Education: Refugee and Migrant Children

UNHCR, UNICEF and IOM urge European states to boost education for refugee and migrant children
11 September 2019
Key challenges include lack of school spaces, teachers not adequately trained, language barriers and limited access to psychosocial support

BRUSSELS/GENEVA – Three UN agencies are calling on European States to increase resources and practical support for their school systems to ensure all refugee, asylum-seeking and migrant children can access and stay in quality education.

In a briefing paper published today, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and IOM, the International Organization for Migration, detail the obstacles children and adolescents born outside Europe face when trying to access education in Europe.

Currently the number of children and adolescents born outside Europe (including recently arrived refugee and migrant children) who leave school early is nearly twice as high compared to native-born children. Migrant children also have lower learning outcomes when they are not given adequate support. For example, around 3 in 4 native-born students attain proficiency in science, reading and math but only 3 in 5 students with a migrant background do.

Among the key challenges highlighted in the report are:
:: Insufficient financial resources
:: Not enough school spaces or teachers trained to work with refugee and migrant children
:: Language barriers

A lack of psychosocial support and limited catch-up classes. The latter are vital for children who have missed extended periods of schooling or have come from different education systems.
Children of pre-primary age (3 to 5 years old) and upper secondary age (15 years and older) are particularly vulnerable to being out of school, as they are often beyond the scope of national legislation on compulsory education.

To help States tackle these challenges and address key data gaps, the paper gives examples of good and promising practices in education across Europe and makes a series of recommendations

ISO – Global Standards for Cookstoves

By Clare Naden on 11 September 2019
Saving lives with cleaner cookstoves: new International Standard just published
Almost three billion people rely on traditional cookstoves and open fires for cooking and heating, placing them at serious risk of health disorders and premature death. The latest in ISO’s series of standards for cleaner ways of cooking has just been published.

Over 4 million people die each year from exposure to cookstove smoke, making household air pollution the fourth biggest health risk in the world [1]. It is also highly toxic for the environment. ISO has developed a number of international standards to support new technologies and solutions for cleaner methods of cooking. The latest in the range, ISO 19869, Clean cookstoves and clean cooking solutions — Field testing methods for cookstoves, evaluates existing methods for the testing of cookstoves and provides guidance on developing new ones.

The guidance covers field testing methods that evaluate all aspects of cookstove performance including cooking power, efficiency, safety, indoor air quality, device usability and more.

Dr Ranyee Chiang, chair of the ISO technical committee that developed the standard said testing of cookstoves in real situations is essential to assess the impact on both users and the environment, thus allowing for improvements to be made.

“There are various testing protocols already in existence to assess things like fuel consumption, emissions, air pollution and durability amongst other things. However, these are mostly done for specific projects by individual groups,” she said.

Where common protocols exist such as the Controlled Cooking Test (CCT) and the Kitchen Performance Test (KPT), she explained, they have few indicators other than fuel consumption.

“Until now there is no formal international guidance on field testing protocols that address a broad range of factors. ISO 19869 is therefore designed to fill that gap.”

ISO 19869 joins other ISO documents by the same committee, namely ISO 19867-1, Clean cookstoves and clean cooking solutions — Harmonized laboratory test protocols, Part 1: Standard test sequence for emissions and performance, safety and durability, and ISO/TR 19867-3, Clean cookstoves and clean cooking solutions — Harmonized laboratory test protocols, Part 3: Voluntary performance targets for cookstoves based on laboratory testing, as well as ISO/TR 21276, Clean cookstoves and clean cooking solutions — Vocabulary.

The standards support the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 3: Good health and wellbeing as well as UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) number 7: Affordable and clean energy and contribute to the Clean Cooking Alliance’s mission to ensure universal adoption of clean cooking solutions.

They were developed by ISO technical committee ISO/TC 285, Clean cookstoves and clean cooking solutions, the secretariat for which is held by KEBS, ISO’s member for Kenya.

Development: Digital ID

Building on Digital ID for Inclusive Services: Lessons from India
September 13, 2019
Center for Global Development
Alan Gelb and Anit Mukherjee

Digital ID as a development tool
India has emerged as a leader in building on its biometric digital ID (Aadhaar) to reform service and program delivery. It moved quickly to consolidate the rollout of Aadhaar, and then to embed the unique Aadhaar number into program databases. A range of applications, including digital signature and payments, was then constructed on top of the Aadhaar foundation (the India Stack). Together with partners, the Center for Global Development is analyzing the effects of Aadhaar-based reforms. India offers lessons for many other countries as their focus evolves from rolling out an ID system towards using it to improve the efficiency and inclusivity of service delivery. Some programs using Aadhaar are federally administered but others are implemented at state level. It is already clear that some states and sectors are reforming better than others, generally because of better design of the digital reforms or stronger capacity to implement them. The three programs we discuss below highlight achievements as well as challenges that need to be overcome for greater efficiency and inclusion.

An integrated trinity: the JAM
India recognized early the need to integrate Aadhaar into two other pillars for reform: mobile communications and financial access. The resulting trinity is known as JAM: Jan Dhan (financial inclusion), Aadhaar (biometric ID), and mobile connections. With 1.2 billion unique numbers, Aadhaar now covers about 95 percent of India’s population, including almost all adults. In 2014, the government announced the Jan Dhan program to achieve the goal of universal financial inclusion; by 2017, 82 percent of India’s adult population had access to a bank account, up from 56 percent when the program started. Mobile phone subscriptions increased from 17 per 100 inhabitants in 2007 to 85 in 2016, approaching universal access with a growing share of smartphones and internet-enabled devices.

The JAM trinity brings together three digital transformations and exploits synergies among them. Aadhaar enables customers and banks to easily fulfill know-your-customer (KYC) norms necessary to obtain a bank account or a mobile SIM card, while costs have been further reduced by allowing the possibility of digital or e-KYC. Aadhaar is therefore linked organically to new bank accounts and mobile connections, making them accessible to large sections of the population. In turn, much of the increase in financial access has been spurred by the Aadhaar-based reforms to social programs that routed benefits through bank accounts….

…Some cautions from Rajasthan
Our Rajasthan study revealed several problems that countries may face as they transition towards digitalized services.
:: Digitization. Existing databases may not be consistent, and errors in seeding the unique ID number in beneficiary lists can compound the problem, creating aggravations for beneficiaries or even denial of benefits. These difficulties were compounded in Rajasthan by the restructuring of program databases into the Bhamashah registry and by efforts to shrink beneficiary rolls at the same time as they were being digitized.

:: Authentication. As noted above, the reliability of biometric authentication is also a challenge. Fingerprints alone are not enough—they may not always work or work smoothly. Backup methods are needed and, indeed, the Aadhaar approach provides for other options. But sometimes these are not used by frontline service providers, who may ignore protocols and send beneficiaries away to come back another time, or possibly even deny them their benefits. The risk is arguably greatest for the most vulnerable beneficiaries, who have the least capacity to assert their rights before the frontline providers.

:: Digital literacy. Eighty percent of women heads of households cannot read or write text messages or even make a call using mobile phones. While the use of ID to create a social registry can promote inclusion and greater financial access, not everyone will have the necessary tools to participate fully in a digital environment. As these systems mature, bridging the digital capacity gap will be an important issue for the development and technology communities to address…

Health – Malaria

Malaria vaccine launched in Kenya: Kenya joins Ghana and Malawi to roll out landmark vaccine in pilot introduction
Homa Bay, Kenya, 13 September 2019 – The World Health Organization (WHO) congratulates the Government of Kenya for launching the world’s first malaria vaccine today in Homa Bay County, western Kenya.

The malaria vaccine pilot programme is now fully underway in Africa, as Kenya joins Ghana and Malawi to introduce the landmark vaccine as a tool against a disease that continues to affect millions of children in Africa.

The vaccine, known as RTS,S, will be available to children from 6 months of age in selected areas of the country in a phased pilot introduction. It is the first and only vaccine to significantly reduce malaria in children, including life-threatening malaria.

Malaria claims the life of one child every two minutes. The disease is a leading killer of children younger than 5 years in Kenya.

“Africa has witnessed a recent surge in the number of malaria cases and deaths. This threatens the gains in the fight against malaria made in the past two decades,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa. “The ongoing pilots will provide the key information and data to inform a WHO policy on the broader use of the vaccine in sub-Saharan Africa. If introduced widely, the vaccine has the potential to save tens of thousands of lives.”
First vaccination: a day to celebrate

Distinguished health officials, community leaders and health advocates gathered in Homa Bay County – one of eight counties in Kenya where the vaccine will be introduced in selected areas – to mark this historic moment with declarations of support for the promising new malaria prevention tool and to demonstrate a ceremonial first vaccination of a 6-month-old child.

Speaking at the event, WHO Representative to Kenya Dr Rudi Eggers said: “Vaccines are powerful tools that effectively reach and better protect the health of children who may not have immediate access to the doctors, nurses and health facilities they need to save them when severe illness comes. This is a day to celebrate as we begin to learn more about what this vaccine can do to change the trajectory of malaria though childhood vaccination.”

Thirty years in the making, the vaccine is a complementary malaria control tool – to be added to the core package of WHO-recommended measures for malaria prevention, including the routine use of insecticide-treated bed nets, indoor spraying with insecticides and timely access to malaria testing and treatment…

Emergencies

Ebola – DRC+
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo
Disease Outbreak News (DONs) 6 September 2019
The intensity of Ebola virus disease (EVD) transmission in the North Kivu, South Kivu, and Ituri provinces remains substantial, with 57 new cases reported since the last EVD in the Democratic Republic of the Congo Disease Outbreak News Update on 29 August.

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POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Polio this week as of 11 September 2019
:: The Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) partners and the United Arab Emirates co-hosted an informal reception as a pre-event ahead of the Polio Pledging Moment in the United Arab Emirates’-hosted Reaching the Last Mile Forum in Abu Dhabi, in November 2019. The GPEI also presented the 2019-2023 GPEI Investment Case.

Summary of new viruses this week:
:: Afghanistan — one wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case;
:: Pakistan— four wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases and 28 WPV1-positive environmental samples;
:: Central African Republic (CAR)— two circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases and one cVDPV2-positive environmental sample;
:: Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)— one cVDPV2 case.

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Editor’s Note:
WHO has posted a refreshed emergencies page which presents an updated listing of Grade 3,2,1 emergencies as below.

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies [to 14 Sep 2019]

Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Disease Outbreak News (DONs) Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo
6 September 2019

Nigeria – No new digest announcements identified
Mozambique floods – No new digest announcements identified
Somalia – No new digest announcements identified
South Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Syrian Arab Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies [to 14 Sep 2019]

Afghanistan – No new digest announcements identified
Angola – No new digest announcements identified
Burkina Faso [in French] – No new digest announcements identified
Burundi – No new digest announcements identified
Cameroon – No new digest announcements identified
Central African Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Ethiopia – No new digest announcements identified
HIV in Pakistan – No new digest announcements identified
Iran floods 2019 – No new digest announcements identified
Iraq – No new digest announcements identified
Libya – No new digest announcements identified
Malawi floods – No new digest announcements identified
Measles in Europe – No new digest announcements identified
MERS-CoV – No new digest announcements identified
Myanmar – No new digest announcements identified
Niger – No new digest announcements identified
occupied Palestinian territory – No new digest announcements identified
Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Ukraine – No new digest announcements identified
Zimbabwe – No new digest announcements identified

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WHO Grade 1 Emergencies [to 14 Sep 2019]

Chad – No new digest announcements identified
Djibouti – No new digest announcements identified
Kenya – No new digest announcements identified
Mali – No new digest announcements identified
Namibia – viral hepatitis – No new digest announcements identified
Tanzania – No new digest announcements identified

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UN OCHA – L3 Emergencies
The UN and its humanitarian partners are currently responding to three ‘L3’ emergencies. This is the global humanitarian system’s classification for the response to the most severe, large-scale humanitarian crises. 
Syrian Arab Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

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UN OCHA – Corporate Emergencies
When the USG/ERC declares a Corporate Emergency Response, all OCHA offices, branches and sections provide their full support to response activities both at HQ and in the field.
Editor’s Note:
Ebola in the DRC has bene added as a OCHA “Corporate Emergency” this week:
CYCLONE IDAI and Kenneth – No new digest announcements identified
EBOLA OUTBREAK IN THE DRC – No new digest announcements identified

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The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 7 September 2019

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
GE2P2 Global Foundation – Governance, Evidence, Ethics, Policy, Practice
david.r.curry@ge2p2center.net

PDF: The Sentinel_ period ending 7 Sep 2019

Contents
:: Week in Review  [See selected posts just below]
:: Key Agency/IGO/Governments Watch – Selected Updates from 30+ entities   [see PDF]
:: INGO/Consortia/Joint Initiatives Watch – Media Releases, Major Initiatives, Research:: Foundation/Major Donor Watch -Selected Updates
:: Journal Watch – Key articles and abstracts from 100+ peer-reviewed journals  [see PDF]

Global Digital Economy

Global efforts needed to spread digital economy benefits, UN report says
UNCTAD/PRESS/PR/2019/023
Geneva, Switzerland, (04 September 2019)
:: Digital wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few US- and China-based platforms
:: The gap between the under-connected and the hyper-digitalized countries will widen and worsen inequalities if unaddressed

Concerted global efforts are required to spread the rapidly expanding digital economy’s gains to the many people who currently reap little benefit from it, says a new United Nations report.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has released its first-ever Digital Economy Report 2019 that maps the flow, data and funds in the world’s digital economy. It outlines the enormous potential gains and possible development costs as more of the world moves, connects and buys online.

Wealth creation in the digital economy is highly concentrated in the United States and China, with the rest of the world, especially countries in Africa and Latin America, trailing considerably far behind, according to the report.

The United States and China account for 75% of all patents related to blockchain technologies, 50% of global spending on the Internet of Things (IoT), more than 75% of the cloud computing market and as much as 90% per cent of the market capitalization value of the world’s 70 largest digital platform companies (figure 1).

Under current policies and regulations, this trajectory is likely to continue, further contributing to rising inequality, warned UN Secretary-General, António Guterres.

“We must work to close the digital divide, where more than half the world has limited or no access to the Internet. Inclusivity is essential to building a digital economy that delivers for all,” Mr. Guterres said in the report…

Burgeoning data flows
Global internet protocol (IP) traffic, a proxy for data flows, has seen dramatic growth. In 1992, there was about 100 gigabytes (GB) of traffic per day. By 2017 such traffic had surged to more than 45,000 GB per second (figure 2).

Yet the world is only in the early days of the data-driven economy. By 2022 global IP traffic is projected to reach 150,700 GB per second.

The surge in data traffic reflects growth in the sheer number of people using the Internet and the uptake of frontier technologies such as blockchain, data analytics, artificial intelligence, 3D printing, IoT, automation, robotics and cloud computing.

An entirely new “data value chain” has evolved, comprising firms that support data collection, the production of insights from data, data storage, analysis and modelling, the report observes.

Platforms have an edge
…The report notes that 40% of the world’s 20 largest companies by market capitalization have a platform-based business model.

Seven “super platforms” – Microsoft, followed by Apple, Amazon, Google, Facebook, Tencent and Alibaba − account for two thirds of the total market value of the top 70 platforms.

The combined value of the platform companies with a market capitalization of more than US$100 million was estimated at more than $7 trillion in 2017 – 67% higher than in 2015, according to the report…

Developing countries risk remaining providers of raw data
The dominance of global digital platforms, their control of data, as well as their capacity to create and capture the ensuing value, accentuates concentration and consolidation rather than reducing inequalities between and within countries, the report notes.

It warns that developing countries risk becoming mere providers of raw data, while having to pay for the digital intelligence generated using their data.

If left unaddressed, the yawning gap between the under-connected and the hyper-digitalized countries will widen, and inequalities be exacerbated.

Breaking this vicious circle requires out-of-the-box thinking, the report says. One way is to consider finding an alternative configuration of the digital economy that leads to more balanced results and a fairer distribution of the gains from data and digital intelligence….

Myanmar

Joint Letter to UN Secretary-General on Rosenthal Report
September 5, 2019
Dear Secretary-General,
We, the undersigned coalition of 16 international organizations, write to you regarding the recent report by Gert Rosenthal, “A Brief and Independent Inquiry into the Involvement of the United Nations in Myanmar from 2010 to 2018.”[1] As you are aware, 19 international nongovernmental organizations wrote to you on March 25, 2019, expressing support for an independent investigation into the handling of the Myanmar crisis by the UN and its agencies, with a view to drawing lessons and ensuring accountability.[2]

The Rosenthal report describes the UN’s failure to stop, mitigate, or even draw attention to violence that the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission found amounted to crimes under international law including crimes against humanity, and warrants an investigation of the crime of genocide against Rohingya.[3] We note that the mandated scope of Mr. Rosenthal’s inquiry was extremely limited, was undertaken by one individual, did not include field visits, and excluded individual accountability.[4] These limitations do not satisfy the UN Human Rights Council’s call for a “comprehensive” investigation,[5] and are not reconcilable with the extraordinary magnitude of the crisis and the urgency of gathering “lessons learned” to improve the UN’s response in Myanmar and in similar high-risk situations going forward.

Nevertheless, we recognize your leadership in commissioning this report, releasing it publicly, and accepting all of its recommendations. This is a valuable first step. We stand ready to work with your office, as appropriate, to implement the recommendations, and to support other necessary changes and reforms.

However, we also note that the UN made similar commitments after the publication of the 2012 “Report of the Secretary-General’s Internal Review Panel on United Nations Action in Sri Lanka,” written by Charles Petrie.[6] It is clear from the Rosenthal report that the failure to fully implement the recommendations in the Petrie report set the stage for the UN’s subsequent failings in Myanmar.

It is for this reason that we encourage you to take bold action, beyond the recommendations outlined in the Rosenthal report. These actions should include:
:: promptly implementing reforms to prevent the recurrence of the “systematic” failures and “obvious dysfunctional performance” outlined in the report, and ensuring accountability for those failures as required;
:: re-energizing the Human Rights up Front initiative prompted by the Petrie report;
:: returning to your office a senior staff member dedicated to ensuring Human Rights up Front is fully implemented throughout the UN system;
:: taking practical steps to hold accountable those UN officials responsible for failures before, during, and since the 2017 ethnic cleansing campaign;
:: supporting the Resident Coordinator to ensure they have authority to implement a comprehensive Human Rights up Front strategy that takes into account the views of national and international NGOs, community-based organizations, and the human rights community, and is reflected and implemented at country level;
:: using your leadership to take concrete steps to improve coordination at all levels of the UN on the situation in Myanmar; and
:: committing to publishing annual updates on progress in adopting the recommendations of the Petrie and Rosenthal reports until they are fully implemented.

To promote greater transparency and accountability, we urge you to submit the report to the Security Council and encourage its member states to invite Mr. Rosenthal to brief the Council, the UN General Assembly, and nongovernmental organizations on this matter. We also urge you to brief the UN Human Rights Council on the report’s findings and recommendations at its 43rd session, as requested by the Council in resolution 40/29.[7]

We note that while Mr. Rosenthal’s review covers 2010 to 2018, many of the issues raised regarding the failings of “quiet diplomacy” are ongoing. A number of actors were also responsible for failing to take steps that may have prevented or limited atrocities, including individual UN member states and, above all, the Security Council, which has abdicated its collective responsibility to act under the UN Charter, despite your September 2, 2017 letter to the Security Council President urging concrete action.[8]

It is vital that your office act once again and quickly. Specifically, we call on you to set a clear, unifying strategy for the UN Country Team in Myanmar that places human rights concerns at the center of its strategy.

With elections scheduled in Myanmar in 2020, there is a real and serious risk of more violence against the Rohingya, other Muslim communities, and other vulnerable groups; heightened repression against critics of the military and government; and increased violations of international humanitarian law in the country’s internal armed conflicts with ethnic armed groups. Against this backdrop, it is crucial that under your direction UN bodies operate with a consistent and principled voice that prioritizes human rights.

We would be happy to discuss these issues and next steps with you and your team. As Mr. Rosenthal states, UN reforms “will be on trial” in Myanmar going forward.

We hope that you can make past failures in Myanmar a turning point in the UN’s history—the moment when the lessons were finally learned.

Yours sincerely,

ALTSEAN-Burma
Amnesty International
Article 19
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR)
Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
Burma Campaign UK
Burma Human Rights Network
Fortify Rights
Global Justice Center
Human Rights Watch
International Campaign for the Rohingya
International Commission of Jurists
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights (JBI)
Justice for All/Burma Task Force
Progressive Voice

Health – Epidemic Response

Africa Public Health Foundation to Address Epidemic Preparedness and Response
· An acute public health event in Africa is reported every four days and the costs of infectious disease crises are rising
· The new Africa Public Health Foundation will support the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention
· New foundation will facilitate public-private cooperation on strengthening health security across the continent

Cape Town, South Africa, 5 September 2019 – The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), in partnership with the African Union and World Economic Forum, today announces the establishment of the Africa Public Health Foundation (APHF). The foundation will facilitate public-private cooperation on supporting Africa CDC’s mission to strengthen health and economic security.

Disease outbreaks are serious health security threats and are increasingly an impediment to economic growth in Africa. The cost, for example, of the 2014-2015 Ebola outbreak to three affected west African countries is estimated to be $53 billion. Overall, the annual global cost of moderately severe to severe pandemics is roughly $570 billion, or 0.7% of global income – a cost in the same order of magnitude as climate change.

“We are in a new era of epidemic risk. Mitigating risk and impact of epidemics on lives and livelihoods requires an all-hands-on-deck approach, engaging all sectors,” said Ryan Morhard, Lead, Global Health Security at the World Economic Forum.

The APHF will align itself with the mission and vision of the Africa CDC to support member states build their capacity to better detect and respond to diseases outbreaks and emergencies. It will advance public-private cooperation to strengthen health systems, develop the healthcare workforce, support innovations for public health, and advocate for robust policies, regulations and partnerships for resource mobilization.

The creation of the APHF further delivers on the declaration made by the Heads of States and Governments (HoSG) of African countries in July 2017, tasking Africa CDC, the African Union Commission (AUC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) with accelerating the implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR). The regulations were established to support member states strengthen their health systems to better prepare and respond to emergencies and disease threats.

Bernard Haufiku, Minister of Health of Namibia (2015-2018) and Adviser to the President of Namibia, will be taking on the role of Founder of APHF…

Nutrition

Essential Nutrition Actions: mainstreaming nutrition throughout the life course
Research
World Health Organization
2019 :: 191 pages
PDF: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/326261/9789241515856-eng.pdf?ua=1
Overview
Primary health care is the foundation of universal health coverage; it is a whole-of-society approach to health and well-being, centred on the needs and preferences of individuals, families and communities. Nutrition is a foundation for health and well-being for all, leaving no one behind, and a critical component of primary health care, through its promotion and prevention, addressing its determinants, and a people-centred approach.

Healthier populations are achieved through multisectoral actions that are not limited to health systems alone, though often using the stewardship, advocacy and regulatory functions of health ministries. Optimal nutrition for individual health and development bridges interventions by health systems to improve the health of populations.

Interventions addressing health through the life-course (covering women, men, infants, children, adolescents and older persons) contribute to the delivery of integrated primary health care. A life-course approach is critical to operationalize the worldwide commitment to people-centred primary health care.

This publication’s primary purpose is to provide a compilation of actions to address malnutrition in all its forms, in a concise and user-friendly format to help in decision-making processes for integration of nutrition interventions in national health policies, strategies, and plans based on country-specific needs and global priorities.

Governance – Ageism

IMF Executive Board: Governors Remove Age Limit for the Position of Managing Director
September 5, 2019
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) made the following statement today:

“The Board of Governors has approved the proposal by the Executive Board to remove the age limit for the position of IMF Managing Director. Approval of the proposal required a simple majority of the votes cast, with a minimum participation requirement of a majority of Governors holding two-thirds of the total voting power. Voting ran from August 21 to September 4.

“Since 1951, the IMF’s By-Laws had prohibited the appointment of a candidate aged 65 or over as Managing Director, and had also prohibited the Managing Director from serving past his/her 70th birthday. The amendment to the By-Laws adopted by the Board of Governors, which is effective immediately, brings the Managing Director’s terms of appointment into line with those of members of the IMF Executive Board, which the Managing Director chairs, and those of the President of the World Bank Group, who are not subject to an age limit.

“The IMF Executive Board is engaged in the selection of a successor to outgoing Managing Director Christine Lagarde, who will step down on September 12. Nominations to the position close on September 6, 2019, and we intend to complete the selection process by October 4.”

Featured Journal Content – Heritage Stewardship

PNAS – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/
[Accessed 7 Sep2019]

Widespread male sex bias in mammal fossil and museum collections
Graham Gower, Lindsey E. Fenderson, Alexander T. Salis, Kristofer M. Helgen, Ayla L. van Loenen, Holly Heiniger, Emilia Hofman-Kamińska, Rafał Kowalczyk, Kieren J. Mitchell, Bastien Llamas, and Alan Cooper
PNAS first published September 3, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1903275116
Significance
The extent to which the fossil record provides an accurate picture of past life is an important issue that is often difficult to assess. We genetically sexed 277 mammalian subfossils using high-throughput sequencing of ancient DNA, and found a strong male bias (approx. 75%) in Pleistocene bison (n=186) and brown bears (n=91), matching signals previously reported for mammoth. Similarly, a male bias was also found in species of nearly all mammal orders in 4 large museum collections. For mammals, we suggest both male behavior and appearance can lead to increased chances of representation in fossil and museum collections, and this previously unrecognized sex bias could have substantial implications for views of past population and ecological processes.
Abstract
A recent study of mammoth subfossil remains has demonstrated the potential of using relatively low-coverage high-throughput DNA sequencing to genetically sex specimens, revealing a strong male-biased sex ratio [P. Pečnerová et al., Curr. Biol. 27, 3505–3510.e3 (2017)]. Similar patterns were predicted for steppe bison, based on their analogous female herd-based structure. We genetically sexed subfossil remains of 186 Holarctic bison (Bison spp.), and also 91 brown bears (Ursus arctos), which are not female herd-based, and found that ∼75% of both groups were male, very close to the ratio observed in mammoths (72%). This large deviation from a 1:1 ratio was unexpected, but we found no evidence for sex differences with respect to DNA preservation, sample age, material type, or overall spatial distribution. We further examined ratios of male and female specimens from 4 large museum mammal collections and found a strong male bias, observable in almost all mammalian orders.

We suggest that, in mammals at least, 1) wider male geographic ranges can lead to considerably increased chances of detection in fossil studies, and 2) sexual dimorphic behavior or appearance can facilitate a considerable sex bias in fossil and modern collections, on a previously unacknowledged scale. This finding has major implications for a wide range of studies of fossil and museum material.

Emergencies

Ebola – DRC+
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

No regular weekly updates identified.

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Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP announces receipt of Breakthrough Therapy designation from FDA for mAb114
MIAMI, Sept. 6, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — Ridgeback Biotherapeutics LP, a closely held biotechnology company, today announced that the Food and Drug Administration has recently granted mAb114, an experimental treatment for Ebola, Breakthrough Therapy designation…

“The FDA’s decision to grant mAb114 Breakthrough Therapy designation for the treatment of Ebola reflects a recognition of the promising efficacy and safety data that has been collected to date for this investigational drug.  We plan to work closely with the FDA as we continue to advance our development program for mAb114.  The substantial survival improvement seen with mAb114 in the PALM trial catalyzed this important regulatory milestone.  We are grateful to our PALM partners for all of their help in advancing treatments for Ebola patients and our ultimate gratitude goes to the study’s participants and their families.  Their trust and support will change the course of this disease,” said Wendy Holman, CEO of Ridgeback Biotherapeutics.

About Pamoja Tulinde Maisha (PALM):
The PALM study is co-sponsored and funded by the INRB (Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale) and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the US National Institutes of Health and carried out by an international research consortium coordinated by the World Health Organization (WHO).  The Ebola treatment centers in the PALM trial have been overseen by staff from the Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (INRB); the DRC Ministry of Health; and three medical humanitarian organizations:  the Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA), the International Medical Corps (IMC), and Médicins Sans Frontières (MSF). 

About mAb114:
mAb114 is a monoclonal antibody — a protein that binds to a single target on a pathogen — isolated from a human survivor of the 1995 Ebola outbreak in Kikwit, a city in the DRC…

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POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)

Polio this week as of 28 August 2019
:: The Technical Advisory Group on Polio Eradication in Pakistan met on 29 – 30 August to discuss the challenges faced by the programme and propose recommendations for transforming key aspects in the programme strategy for polio eradication.
:: An Investment case has been launched in order to ensure the GPEI’s funding requirements are fully financed until eradication and certification.
[See Milestones above for detail]
:: The August Polio News with the latest news, polio in numbers and funding updates is now available.

Summary of new viruses this week:
:: Afghanistan — two wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases,
:: Myanmar – one circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1) case,
:: Angola – two circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) cases,
:: Ethiopia – one cVDPV2 case;
:: Democratic Republic of the Congo – six (cVDPV2 cases).

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Editor’s Note:
WHO has posted a refreshed emergencies page which presents an updated listing of Grade 3,2,1 emergencies as below.

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies [to 7 Sep2019]

Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Local vaccinators build trust in Beni, the Democratic Republic of the Congo
2 September 2019 Vaccination team 29 is composed entirely of Congolese health workers

Syrian Arab Republic
:: WHO statement on attacks against health care in north-west Syria 2 September 2019

Nigeria – No new digest announcements identified
Mozambique floods – No new digest announcements identified
Somalia – No new digest announcements identified
South Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies [to 7 Sep2019]

Cameroon – No new digest announcements identified
Libya – No new digest announcements identified
MERS-CoV
:: WHO statement on the tenth meeting of the IHR Emergency Committee regarding MERS
3 September 2015

Afghanistan – No new digest announcements identified
Angola – No new digest announcements identified
Burkina Faso [in French] – No new digest announcements identified
Burundi – No new digest announcements identified
Central African Republic – No new digest announcements identified
Ethiopia – No new digest announcements identified
HIV in Pakistan – No new digest announcements identified
Iran floods 2019 – No new digest announcements identified
Iraq – No new digest announcements identified
Malawi floods – No new digest announcements identified
Measles in Europe – No new digest announcements identified
Myanmar – No new digest announcements identified
Niger – No new digest announcements identified
occupied Palestinian territory – No new digest announcements identified
Sudan – No new digest announcements identified
Ukraine – No new digest announcements identified
Zimbabwe – No new digest announcements identified

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WHO Grade 1 Emergencies [to 7 Sep2019]

Chad – No new digest announcements identified
Djibouti – No new digest announcements identified
Kenya – No new digest announcements identified
Mali – No new digest announcements identified
Namibia – viral hepatitis – No new digest announcements identified
Tanzania – No new digest announcements identified

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UN OCHA – L3 Emergencies
The UN and its humanitarian partners are currently responding to three ‘L3’ emergencies. This is the global humanitarian system’s classification for the response to the most severe, large-scale humanitarian crises. 
Syrian Arab Republic
:: Syrian Arab Republic: Recent Developments in Northwestern Syria Situation Report No. 11 – as of 6 September 2019

Yemen – No new digest announcements identified

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UN OCHA – Corporate Emergencies
When the USG/ERC declares a Corporate Emergency Response, all OCHA offices, branches and sections provide their full support to response activities both at HQ and in the field.
Editor’s Note:
Ebola in the DRC has bene added as a OCHA “Corporate Emergency” this week:
CYCLONE IDAI and Kenneth – No new digest announcements identified
EBOLA OUTBREAK IN THE DRC – No new digest announcements identified

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The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 31 August 2019

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
GE2P2 Global Foundation – Governance, Evidence, Ethics, Policy, Practice
david.r.curry@ge2p2center.net

PDF: The Sentinel_ period ending 31 Aug 2019

Contents
:: Week in Review  [See selected posts just below]
:: Key Agency/IGO/Governments Watch – Selected Updates from 30+ entities   [see PDF]
:: INGO/Consortia/Joint Initiatives Watch – Media Releases, Major Initiatives, Research:: Foundation/Major Donor Watch -Selected Updates
:: Journal Watch – Key articles and abstracts from 100+ peer-reviewed journals  [see PDF]

Governance – G7

G7 Leaders’ Declaration
26 August 2019 – Statement [full text!]
The G7 Leaders wish to underline their great unity and the positive spirit of the debates. The G7 Summit organized by France in Biarritz has successfully produced agreements by the Heads of State and Government themselves on several points summarized below:

Trade
:: The G7 is committed to open and fair world trade and to the stability of the global economy.
:: The G7 requests that the Finance Ministers closely monitor the state of the global economy.
Therefore, the G7 wishes to overhaul the WTO to improve effectiveness with regard to intellectual property protection, to settle disputes more swiftly and to eliminate unfair trade practices.
:: The G7 commits to reaching in 2020 an agreement to simplify regulatory barriers and modernize international taxation within the framework of the OECD.

Iran
:: We fully share two objectives: to ensure that Iran never acquires nuclear weapons and to foster peace and stability in the region.

Ukraine
:: France and Germany will organize a Normandy format summit in the coming weeks to achieve tangible results.

Libya
:: We support a truce in Libya that will lead to a long-term ceasefire.
:: We believe that only a political solution can ensure Libya’s stability.
:: We call for a well-prepared international conference to bring together all the stakeholders and regional actors relevant to this conflict.
:: We support in this regard the work of the United Nations and the African Union to set up an inter-Libyan conference.

Hong Kong
:: The G7 reaffirms the existence and importance of the Sino-British Joint Declaration of 1984 on Hong Kong and calls for violence to be avoided.

Governance – Situation in Venezuela

August 28, 2019
OAS Permanent Council Approves Resolution on the Situation of Human Rights in Venezuela
The Permanent Council of the Organization of American States (OAS) today approved the Resolution on the Human Rights Situation in Venezuela, which strongly condemns “the grave and systematic violations of human rights in Venezuela, including the use of torture, illegal and arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances and the denial of the most basic rights and necessities, especially those related to health, food and education.”…

The document also resolves “to demand immediate and unhindered access for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to Venezuela,” and “to foster the strengthening of cooperation between the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to monitor the human rights situation in Venezuela.”

During the meeting, the OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro, affirmed that “the OAS General Secretariat does not find it possible to ignore the denunciations and testimonies presented by Venezuelans who suffer the persecution of the regime. We understand the legal and moral obligation to criminally investigate these cases.” He also recalled the importance of opening an international criminal investigation within the framework of the International Criminal Court to determine individual responsibility for the crimes that have been committed in the country.

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Venezuelan Migrants to Get Regional Vaccination Cards Under 10-Nation Pact
August 26, 2019 Reuters
BOGOTA (Reuters) – Venezuelan migrants will be provided with a regional vaccination card beginning in October, health officials from 10 countries agreed on Monday, in an effort to ensure they receive needed vaccines and are not given double doses. More than 4 million Venezuelans have fled an economic and political crisis in their home country that has caused widespread shortages of food and medicine.

Health officials from the United States, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Canada, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Argentina, Peru and Paraguay unanimously approved the measure in a meeting in the Colombian border city of Cucuta.

The vaccination card will “accompany migrants from the middle of October and have the support of international agencies for its printing, distribution and training for its use,” Colombian Health Minister Juan Pablo Uribe told journalists.

“The unified card shows that our countries can work together,” Uribe added.

The health officials, including U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, also agreed to prioritize efforts to reduce infection rates and treat malaria and HIV/AIDS, care for migrants with chronic conditions like diabetes and cancer, and help migrants in need of mental health care…

Governance – Collaboration

Joint Statement by the President of France, ILO Director-General, World Bank Group President, IMF Acting Managing Director, WTO Director-General and OECD Secretary-General on the occasion of the G7 Summit under the French Presidency
August 28, 2019
1. High and rising inequalities of opportunities and outcomes pose risks to global growth, economic stability and social cohesion and to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals more generally, as shown by the work of the International Labour Organization (ILO), the World Bank Group, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). We share the view that, in the face of global challenges, a renewed and effective multilateralism, including enhanced cooperation and coherent approaches, is more important than ever. The international organizations welcome the opportunity offered by the French presidency to engage with G7 members to promote sustainable growth and fight against inequalities.

2. Many initiatives have been undertaken by international organizations to promote economic growth that is sustainable, inclusive and leaves no one behind; to enhance opportunities; to ensure decent work for all and access to quality education, health and government services; and to make trade work for all and improve living conditions.

3. While noting the distinct nature of international organizations’ mandates, we are convinced that stronger cooperation, where appropriate, will increase their efficiency and impact in delivering the outcomes identified by their Members.

4. With full respect to each organization’s mandates, we will continue to strengthen our cooperation with a view to:
– Helping countries achieve improved outcomes on growth, shared prosperity and sustainable development.
– Fostering regular dialogue to exchange good practices in tackling inequalities and to strengthen synergies and complementarities in developing policy approaches to inclusive growth.
– Identifying areas for collaboration through joint analysis and technical assistance, to reduce inequalities and to ensure adequate access to social protection while recognising the unique circumstances and capabilities of our respective institutions and members.
– Supporting each other’s work to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Governance – Digital Authoritarianism

Brookings :: Policy Brief
Exporting digital authoritarianism – The Russian and Chinese models
As Russia, China, and other states advance influence through forms of digital authoritarianism, stronger responses are needed from the U.S. and like-minded partners to limit the effects of their efforts.
Alina Polyakova and Chris Meserole
August 2019 :: 22 pages
Executive Summary
Digital authoritarianism — the use of digital information technology by authoritarian regimes to surveil, repress, and manipulate domestic and foreign populations — is reshaping the power balance between democracies and autocracies. At the forefront of this phenomenon, China and Russia have developed and exported distinct technology-driven playbooks for authoritarian rule. Beijing’s experience using digital tools for domestic censorship and surveillance has made it the supplier of choice for illiberal regimes looking to deploy their own surveillance systems, while Moscow’s lower-cost digital disinformation tools have proven effective in repressing potential opposition at home and undermining democracies abroad.

This policy brief examines the development and export of both the Chinese and Russian models. China pioneered digital age censorship with its “Great Firewall” of a state-controlled Internet and unprecedented high-tech repression deployed in Xinjiang in recent years, and has exported surveillance and monitoring systems to at least 18 countries. Russia relies less on filtering information and more on a repressive legal regime and intimidation of key companies and civil society, a lower-cost ad hoc model more easily transferable to most countries. The Russian government has made recent legal and technical moves which further tighten control, including legislation passed this year to establish a “sovereign Russian internet.”

The authors recommend that the United States and other democracies should tighten export controls on technologies that advance digital authoritarianism, sanction regimes engaging in digital authoritarianism and firms that supply them, develop a competitive democratic model of digital governance with a code of conduct, and increase public awareness around information manipulation, including funding educational programs to build digital critical thinking skills among youth.

Protection – Refugee and Migrant Children: Greece

More than 1,100 unaccompanied refugee and migrant children in Greece need urgent shelter and protection
European Member States urged to increase relocation pledges and fast-track family reunifications
GENEVA, 29 August 2019 – The number of unaccompanied and separated refugee and migrant children, staying in dangerous and overcrowded Reception and Identification Centres on the Greek islands, and detention facilities across the country, now exceeds 1,100 – the largest number since the beginning of 2016 – UNICEF said today. The agency urged European Member States to do more to protect these particularly vulnerable children…

To further highlight the situation, UNICEF has released a short film documenting the dreams and despair of boys staying in “Section B,” an area meant to provide specialized protection for unaccompanied children in the Reception and Identification Centre in Moria, on the Greek island of Lesvos. The film depicts children as they recount the horrors that made them flee their homes, the dangerous journeys they undertook, the difficult conditions at the centre, and their fears and hopes surrounding their uncertain futures…

Actions European Governments and EU Institutions should take to protect the rights of refugee and migrant children include:
:: Increasing pledges to relocate unaccompanied and separated children – particularly those in Greece, Italy and Spain.
:: Fast-tracking family reunifications for children who already have relatives living in the rest of Europe.
:: Urgently increase funds to support and strengthen response efforts of European countries receiving the largest number of refugees and migrants.

Once children enter Europe, EU Governments should work together to ensure all refugee and migrant children – accompanied or not – have access to safe and adequate shelter, eliminating detention as an option. Children need immediate access to essential services and at all stages of their journey, while ensuring safe passages and legal pathways. Specialized accommodation, foster care, guardianship and other measures are needed to ensure every unaccompanied or separated child realizes his/her right to grow up in a caring environment.

Currently, there are more than 32,000 refugee and migrant children in Greece, including more than 4,000 who are unaccompanied and separated. Over the last three years, UNICEF has supported more than 60,000 refugee and migrant children and their families in Greece. This work includes ensuring children have access to vital child protection services, including psychosocial support, health care and education. UNICEF is also working with the Ministry of Health, providing 85,000 vaccines to protect refugee and migrant children from diseases.

Education

World Bank, Japan to Support Human Capital Development Through Education in Africa
Yokohama, August 29, 2019 – The World Bank and the Government of Japan today announced a new Africa-focused initiative aimed at advancing the goals of the Human Capital Project, a global effort to accelerate more and better investments in people for greater equity and economic growth.

The Government of Japan views the initiative as a way to share Japanese experiences in human capital development through improvements in basic education and the building of science, technology and innovation capacity in universities. This investment also aims to strengthen bonds between African and Japanese universities and corporations in applied scientific research and innovation.

The multi-year initiative, which was announced during the seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Yokohama, will support two key initiatives of relevance to African countries:
:: The Global Education Policy Dashboard. Together with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DfID), the World Bank is developing a policy dashboard focused on giving governments in low- and middle- income countries a better understanding of what’s going on in their education systems at the school and system level in basic education, so they can make, and track the impact of, real-time policy decisions at the national level.

:: A Japan-Africa higher education partnership aimed at increasing collaboration between Japanese universities and industries and African universities to address urgent developmental challenges in sub-Saharan Africa. This collaboration will leverage two regional platforms supported by the World Bank: The Africa Centers of Excellence (ACE) and the Partnership for skills in Applied Sciences, Engineering and Technology (PASET).

“This unique initiative will help increase the capacity of Africa’s universities in science, technology and innovation, while supporting African governments—via the Dashboard—in their efforts to ensure that Africa’s youngest learners are better prepared to succeed,” said Hafez Ghanem, World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region.

African countries will benefit from partnerships and technical assistance from Japanese universities and companies and hands-on learning opportunities to commercialize research with Japanese companies. African governments will also have an easy-access to international case studies including Japan, policy, and relevant data to develop foundational skills in basic education through the dashboard.

“We welcome the partnership of African countries, including Rwanda, with the World Bank and the Government of Japan to leverage innovative research, based on decades of experience from Japan to improve quality of basic education, and develop strategies to catalyze innovative research, extend the use of digital technologies in applied research, and build capacity in commercializing research,” said Eugène Mutimura, Minister of Education of Rwanda, and Vice-Chair of PASET Governing Board.

Investing in people through nutrition, health care, quality education, jobs and skills helps develop human capital that is key to ending extreme poverty and creating more inclusive societies. The initiative announced today will help African countries build a highly-skilled generation of young people capable of competing in the economy of the future.