the three countries, with broader regional contagion.
October 8, 2014

USAID [to 11 October 2014]
http://www.usaid.gov/

USAID Announces Initial Funding of $29 Million for Girls’ Economic Empowerment
October 9, 2014
Today the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced the SPRING initiative, a partnership aiming to accelerate economic empowerment for girls. The project, with initial funding of $29 million, will help businesses bring products to market that enable girls to learn, earn, invest and save. The announcement commemorates International Day of the Girl, celebrated each year on October 11 to promote the rights of girls and address the unique challenges they face.

USAID and UNICEF Partner to End Gender-based Violence in Schools
October 8, 2014
Today, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced it will partner with the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) to support the newly formed Global Partners’ Working Group on School-related Gender-based Violence. Through this $400,000, two-year grant, USAID will work with UNICEF to combat school-related gender-based violence at all levels. By working to defeat this barrier to girls’ education, the program will enable more girls to contribute to their families and societies, a critical step toward ending extreme poverty.

USAID Announces Grand Challenge to Fight Ebola
October 7, 2014
Call for ideas opens today; focus on solutions in protective gear and frontline tools
U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Rajiv Shah today launched the Fighting Ebola: A Grand Challenge for Development with a call to innovators around the world to submit ideas focused on improving the tools used by frontline healthcare workers in the fight against Ebola in West Africa. The initial focus of the Challenge, as announced by President Obama on Sept. 26, is to generate pioneering solutions to improve the personal protective equipment (PPE) and tools used by healthcare workers battling Ebola. Shah detailed the initiative today at the Grand Challenges Annual Meeting in Seattle, Wash.

USAID Partners with Six Universities to Support Cutting Edge Graduate Research in Developing Countries
October 6, 2014
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) announced today more than $3 million in new fellowships to support graduate students at six leading U.S. universities. Through the U.S. Global Development Lab’s Expand the Research and Innovation (RI) Fellowship Program, USAID and Arizona State University, Rutgers University, The University of Notre Dame, University of California-Berkeley, University of Chicago, and the University of California-Davis will work to support cutting edge science and technology research that addresses development challenges.

IMF [to 11 October 2014]
http://www.imf.org/external/index.htm

The IMF at 70: Making the Right Choices—Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow
By Christine Lagarde
Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
The IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings
Washington, D.C. October 10, 2014
Excerpt
… Seventy years after Bretton Woods, the international community stands at another fork in the road. The tried-and-true modes of cooperation seem to be fraying around the edges. The sustainability of the global economic engine itself is increasingly being questioned.

Can it really deliver the jobs, the incomes, the better living standards that people aspire to? There are three key collective choices to be made:

First, how do we achieve the growth and jobs needed to advance prosperity and ensure social harmony? I would call this the choice between acceleration and stagnation.

Second, how do we make this interconnected world a more inclusive, safer place for all of us to thrive? This is the choice between stability and fragility.

Third, how do we strengthen cooperation and multilateralism, instead of isolationism and insularity? This is the choice between solidarity and seclusion….

…This new reality demands a new response—but not a new philosophy. It requires us to update, adapt, and deepen our modes of global cooperation. It requires using the wonders of technology for the betterment of humanity. It requires what I have a called a “new multilateralism”…

…What does this mean in practical terms? For a start, it means a re-commitment to the values of open trade and investment. It means resisting the lure of “beggar-thy-neighbor” economics. It means placing the global good above individual self-interest.

There are three areas where progress is vital:
:: First, in the financial sector: we need cooperation to come to an agreement on the cross-border resolution of megabanks.
:: Second, we know that tax competition especially hurts low-income countries as they strive to mobilize badly-needed revenue. The international community needs to go further in making it more difficult to shift taxes from one country to another simply for profit.
:: Third, on external imbalances: we know that behind every current account deficit lies a current account surplus. Countries on both sides must take responsibility for balance and stability.
Renewed solidarity also calls for global action to turn the tide of climate change. 2015 is shaping up to be a make-or-break year. If we miss this chance, then we are failing the world’s poorest people, the generations to come, and the planet.

So we must not fail. The new multilateralism must prevail. And the IMF has a pivotal role to play….

World Bank [to 11 October 2014]
http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/all

Speech by World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim: “Tackling the Most Difficult Problems: Infrastructure, Ebola and Climate Change”
World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim
IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings 2014
Washington, D.C., United States
October 10, 2014

A Toolkit for Making Everyone Count in Sub-Saharan Africa
Digital identity (Digital ID) is a catalyst for development and progress, particularly for low- and middle- income countries. According to a recent World Bank Group publication titled Digital Identity Toolkit: A Guide for Stakeholders in Africa, Digital ID is not only a key enabler for service delivery to the poorest, but also helps grow a country’s economy and social development. In a high-level event last year, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim characterized India’s digital IDs as a poverty-killer and a game-changer.
A government’s ability to deliver important services to its people depends on its ability to uniquely identify them. An official identity is central to everything from health care and voting to social welfare and transport.
Download the Toolkit: In English: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2014/06/20272197
October 9, 2014

Transcript of Remarks at the Event: Impact of the Ebola Crisis: A Perspective from the Countries
October 9, 2014
The World Bank convened a special event focused on the impact of the Ebola Crisis. This transcript captures comments by World Bank President Jim Kim as host and:
:: President CONDÉ of Guinea; President Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia; President Koroma of Sierra Leone
:: IMF President Christine Lagarde
:: UNSG Ban Ki-moon
:: President Donald Kaberuka of the African Development Bank
:: CDC Director Tom Frieden
:: Finance Minister of Nigeria Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
:: Kristalina Georgieva, Member, European Union Commission
:: Bruce Aylward, World Health Organization
:: Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan, Cote d’Ivoire
:: Ragiv Shah, USAID
:: David Olson, Medicins sans Frontieres
:: Mark Suzman, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
:: Geeta Rao Gupta, UNICEF; President of ECOWAS; the Minister of Foreign Affairs from Norway, and Chris Stone from the Open Society Foundation….

Measurement Is Fundamental For Ending Extreme Poverty, But Must Be Done Better, Says World Bank Report
October 9, 2014
WASHINGTON, October 9, 2014 – Data and measurement are vital to achieve the World Bank Group’s twin goals of ending poverty by 2030 and promoting shared prosperity, but data systems at the country level need to be strengthened and data should be collected more frequently to better inform national policy and to help international partners identify gaps and prioritize actions, says a new World Bank report launched today.
The report, ‘Policy Research Report 2014: A Measured Approach to Ending Poverty and Boosting Shared Prosperity: Concepts, Data, and the Twin Goals’, makes an urgent call for better and more timely collection of comparable household survey data, which provide information on people’s consumption or income. The report observes that data and measurement are pivotal to the assessment of the Bank Group’s twin goals, and, thereby, their achievement.

World Bank Group Launches New Global Infrastructure Facility
Move paves way for institutional investors to help fill infrastructure gaps in developing world: US$1 trillion a year in extra investment needed through 2020.WASHINGTON, October 9, 2014— The heads of some of the world’s largest asset management and private equity firms, pension and insurance funds, and commercial banks are today joining multilateral development institutions and donor nations to work as partners in a new Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF) that has the potential to unlock billions of dollars for infrastructure in the developing world. World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said the presence of a broad range of institutional investors at the signing to launch the GIF sent a powerful message, with the most recent data showing that private infrastructure investment in emerging markets and developing economies dropped from US$186 billion in 2012 to $150 billion last year. “We have several trillions of dollars in assets represented today looking for long-term…
October 9, 2014

Working Paper: The economic impact of the 2014 Ebola epidemic : short and medium term estimates for West Africa (English)
World Bank, 2014 Official PDF, 71 pages

IRCT [to 11 October 2014]

News
Members call for international reaction to human rights violations and torture by Islamic State (IS) militants
08 October 2014
The European IRCT members call on the international community to raise its voice against torture, gross violations of human rights and serious violations of humanitarian law committed by Islamic State (IS) militants.

GAVI [to 11 October 2014]
http://www.gavialliance.org/library/news/press-releases/

Gavi retains high ranking in leading transparency index
Geneva 8 October 2014 – A leading aid transparency group has for the second year running ranked Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance as a leading organisation for openness and accountability.
Publish What You Fund’s 2014 Aid Transparency Index (ATI) placed Gavi 4th out of 68 organisations, including UN agencies and donor governments, working on international development. Gavi’s ranking puts it in the top category of transparent organisations alongside the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which top-scored with 91%, and the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) who both, like Gavi, scored above 85%…

Start Network [Consortium of British Humanitarian Agencies] [to 11 October 2014]
http://www.start-network.org/news-blog/#.U9U_O7FR98E

October 6, 2014
Project Case Study
Using video to engage kids in the fight against cholera in Mayo-Tsanaga, Cameroon
Where there is poor access to clean water and sanitation, cholera can spread through communities like wildfire. Lack of toilets and poor management of sewage leads to the contamination of water sources, spreading the disease. Changes in hygiene and sanitation behaviour are required to stop the disease in its tracks, and messages must reach every member in society, with even the smallest child engaged as an agent for change. This month, Plan staff discovered how effective video can be in engaging girls and boys, men and women to tackle diseases like cholera.

American Journal of Public Health
Volume 104, Issue 11 (November 2014)
http://ajph.aphapublications.org/toc/ajph/current

Improving Global Access to New Vaccines: Intellectual Property, Technology Transfer, and Regulatory Pathways
Sara Eve Crager, MD
Abstract
The 2012 World Health Assembly Global Vaccine Action Plan called for global access to new vaccines within 5 years of licensure. Current approaches have proven insufficient to achieve sustainable vaccine pricing within such a timeline. Paralleling the successful strategy of generic competition to bring down drug prices, a clear consensus is emerging that market entry of multiple suppliers is a critical factor in expeditiously bringing down prices of new vaccines. In this context, key target objectives for improving access to new vaccines include overcoming intellectual property obstacles, streamlining regulatory pathways for biosimilar vaccines, and reducing market entry timelines for developing-country vaccine manufacturers by transfer of technology and know-how. I propose an intellectual property, technology, and know-how bank as a new approach to facilitate widespread access to new vaccines in low- and middle-income countries by efficient transfer of patented vaccine technologies to multiple developing-country vaccine manufacturers.

The Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities: A Foundation for Ethical Disability and Health Research in Developing Countries
Jo Durham, PhD, Claire E. Brolan, MA, and Bryan Mukandi, MD
Abstract
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has foregrounded disability as a human rights and equity issue, elevating it to a priority global research area.
Academics from Western universities are likely to play an increasing role in disability health research in developing countries. In such contexts, there is a need to bridge the gap between procedural ethics and the realities of disability research in cross-cultural contexts.
We provide guidance on engaging in ethical disability health research that intersects with and upholds the CRPD. We highlight challenges and tensions in doing so, underscoring the need to be sensitive to the sociocultural and political context of disability that determines how ethical research should proceed. We conclude with 5 recommendations.

The Role of Applied Epidemiology Methods in the Disaster Management Cycle
Josephine Malilay, PhD, MPH, Michael Heumann, MPH, MA, Dennis Perrotta, PhD, Amy F. Wolkin, DrPH, MSPH, Amy H. Schnall, MPH, Michelle N. Podgornik, MPH, Miguel A. Cruz, MPH, Jennifer A. Horney, PhD, MPH, CPH, David Zane, MS, Rachel Roisman, MD, MPH, Joel R. Greenspan, MD, MPH, Doug Thoroughman, PhD, MS, Henry A. Anderson, MD, Eden V. Wells, MD, MPH, and Erin F. Simms, MPH
Abstract
Disaster epidemiology (i.e., applied epidemiology in disaster settings) presents a source of reliable and actionable information for decision-makers and stakeholders in the disaster management cycle. However, epidemiological methods have yet to be routinely integrated into disaster response and fully communicated to response leaders. We present a framework consisting of rapid needs assessments, health surveillance, tracking and registries, and epidemiological investigations, including risk factor and health outcome studies and evaluation of interventions, which can be practiced throughout the cycle. Applying each method can result in actionable information for planners and decision-makers responsible for preparedness, response, and recovery. Disaster epidemiology, once integrated into the disaster management cycle, can provide the evidence base to inform and enhance response capability within the public health infrastructure.

Bulletin of the World Health Organization
Volume 92, Number 10, October 2014, 697-772
http://www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/92/10/en/

Editorial
Sustainable health: the need for new developmental models
Iris Borowy a
a. Institute for the History, Theory and Ethics of Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Wendlingweg 2, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2014;92:699. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.2471/BLT.14.145219
In 2015, the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will probably be replaced by 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Although only one SDG names health directly, it has been assumed that health involves a broad range of social determinants covered by the other SDGs and that sustainable health requires a sustainable world….

Estimation of maternal and child mortality one year after user-fee elimination: an impact evaluation and modelling study in Burkina Faso
Mira Johri, Valéry Ridde, Rolf Heinmüller & Slim Haddad
Abstract
Objective
To estimate the impact on maternal and child mortality after eliminating user fees for pregnant women and for children less than five years of age in Burkina Faso.
Methods
Two health districts in the Sahel region eliminated user fees for facility deliveries and curative consultations for children in September 2008. To compare health-care coverage before and after this change, we used interrupted time series, propensity scores and three independent data sources. Coverage changes were assessed for four variables: women giving birth at a health facility, and children aged 1 to 59 months receiving oral rehydration salts for diarrhoea, antibiotics for pneumonia and artemesinin for malaria. We modelled the mortality impact of coverage changes in the Lives Saved Tool using several scenarios.
Findings
Coverage increased for all variables, however, the increase was not statistically significant for antibiotics for pneumonia. For estimated mortality impact, the intervention saved approximately 593 (estimate range 168–1060) children’s lives in both districts during the first year. This lowered the estimated under-five mortality rate from 235 deaths per 1000 live births in 2008 to 210 (estimate range 189–228) in 2009. If a similar intervention were to be introduced nationwide, 14 000 to 19 000 (estimate range 4000–28 000) children’s lives could be saved annually. Maternal mortality showed a modest decrease in all scenarios.
Conclusion
In this setting, eliminating user fees increased use of health services and may have contributed to reduced child mortality.

Development in Practice
Volume 24, Issue 7, 2014
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cdip20/current

Principles for design of projects introducing improved wood-burning cooking stoves
Eija Soini* & Richard Coe
DOI: 10.1080/09614524.2014.952274
pages 908-920
Abstract
Projects introducing improved stoves that save firewood and reduce emissions and indoor smoke address real needs but have often not succeeded as expected. One of the reasons may be that lessons have not been learnt effectively. We reviewed the only available comprehensive list of principles for stove project design. We modified it, and added more principles based on literature and our own experience. Our list consists of 20 principles covering the areas of awareness creation of multiple benefits, stove design and variety, participation of the beneficiaries, production modes, role of subsidies, and the necessity of accurate assessments and reporting.

Development in Practice
Volume 24, Issue 7, 2014
http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/cdip20/current

Mismatch between NGO services and beneficiaries’ priorities: examining contextual realities
Subas Risal*
DOI: 10.1080/09614524.2014.950190
pages 883-896
Received: 2 Jun 2012
Accepted: 29 Jan 2014
Published online: 30 Sep 2014
Abstract
The proliferation of NGOs, particularly in developing countries over the last five decades, has prompted debates on the extent to which NGO services have been able to match the priorities of disadvantaged groups such as low castes and ethnic groups in Nepal. This paper explores the development priorities of villagers from a village in Nepal (Thecho), and their views regarding the match between services offered by NGOs and those priorities. Additionally, the paper highlights the importance of NGOs understanding contextual realities while implementing development activities.

Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology
Volume 9, Number 6 (November 2014)
http://informahealthcare.com/toc/idt/current

Original Research
Emerging issues and current trends in assistive technology use 2007–2010: practising, assisting and enabling learning for all
November 2014, Vol. 9, No. 6 , Pages 453-462 (doi:10.3109/17483107.2013.840862)
Chris Abbott, David Brown, Lindsay Evett, and Penny Standen
1Department of Education & Professional Studies, King’s College London, London, UK,
2School of Science & Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK, and
3Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
Abstract
Following an earlier review in 2007, a further review of the academic literature relating to the uses of assistive technology (AT) by children and young people was completed, covering the period 2007–2011. As in the earlier review, a tripartite taxonomy: technology uses to train or practise, technology uses to assist learning and technology uses to enable learning, was used in order to structure the findings. The key markers for research in this field and during these three years were user involvement, AT on mobile mainstream devices, the visibility of AT, technology for interaction and collaboration, new and developing interfaces and inclusive design principles. The paper concludes by locating these developments within the broader framework of the Digital Divide: Implications for Rehabilitation
The rapid move to mainstream mobile devices is challenging to providers of assistive learning technologies, to those who commission and advise on these technologies and to those who fund in this area.
Recent research around assistive learning technologies is moving away from being solely oriented around product evaluation and towards a user-centred approach.
Current and developing interfaces, such as brain control and eye gaze, offer potential for assistive learning technology support for those to whom no such devices were valid in the past.
There is a need for longitudinal research related to the uses of assistive learning technologies.