Education – SDGs

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Recommendations by UN Sustainable Development Goal’s Steering Committee for Education
UNESCO – 31 May 2018
The Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) – Education 2030 Steering Committee has issued recommendations focusing on financing education as a public good, strengthening national ownership and addressing data gaps as part of its work to steer progress towards meeting internationally agreed targets for education. The Committee has now released its recommendations, made during its fourth meeting, at UNESCO’s Headquarters from 28 February to 2 March.

Established in 2016, the Committee is the main consultation and coordination mechanisms for education in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Entrusted with providing strategic guidance on the advancement of SDG4(link is external), it numbers 38 members, a majority of whom represent Member States, alongside eight UN agencies, the Global Partnership for Education, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), regional organizations, teacher organizations, and civil society networks, in addition to representatives from the private sector, foundations, youth and student organizations.

“The commitments of SDG4 are ambitious – only a ‘collective intelligence’ focused on strategies that are sensitive to place, culture, socio-economic needs and environmental realities will make it possible to build education systems. A fundamental principle must guide our work: education is a public good, a collective responsibility,” explained UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. “It is through the cooperation between all educational stakeholders that we will succeed in meeting the challenges of the 2030 Agenda for education.”

“We have an ambitious agenda and it calls for urgency,” said Dankert Vedeler, co-chair of the Steering Committee. “We must keep the banner of education high in the overall SDG framework through advocacy, policy guidance, and monitoring.”

“What is most important for us is to achieve an alignment, a convergence between multilateral organizations and the region,” said Roberto Iván Aguilar Gómez, Bolivia’s Minister of Education and a member of the Steering Committee. He explained that the Committee “sets the stage for the work that we should look at to provide quality education.” Ahead of the UN High Level Political Forum Review that will review progress towards SDG4 in 2019, consultations are foreseen in Kenya, Bolivia, Thailand, Tunisia and France this year, to be followed by the Global Education Meeting scheduled to take place from 3 to 5 December 2018 in Brussels (Belgium).

The Committee congratulated Argentina on its presidency of the G20 and commended the priority it gives to education focusing on skills for lifelong learning and financing of education.
Emphasizing that education is a right for which governments are accountable, the Committee endorsed a yearlong advocacy campaign bringing together civil society networks, UNESCO’s Global Education Monitoring Report (GEM), UN agencies, regional organizations and countries. According to the GEM, only 55% of countries have national legal frameworks that allow citizens to challenge violations against the right to education in court. As stated by youth representative, Victoria Ibiwoye, “We must never forget that education is not a privilege. It is a human right.”

Recommendations
With regard to education funding, the Committee stressed the importance of a harmonized focus across three pillars, domestic financing, official development assistance and innovative financing. It called for:
:: all financing initiatives to respect education as a public good and be guided by the principles of equity, quality and inclusion, as well as 12 years of free publicly funded education;
:: governments to increase public revenue, including through a larger tax base, to increase allocation to education and prioritize spending on the most marginalized groups;
:: data collection to understand better the cost of basic education to households with a view to reducing the financial burden on families;
:: reinforced dialogue between innovative financing providers, donors and beneficiary States and communities;
:: private sector resource mobilization while ensuring effective regulatory mechanisms for transparency and accountability.

Data, monitoring and reporting
:: Advocates for increased investment to cover needs estimated at USD280 million a year and calls for the guaranteed financing of institutions with a UN mandate to collect data and monitor SDG4, while appealing on all partners to work in a coordinated way, building on agreed responsibilities and shared cost;
:: Encourages governments to strengthen and or develop holistic national evaluation systems and make plans to participate in regional or international learning assessments;
:: Urges governments to report publicly on progress towards national education policy goals so as to improve accountability.

In the area of strategic policy guidance, the Committee:
:: encourages Member States to identify better the many obstacles that undermine the right to education;
:: calls for strengthened national ownership of the 2030 Framework for Action through national and regional education consultations, and the mainstreaming of SDG4 targets in national education systems;
:: advises strengthening inter-sectoral coordination through mobilizing ministerial departments.

Health – EBOLA/EVD

At one-month mark in Ebola outbreak, the focus shifts to remote areas
WHO Statement, Geneva
9 June 2018
One month into the response to an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the focus has moved from urban areas to some of the most remote places on earth.
The shift comes after a series of unprecedented actions that have led to cautious optimism about the effectiveness of the response…

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Ebola virus disease – Operational readiness and preparedness in nine countries neighbouring the Democratic Republic of the Congo
11 June 2018
… The nine countries were categorized as follows, with priority 1 being the highest:
:: Priority 1: Central Africa Republic and Republic of Congo due to their proximity to the current event. These two countries share borders with the epicentre of the outbreak in Equateur Province and there is continuous population movement through the porous land borders and by the Congo and Oubangui rivers.

:: Priority 2: Angola, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania and Zambia which neighbour the Democratic Republic of the Congo but are not directly linked with Equateur Province.

:: Priority 3: Uganda because although it borders the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda has regularly demonstrated the capacity to respond to recent previous VHF outbreaks…

Emergencies

 
POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
Polio this week as of 12 June 2018 [GPEI]
:: Following unconfirmed reports on 8 June of suspected polio re-emergence in Venezuela, final laboratory testing has confirmed the cause of the paralysis is not wild poliovirus or vaccine-derived poliovirus. The full statement from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative may be read here.
:: World leaders at the G7 summit affirmed continued commitment to global polio eradication in the summit communique: “We reconfirm our resolve to work with partners to eradicate polio and effectively manage the post-polio transition”. [See Milestones above] for text]

Summary of newly-reported viruses this week:
Pakistan: One new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case reported.

Update on suspected polio case in Venezuela
Following unconfirmed reports on 8 June of suspected polio re-emergence in Venezuela, final laboratory testing has confirmed the cause of the paralysis is not wild poliovirus or vaccine-derived poliovirus.
15/06/2018 – Statement from the Global Polio Eradication Initiative
A 34-month old child had presented with symptoms of acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) on 29 April, from a community with low vaccination coverage in Orinoco delta, Delta Amacuro state.
A Sabin type 3 poliovirus was isolated from stool samples of the child. Isolation of Sabin type 3 poliovirus can be expected in children and communities immunized with bivalent oral polio vaccine, which contains attenuated (weakened) type 1 and type 3 Sabin strains.  Final laboratory analysis received today has confirmed that the AFP symptoms are not associated with wild or vaccine-derived poliovirus.
A number of conditions or infections can lead to AFP, poliovirus being just one of them.  As part of global polio surveillance efforts, every year more than 100 000 AFP cases are detected and investigated worldwide. Clinical evaluation of the child is underway to determine the cause of the paralysis. The most important point is that the child should be provided with appropriate care and support.
While wild and vaccine-derived polio have both been ruled out as the cause of this child’s symptoms, this area of Venezuela is experiencing vaccination coverage gaps. It is critical that countries maintain high immunity to polio in all communities, and strong disease surveillance, to minimize the risk and consequences of any eventual poliovirus re-introduction or re-emergence.
The partners of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) – WHO, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rotary International, UNICEF and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation – will continue to support national and local public health authorities in these efforts, together with the Pan American Health Organization…

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WHO Grade 3 Emergencies  [to 16 Jun 2018]
Yemen 
:: WHO and partners working with national health authorities to contain disease outbreaks
13 June 2018 – Infectious disease outbreaks are a serious public health concern, posing a direct threat to families, especially children, in every home in Yemen. Emergency preparedness and response structures could mean the difference between life and death for many people. Through the quick mobilization of readily available teams, the number of people affected could be reduced and the spread of deadly diseases controlled.
In the midst of war and faced with a collapsing health system, WHO, national health authorities, along with local and international partners, have scaled-up their operations, through the establishment of rapid response teams (RRTs) in the fight against disease outbreaks. These teams are critical; investigating outbreaks and ensuring that prevention and control measures are rapidly executed to contain any infectious disease threat.
These multi-disciplinary teams comprise health care professionals each with a specific skillset, designed to rapidly detect and contain a potential outbreak before it has a chance to spiral out of control.
…The fight against cholera 
As Yemen faces what is now known as the world’s largest cholera outbreak, these dedicated RRTs ensure that laser-focus on early detection, or the early identification of suspected cholera cases, and the investigation of the source are top priorities. The national epidemiological surveillance programme and WHO utilized the already established electronic integrated disease early warning system (eIDEWS) to support the early detection of suspected cholera. eIDEWS was initiated in 2013 as a pilot in 4 governorates (Aden, lahj, Abyan and Taiz) with a total 98 selected sites.
The eIDEWS is a surveillance and data collection program designed to rapidly detect potential outbreaks and public health threats at the earliest possible stages. The program then generates an alert in order to facilitate timely interventions and prompt response to help prevent or reduce the spread of the disease. These findings influence the response plan at district level, using essential findings from rapid assessments to formulate an informed and effective outbreak response.
The fight against cholera also resulted in the request of national health authorities for a way in which they could increase the mobility of RRTs to reach otherwise inaccessible areas in order to investigate and respond to reported outbreaks. This resulted in the procurement and planned distribution of 1000 motorbikes in Yemen.
“With disease outbreaks threatening the lives of millions of Yemeni people, an effective response relies heavily on the ability of RRTs to rapidly detect and investigate potential outbreaks. Early detection leads to timely interventions that save lives,” said Dr Zagaria.
:: Weekly epidemiology bulletin, 28 May–3 June 2018

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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies  [to 16 Jun 2018]
[Several emergency pages were not available at inquiry]

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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. 
Yemen 
:: Yemen Humanitarian Update Covering 4 – 11 June 2018 | Issue 19
:: Yemen: Al Hudaydah Update Situation Report No. 1, 14 June 2018
HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES
…Heavy fighting in Al Hudaydah put hundreds of thousands of civilians at risk;
…Al Hudaydah port remains open and food is being offloaded from vessels;
…Humanitarian organizations continue to provide life-saving assistance to displaced and vulnerable people despite a deterioration in the security situation;

Syrian Arab Republic 
:: Syrian Arab Republic: Humanitarian situation update in Afrin District and for IDPs in surrounding communities (as of 15 June 2018)

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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.
Somalia
:: OCHA Flash Update #4 Tropical Cyclone Sagar | 14 June 2018

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 9 June 2018

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 9 Jun 2018

Contents
:: Week in Review  [See selected posts just below]
:: Key Agency/IGO/Governments Watch – Selected Updates from 30+ entities
:: 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

Human Rights – Immigration Detention and Family Separation

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Press briefing note on Egypt, United States and Ethiopia
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Spokesperson: Ravina Shamdasani
Location: Geneva
Date: 5 June 2018
[Excerpt]
…(2) United States
We are deeply concerned that the zero tolerance policy recently put in place along the US southern border has led to people caught entering the country irregularly being subjected to criminal prosecution and having their children – including extremely young children taken away from them as a result.

The practice of separating families amounts to arbitrary and unlawful interference in family life, and is a serious violation of the rights of the child. While the rights of children are generally held in high regard in the US, it is the only country in the world not to have ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. We encourage it to accede to the Convention and to fully respect the rights of all children.

The use of immigration detention and family separation as a deterrent runs counter to human rights standards and principles. The child’s best interest should always come first, including over migration management objectives or other administrative concerns. It is therefore of great concern that in the US migration control appears to have been prioritised over the effective care and protection of migrant children.

Children should never be detained for reasons related to their own or their parents’ migration status. Detention is never in the best interests of the child and always constitutes a child rights violation.

Information from various sources suggests that several hundred children have been separated from their families since last October. The practice of separating children from their parents is being applied to both asylum-seekers and other migrants in vulnerable situations, and we note that the American Civil Liberties Union has brought a class action case on behalf of hundreds of parents who have been forcibly separated from their children.

The majority of people arriving at the U.S.’s southern border have fled Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador – in many cases either because of rampant insecurity and violence, or because of violations of a range of other rights, such as health, education, and housing.

The US should immediately halt this practice of separating families and stop criminalizing what should at most be an administrative offence – that of irregular entry or stay in the US.

We call on the US authorities to adopt non-custodial alternatives that allow children to remain with their families and fulfil the best interests of the child, their right to liberty and their right to family life…

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Press Release: Ambassador Haley on the UN’s Criticism of U.S. Immigration Policies
June 5, 2018
Today, the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights released a statement criticizing U.S. immigration policies.

“Once again, the United Nations shows its hypocrisy by calling out the United States while it ignores the reprehensible human rights records of several members of its own Human Rights Council. While the High Commissioner’s office ignorantly attacks the United States with words, the United States leads the world with its actions, like providing more humanitarian assistance to global conflicts than any other nation. We will remain a generous country, but we are also a sovereign country, with laws that decide how best to control our borders and protect our people. Neither the United Nations nor anyone else will dictate how the United States upholds its borders,” said Ambassador Haley.

Internal Displacement

GRID 2018: Global Report on Internal Displacement
IDMC – Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre
IDMC’s work is made possible thanks to the dedicated and generous support of the following funding partners: the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Sweden’s International Development Cooperation Agency, the European Commission, the International Organization for Migration, Liechtenstein’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.
May 2018 :: 120 pages
PDF: http://www.internal-displacement.org/global-report/grid2018/downloads/2018-GRID.pdf

Key Findings
:: 30.6 million new internal displacements associated with conflict and disasters were recorded in 2017 across 143 countries and territories.

:: The ten worst-affected countries – China, the Philippines, Syria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Cuba, the United States, India, Iraq, Somalia and Ethiopia – accounted for more than a million new displacements each.

:: The number of new displacements associated with conflict and violence almost doubled, from 6.9 million in 2016 to 11.8 million in 2017. Syria, DRC and Iraq together accounted for more than half of the global figure.

:: A total of 40 million people remained internally displaced by conflict as of the end of 2017. Of the people reported as having returned, relocated or locally integrated during the year, around 8.5 million in 23 countries may not have found truly durable solutions, and could still be displaced. Counting them would bring the global total to 48.5 million people currently displaced.

:: 18.8 million new internal displacements associated with disasters were recorded in 135 countries and territories. Weather-related hazards triggered the vast majority, with floods accounting for 8.6 million and storms 7.5 million. China, Philippines, Cuba and the United States were the worst affected.

:: The global distribution of internal displacement mirrors the patterns of previous years. Most conflict displacement took place in Sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. Disaster displacement was prevalent in East Asia and the Pacific, South Asia and the Americas, regions with high disaster risk because of high levels of exposure and vulnerability.

:: Many displacement situations, such as the complex emergencies in DRC, Somalia and Yemen, were characterised by high levels of violence and vulnerability. New waves of violence in the Central African Republic, Ethiopia, El Salvador and Somalia brought them back among the most-affected countries. Peacebuilding initiatives and ceasefires failed to prevent new displacement in Colombia, Syria and Ukraine.

:: The majority of returns took place to and in countries with active armed conflict and unresolved displacement crises. Nigeria, Somalia and Afghanistan were among the countries where many of those returning home, whether refugees or IDPs, found themselves internally displaced again.

:: Some of the highest levels of displacement associated with disasters came about as a result of tropical cyclones. Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria broke several records in the Atlantic and Caribbean, and a series of typhoons in South and East Asia and Pacific displaced large numbers of people throughout the year.

:: Displacement in urban settings, particularly in Iraq and Syria, brought specific challenges in terms of humanitarian access, the delivery of basic services and heightened vulnerabilities for displaced people.

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Key Messages
:: IDMC’s latest estimates demonstrate a collective failure to address existing internal displacement and to reduce the risk of future displacement.

:: Since the publication of the Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement in 1998, programmes and policies to protect and assist IDPs have not been sufficient to cope with, much less reduce, the growing number of new displacements or the cumulative number of IDPs over time. A new approach is essential.

:: Beyond the need to improve humanitarian responses to these crises, more investments must be made at the national and international levels in sustainable development, peacebuilding, addressing the impacts of climate change and disaster risk reduction.

:: Failure to address long-term displacement has the potential to undermine the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and progress on other international agreements.

:: Countries facing internal displacement must drive policymaking. Over the coming years, countries will have to better account for IDPs and displacement risk, and make addressing internal displacement an integral part of development planning and governance at both the local and national level.

:: Authority and accountability should lie with the highest levels of government, combined with the devolution of resources and decision-making power to local authorities. To enable this, national capacity for monitoring, planning and implementation needs to be systematically built and maintained.

:: To make genuine progress at the national, regional and international levels, there needs to be constructive and open dialogue on internal displacement. This must be led by countries impacted by the issue, with the support of international partners, and in line with their national priorities and realities.

Education

African Development Bank Launches Coding for Employment Program: Unleashing Africa’s Next Generation of Digital Innovators
Kigali Rwanda, June 6, 2018 – The African Development Bank, together with partners – The Rockefeller Foundation, Microsoft, and Facebook – launched the Coding for Employment Program at the African Innovation Summit in Kigali, Rwanda. By training youth in demand-driven Information and Communications Technology (ICT) curriculum and matching graduates directly with ICT employers, this new Program prepares Africa’s youth for tomorrow’s jobs and unleashes the next generation of young digital innovators from the continent. Coding for Employment will create over 9 million jobs and reach 32 million youth and women across Africa.

The Coding for Employment Program is at the center of the African Development Bank’s Jobs for Youth in Africa Initiative, which aims to put Africa’s youth on a path to prosperity. By 2025, the Jobs for Youth in Africa Initiative will equip 50 million youth with employable skills and create 25 million jobs in agriculture, information communications and technology and other key industries across Africa.

Over the last 15 years, the African Development Bank has invested US $1.64 billion in programs to prepare youth for careers in science, technology, and innovation. Putting youth at the center of Africa’s inclusive economic growth agenda is at the forefront of the African Development Bank’s investments and its “High 5s” priorities —building businesses, feeding the continent, expanding power and integration, and improving the quality of life for the people across the continent by preparing youth for today’s competitive digital world.

As the world moves towards a fourth industrial revolution, the demand for digitization across health, education, and other sectors is on the rise. Digital innovations have the power to solve the continent’s development challenges and are generating new job opportunities. The youth population is rapidly growing and by 2050, is expected to double to over 830 million. Yet, the digital divide in Africa persists and critical skills gaps pose serious challenges to youth securing quality and decent work in a rapidly changing workforce.

“Coding for Employment accelerates investments in Africa’s most valuable resource – its young women and men. That’s why The Rockefeller Foundation is thrilled to join forces with the African Development Bank to help every young African reach their full potential. Our partnership with the African Development Bank will establish 130 Centers of Excellence across Africa to help bridge the gap between the digital hiring news of employers and the skills of Africa’s youth,” affirmed Mamadou Biteye, OBE, The Rockefeller Foundation’s Managing Director for Africa…

Heritage Stewardship

World overwhelmingly commits to protecting the oceans and Clean Seas
08 Jun 2018
:: Taken together Clean Seas is now the largest global compact for combatting marine litter, with commitments covering 62% of the world’s coastlines.
:: India joined Clean Seas this week, committing to banning all single-use plastics by 2022
:: Protecting the oceans is also at the center of this week’s G7 talks in Canada

Nairobi, 8 June 2018: On this World Ocean Day, nations are showing an unprecedented commitment to healthy, thriving oceans and seas, free from plastic pollution. With eight new countries having joined UN Environment’s Clean Seas Campaign in the past week, Clean Seas is now the largest global compact for combatting marine litter, with commitments from 51 nations covering 62% of the world’s coastlines.

India – which joined the campaign on this World Environment Day – made a bold commitment to address plastic pollution upstream by banning all single-use plastics by 2022. They further pledged to address the problem downstream, with the country’s full coastal audit, developed in partnership with the Clean Seas campaign.

Across Nigeria – currently in the top-10 of biggest plastic polluters – 26 major plastic waste recycling plants will be opened as part of the country’s commitment to the campaign. Head of UN Environment Erik Solheim is meeting with the Nigerian government today to discuss the scope of their collaboration with Clean Seas.

Other countries who pledged this week to step up their protection of the ocean and their coastlines include Argentina, Cote d’Ivoire, United Arab Emirates, Honduras, Guyana and Vanuatu.

“There is now more momentum than ever before to beat plastic pollution and protect the oceans that we all share from the tide of disposable plastic,” Erik Solheim, Head of UN Environment said. “Seeing so many countries rise to the occasion by joining the Clean Seas campaign means we are all moving towards healthier oceans that are free from pollution and full of life.”…

Heritage Stewardship

International Conference of leaders and thinkers examines new perspectives for displaced heritage
06 June 2018
On 1 June, UNESCO convened politicians and experts from across the world to a conference entitled “Circulation of Cultural Property and Shared Heritage: What New Perspectives”, as part of its mandate as the UN’s cultural organization and in keeping with its vocation to serve as an international laboratory of ideas.

The conference took place at a time of growing public debate concerning the circulation and sharing of cultural property preserved in museums, institutions and sites situated away from the countries or communities that produced them – issues that are both complex and compelling.

“The subject encompasses questions of identity, memory, sovereignty, which are not only legal but also diplomatic, political, historical, philosophical and ethical […] To trace these seized, looted, displaced works is to trace the world’s violent history,” declared UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay in her opening message. Ms Azoulay stressed the need for dialogue and for openness to emerging modalities of cooperation…

A keynote address by Professor Bénédicte Savoy, art historian at the Technische Universität Berlin and (Germany) and Professor, Collège de France (France), contextualized the debate stressing that European museums needed to be recognized for their work in preserving and shedding light on cultural heritage but that this could not be kept apart from questions concerning the provenence of some of their collections, notably those acquired during the colonial period. Retracing the evolution of public discourse on sensitive questions concerning these collections, including UNESCO‘s work in this area, over the past 40 years, she noted a lack of progress and an urgent need for action. “Mindsets can evolve. As with all taboo subjects or stories of family secrets […] we must talk openly for things to change.“

Ministers from Benin, France, Gabon, Germany, Jordan, Lebanon, Peru, and Senegal presented their political, economic, and cultural visions of the subject. Senegal’s Minister of Culture, Abdou Latif Coulibaly, underscored that restitution is legitimate, and that “Africa is ready” to house collections in museums on a par with the standards of Western institutions…

Health – EBOLA/EVD

Disease outbreak news
6 June 2018
Ebola virus disease – Democratic Republic of the Congo
[Excerpt]
Since the last Disease Outbreak News on 30 May 2018, two additional cases have been laboratory confirmed for Ebola virus disease (EVD) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; both cases were reported from Iboko Health Zone. Recently available information has enabled the classification of some cases to be updated1 .

…Since the launch of the vaccination intervention on 21 May, a total of 1199 people have been vaccinated in Wangata (577), Iboko (323) and Bikoro (299). Populations eligible for ring vaccination are front-line health professionals, people who have been exposed to confirmed EVD cases (contacts) and contacts of contacts…

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WHO: Ebola treatments approved for compassionate use in current outbreak
6 June 2018
On 4 June, an ethics committee in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) approved the use of five investigational therapeutics to treat Ebola, under the framework of compassionate use/expanded access. This is the first time such treatments are available in the midst of an Ebola outbreak.

Clinicians working in the treatment centres will make decisions on which drug to use as deemed helpful for their patients, and appropriate for the setting. The treatments can be used as long as informed consent is obtained from patients and protocols are followed, with close monitoring and reporting of any adverse events.

Four of the five approved drugs are currently in the country. They are Zmapp, GS-5734, REGN monoclonal antibody combination, and mAb114.

Emergencies
 
POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
Polio this week as of 5 June 2018 [GPEI]

Summary of newly-reported viruses this week:
Pakistan: One new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case reported.
Afghanistan : One new WPV1-positive environmental sample.

“The world’s eyes are on us” – expert group makes recommendations for polio eradication in Afghanistan 
Kabul, 4 June 2018 – The Technical Advisory Group for polio eradication (TAG) met 30–31 May to assess progress made towards eradicating polio in Afghanistan so far and to make recommendations for the way forward.
In his opening remarks, Dr Najibullah Mojadidi, Presidential Focal Point for Polio Eradication said, that “polio eradication is a national priority”.
He called on the armed groups to “respect the neutrality of the programme.”
Dr Richard Peeperkorn, WHO Representative in Afghanistan, commended the achievements made. “We are now at a critical juncture. Refusal and access issues continue to be a challenge. We need to tackle these issues in a different way”.
United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator Toby Lanzer said that “We count on the goodwill of all parties to the conflict.“ Despite difficulties, he encouraged the participants. “We must not be discouraged. It is a marathon, not a sprint. Keep moving towards the finishing line – together with Pakistan.”
Adele Khodr, UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan, stated that “It is a difficult time for the programme, and the world’s eyes are on us. However, we must not be discouraged. We must join forces and act as one.”…

WHO Grade 3 Emergencies  [to 9 Jun 2018]
Yemen 
:: Amidst the devastation of war in Yemen, efforts are under way to control cholera
… The cholera epidemic began in Yemen in early October 2016, the almost inevitable result of ongoing armed conflict, devastated infrastructure, and a health system on the brink of collapse. Today, it is the largest cholera outbreak ever recorded. By the end of January 2018, the number of suspected cases had risen to over one million.
Controlling the outbreak
Measures are now being taken to mitigate further spread of the disease. As a part of a broader integrated response plan supported by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF and the World Bank partnership, an oral cholera vaccination (OCV) campaign was launched on 6 May 2018 and was fully supported by the national health authorities in cooperation with WHO and UNICEF. It is the first time this has been done in Yemen.
Further OCV campaigns are planned for other priority areas across Yemen. Prevention and control measures are imperative to slow and ultimately contain the outbreak from spreading further.
The outbreak continues to threaten millions in Yemen
“As the third wave of cholera looms upon armed conflict-ridden Yemen, the uptake of this crucial public health tool is a vital and substantial prevention measure in the fight against this epidemic. In addition to conducting vaccination campaigns, an integrated comprehensive cholera outbreak response operational plan has been developed in cooperation with the health authorities and collaboration with health partners to implement activities regarding early detection, referral, case investigation and management, water and sanitation, health education, promotion and food hygiene,” said Dr Nevio Zagaria, WHO Representative in Yemen.
The fight is far from over. The rainy season runs from mid-April to the end of August, which will further increase the risk of transmission. The epidemic continues to threaten millions in Yemen, especially pregnant women, the elderly, and small children like Mossaad and Baraa. Efforts are concerted to save lives of vulnerable population groups and get Yemen rid of this water borne but preventable disease.

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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. 
Yemen 
:: Yemen: Cyclone Mekunu Situation Report No. 1, 7 June 2018
An inter-cluster mission led by OCHA visited Socotra from 29 May to 4 June to assess humanitarian needs in the aftermath of cyclone “Mekunu”. The mission was able to visit approximately 70 per cent of the affected areas and assess the status of critical infrastructure such as main roads, water networks and hospitals. While on the ground, the team initiated the distribution of food and non-food items to affected population..
:: Yemen Humanitarian Update Covering 29 May – 4 June 2018 | Issue 18

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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.
Ethiopia
:: Ethiopia Humanitarian Bulletin Issue 54 | 21 May – 03 June 2018
ECHO announces €2 million to IOM to deliver critical ES/NFIs humanitarian aid to 55,000 flood-affected displaced persons

Somalia
:: Humanitarian Bulletin Somalia, 1 May – 3 June 2018
Cyclone Sagar leaves a trail of destruction

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The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 2 June 2018

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 version: The Sentinel_ period ending 2 Jun 2018

Contents
:: Week in Review  [See selected posts just below]
:: Key Agency/IGO/Governments Watch – Selected Updates from 30+ entities
:: 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

Governance – Security Council

Amid Middle East Violence, Security Council Fails to Adopt Competing Resolutions on Israeli Force, Hamas Role in Conflict
1 June 2018
SC/13362
The Security Council today failed to adopt two competing draft resolutions on the recent spate of violence in the Middle East — put forward by the delegations of the United States and Kuwait on behalf of the Arab Group, respectively — capping a month of protests and escalating tension on the ground and within the 15 member organ itself.

By the terms of the draft put forward by the delegation of Kuwait — which was rejected by a vote of 10 in favour to 1 against (United States), with 4 abstentions (Ethiopia, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom), owing to a veto by one permanent member — the Council would have deplored Israel’s use of “excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate force” against Palestinian civilians. Condemning the use by Israel Defense Forces of live ammunition against civilian protesters, it would have affirmed the Council’s willingness to respond to situations of armed conflict where civilians were targeted or where humanitarian assistance was being deliberately obstructed, including by considering appropriate measures in accordance with the United Nations Charter.

Meanwhile, a separate draft resolution submitted by the United States was also rejected by a vote of 1 in favour (United States) to 3 against (Bolivia, Kuwait, Russian Federation) with 11 abstentions, owing to an insufficient number of affirmative votes. By the terms of that text — containing various amendments to Kuwait’s draft — the Council would have described Hamas, the organization currently in power in Gaza, as a terrorist group. It would also have condemned in the strongest terms the indiscriminate firing of rockets by Palestinian militants in Gaza towards Israel on 29 May; demanded that Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other militant groups cease all provocative actions; and condemned the diversion of resources by those groups to construct military infrastructure intended to infiltrate Israel and launch rockets.

Those amendments departed significantly from the original Kuwaiti draft, by whose terms the Council would have demanded that Israel, the occupying Power, fully abide by its legal obligations and responsibilities under the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Also calling for the consideration of ways to guarantee the safety and protection of the Palestinian civilian population in the Occupied Palestinian Territory — including in the Gaza Strip — it would have requested the Secretary General to submit a report in no more than 60 days on proposals to ensure the safety, protection and well being of Palestinian civilians living under Israeli occupation, including recommendations for an international protection mechanism.

In contrast, the amendments proposed by the United States would have asked the Secretary General to submit a report in no more than 60 days on the use, by such terrorist organizations as Hamas, of protesters for the purposes of incitement or to carry out violence in the past 90 days, with the goal of preventing such clashes in the future.

The representative of Kuwait, speaking after his delegation’s text was vetoed, expressed regret that today the Council had sent a message that the occupying Power could enjoy full immunity from international law as well as the Council’s own resolutions. The Council continued to proclaim that its responsibility was to protect civilians, but recent incidents had proven otherwise. In that regard, he called for an independent investigation into the recent events in Gaza and asked why Palestinians must continue to suffer while the world remained silent.

The representative of the United States said the Kuwaiti resolution represented a grossly one sided view of the situation on the ground. It was Hamas that bore the primary responsibility for the atrocious living conditions in Gaza, she said, noting that it had diverted humanitarian resources for military purpose and fired at least 70 rockets into Israel this week alone. Yet the Kuwaiti resolution sought to place all the blame on Israel and perpetuate the United Nations anti Israeli bias. Describing her delegation’s alternate text, she called on Council members to place blame on Hamas and recognize the reality that the group constituted a major obstacle to the peace process.

Bolivia’s representative declared: “Once again today, the Council has also become a kind of occupied territory” owing to the veto by one permanent member. Noting that the Kuwaiti draft resolution had been discussed broadly and at length — resulting in a balanced text — he said Israel’s continued occupation of the Palestinian territory was the root cause of the Palestinians’ current dreadful situation. The only long term solution would be a two State solution with a free, sovereign and independent Palestinian State, within pre 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital…

Governance –Digital Identity

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ID2020 Alliance announces new additions to Board of Directors
The ID2020 Alliance has named four new members to its Board of Directors: Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance; Kim Cameron, Architect of Identity at Microsoft; Blythe Masters, CEO of Digital Asset; and David Treat, Managing Director and Global Head of Accenture’s Blockchain Practice.

ID2020 is a growing global alliance of international NGOs, private companies, and UN agencies working together to address the lack of recognized identity that affects more than one billion people around the world. Alliance partners are committed to using technology to accelerate access to digital identity for those living without a recognized form of identity. We set global technical standards and finance projects to implement digital identity solutions that are personal, private, portable, and persistent. Partners include Accenture, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Hyperledger, iRespond, Kiva, Mercy Corps, Microsoft, and UN-ICC.

“We are thrilled to have such an inspirational group of individuals — all cutting-edge in their respective fields — join our board,” said Dakota Gruener, Executive Director of the Alliance. “ID2020 has always been governed by strong leaders who are dedicated to our mission of providing a decentralized, privacy-ensuring, user-controlled digital identity. Our new board members all embody this ethos.”

Berkley, Cameron, Masters, and Treat join ID2020’s expanded Executive Board, composed of individuals from the banking, technology, public, and international sectors. Other Board Members include: John Edge, Co-Founder and Chairman of ID2020; Chip Dempsey, Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at the Options Clearing Corporation (OCC); Elana Broitman, Director of New America NYC; and Oliver Bussmann, Founder of Bussmann Advisory…

About the ID2020 Alliance
The ID2020 Alliance is an innovative public-private partnership committed to improving lives through digital identity. The Alliance brings together multinational institutions, nonprofits, philanthropy, business, and governments to set the technical standards for a safe, secure, and interoperable digital identity that is owned and controlled by the user. It funds high-impact pilot projects that bring digital identity to vulnerable populations, and uses the data generated to find scalable solutions and inform public policy. Partners include Accenture, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Hyperledger, iRespond, Kiva, Mercy Corps, Microsoft, and United Nations International Computing Centre.

Governance and Literature

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The Year in Trump Novel Pitches: An Agent’s Lament
The Truly Resonant Novels of the Trump Era Won’t Be About Trump
Literary Hub, March 30, 2018 By Erik Hane
[Excerpts; Editor’s text bolding]

Working as a literary agent means being privy to a full canon’s worth of submitted novels that the world will never see. Naturally, a good many of these pitches will always be chasing the news. Writers want their stories to seem timely, so if there’s a debate happening in real-world headlines that somehow mirrors the conflict in their book, I’ll hear about it in the query letter…

But if you want a window into the collective state of our writing lives, it’s not the successes that do the revealing—it’s the far larger, unseen body of attempts, false starts, and misshapen Trump novels that reveals that something inside us has been knocked off its axis…

So, what to make of an inbox full of novels promising fascist regimes, stolen elections, unhinged presidents, and the looming threat of nuclear war? Many of these manuscripts envisioned a post-apocalyptic America set in a future as near to us as 2025, and in more than one a reality-television host put the fate of the world up to a game show. In each story the country was in peril, waiting to be pulled back from the brink by the unlikely heroes uniquely capable of setting us back on stable ground.

I do not expect or want fiction to be an “escape” from real life, but the proliferation of these literal story elements cribbed from a CNN chyron still feels troubling. Clearly, writers are having the same problem everyone else is: an inability to look away, even during carefully carved-out Writing Time. These authors are not writing the political moment so much as the moment is writing them.

It is one of fascism’s goals to monopolize our attention. It would like to shrink our imagination; it would like for us to peer wide-eyed at its harsh restrictions and be able to think of nothing else. And it is tempting to stare like this, because fascism and its precursors are rife with contradictions that seem to beg to be pointed out by Reasonable People. But that’s one of its tricks. Fascism welcomes our attempts to play logical “gotcha” with its inconsistencies because it knows we will lose—not because we won’t find a fallacy but because the fallacy won’t matter.

Herein lies the problem with the shadow canon of novels meant only as cathartic takedowns of the right, the stories that exist for the sole purpose of showing the bad guys get hauled off in chains: the mere fact of writing it was an obstacle to writing something else. You didn’t write your story. You wrote fascism’s, and it was happy to receive your attention for so long.

When the circumstances of the world feel so pressing and immediate, it’s difficult to remember the simple truth that all writing is inherently political. Every authorial choice—conscious or not, significant or not, characters, plots, or settings—stems from the worldview of the author, as well as the shape of the world they’re viewing. Even if we wanted to, writers cannot divorce themselves from the politics of their societies, and neither can any invented character from theirs. I suspect that the same people writing these current-event novels know this, or can at least sense it, because my slush pile was absolutely political before the election—the difference was that far more of these writers trusted subtext. They felt comfortable with implication, with leaving things unsaid and letting that silent space do the talking. They knew, for instance, that you do not need to write a demagogue character to say something about demagoguery.

That confidence has eroded right along with our ability to invest ourselves in things other than The Discourse. Remember when we didn’t think about the news all the time? To be clear, I’m not talking here about an active engagement with the lived circumstances of the world—after all, a privileged person’s dismissible news story is a vulnerable person’s imminent danger. I mean specifically the news, as in media: the broadcasts and feeds, the motionless watching, the evisceration of whichever journalists are responsible for takes we hate, this hour…

I believe that the manuscript submissions ripped from the headlines will eventually subside; I’d be a bad agent if I didn’t have that faith. And we are certainly going to need politically infused stories, probably many of them, to survive these coming years. But I also believe that when they arrive, the truly resonant Trump Novels won’t actually be about Trump—they’ll be about characters we haven’t met yet who are just trying to make their way through a fraught world, like we all are. They’ll show us lives other than our own and demand empathy from us as readers, and maybe after enough practice we’ll be better able to give it.

Development – SDG Policy Coherence

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Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development 2018 – Towards Sustainable and Resilient Societies
OECD May 2018 :: 234 pages Read Download print edition
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264301061-en
Overview
The 2030 Agenda is a universal, collective responsibility that covers all levels: global, national and territorial. To address global policy challenges in a complex and interconnected world, policy coherence will be key. A more coherent multilateral system will be essential to reconcile and deliver the economic, social and environmental transformations needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)…
The report suggests eight building blocks for enhancing policy coherence for sustainable development (SDG Target 17.14), and identifies emerging good institutional practices drawing on recent OECD work, country surveys and voluntary national reviews. It includes 19 country profiles and sets out options for tracking progress on policy coherence for sustainable development at the national level….

Executive summary
Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target 17.14 calls on all countries to enhance policy coherence for sustainable development (PCSD) as a key means of implementation. Governments and stakeholders recognise the relevance of PCSD for identifying, understanding and managing interactions among highly interconnected SDGs, and for addressing the potential transboundary and intergenerational policy effects of domestic and international action. They are also increasingly recognising the need to break out of institutional and policy silos to realise the benefits of synergistic actions and to effectively address unavoidable trade-offs across the SDGs. Most importantly, they recognise the need for coherent approaches to ensure that “no one is left behind”, the underlying principle of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The 2018 edition of Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development shows how integrated and coherent policies, supported by strong institutional mechanisms, can contribute to the “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies” – the theme of the 2018 United Nations High-Level Political Forum (HLPF). It applies the institutional, analytical and monitoring elements of the PCSD Framework to identify challenges and opportunities facing governments as they move to implement the SDGs, both at the national level and collectively at the global level…

Featured Journal Content

Trends in Ecology & Evolution (TREE)
Volume 30, Issue 3, p140–145, March 2015
Opinion
Defining biocultural approaches to conservation
Michael C. Gavin1,2, Joe McCarter1, Aroha Mead3, Fikret Berkes4, John Richard Stepp5, Debora Peterson4, and Ruifei Tang2
1Human Dimensions of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1480, USA 2 School of Geography, Environment and Earth Sciences, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand 3 Maori Business, School of Management, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand 4 Natural Resources Institute, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2, Canada 5 Ethnobiology Lab, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
Highlights
:: Biocultural conservation addresses loss of biological and cultural diversity.
:: These approaches sustain dynamic and interdependent social-ecological systems.
: Biocultural conservation can lead to just, legal, and effective outcomes.
:: We outline eight principles of successful biocultural conservation initiatives.

We contend that biocultural approaches to conservation can achieve effective and just conservation outcomes while addressing erosion of both cultural and biological diversity. Here, we propose a set of guidelines for the adoption of biocultural approaches to conservation. First, we draw lessons from work on biocultural diversity and heritage, social–ecological systems theory, integrated conservation and development, co-management, and community-based conservation to define biocultural approaches to conservation. Second, we describe eight principles that characterize such approaches. Third, we discuss reasons for adopting biocultural approaches and challenges. If used well, biocultural approaches to conservation can be a powerful tool for reducing the global loss of both biological and cultural diversity.

Principles of biocultural approaches to conservation
1 Acknowledge that conservation can have multiple objectives and stakeholders
2 Recognize the importance of intergenerational planning and institutions for long-term adaptive governance
3 Recognize that culture is dynamic, and this dynamism shapes resource use and conservation 4 Tailor interventions to the social–ecological context
5 Devise and draw upon novel, diverse, and nested institutional frameworks
6 Prioritize the importance of partnership and relation building for conservation outcomes
7 Incorporate the distinct rights and responsibilities of all parties
8 Respect and incorporate different worldviews

Featured Journal Content – Heritage Stewardship

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PNAS – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States
of America
http://www.pnas.org/content/early/
[Accessed 2 Jun 2018]
Mapping an ancient city with a century of remotely sensed data
David Stott, Søren Munch Kristiansen, Achim Lichtenberger, and Rubina Raja
PNAS May 29, 2018. 201721509; published ahead of print May 29, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1721509115
Significance
Understanding how people in the past adapted to environmental and economic challenges can help us anticipate and meet these challenges in the present. However, these very processes threaten the physical remains embodying this information worldwide: Urban expansion and resource exploitation mean that the quantity and quality of archaeological information are diminishing daily. In this work, we demonstrate how multitemporal aerial photography and modern airborne laser scanning are invaluable tools for mapping the remaining archaeological features extant in the present and for adding context to them from what has been lost. This knowledge enables cultural heritage administrators and archaeologists to actively monitor, understand, and manage the existing remains to make sure important information is not lost to posterity.
Abstract
The rapidly growing global population places cultural heritage at great risk, and the encroachment of modern settlement on archaeological sites means that valuable information about how past societies worked and interacted with the environment is lost. To manage and mitigate these risks, we require knowledge about what has been lost and what remains, so we can actively decide what should be investigated and what should be preserved for the future. Remote sensing provides archaeologists with some of the tools we need to do this. In this paper we explore the application of multitemporal, multisensor data to map features and chart the impacts of urban encroachment on the ancient city of Jerash (in modern Jordan) by combining archives of aerial photography dating back to 1917 with state-of-the-art airborne laser scanning. The combined results revealed details of the water distribution system and the ancient city plan. This demonstrates that by combining historical images with modern aerial and ground-based data we can successfully detect and contextualize these features and thus achieve a better understanding of life in a city in the past. These methods are essential, given that much of the ancient city has been lost to modern development and the historical imagery is often our only source of information.

Health – Security/Reporting/Transparency

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WADEM Position Statement: Accurate Reporting of Public Health Information
Board of Directors, WADEM – World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine
Prehospital & Disaster Medicine
Volume 33 – Issue 3 – June 2018
https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X18000420
Published online: 01 June 2018, p. 229

The mission of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM; Madison, Wisconsin USA) is the global improvement of prehospital and emergency health care, public health, and disaster health and preparedness. Accurate and transparent release of public health information is necessary to inform response and recovery activities associated with disasters.

The resolution to adopt the international health regulations in 2005 recognized the World Health Organization’s (Geneva, Switzerland) leadership in monitoring and responding to public health emergencies. 1

Preservation of global health security is reliant upon timely reporting of emergencies and health threats to enable appropriate preparedness and response. 2

Withholding, suppression, delayed, or deliberate inaccurate reporting of public health information presents a risk to of potential health threats to populations. The restriction of epidemiological health information hampers efforts to respond to events. 3

The transparent and timely release of public health information is logical, ethical, and required to maintain and improve global health.

As such, WADEM endorses that:
1. Global health security is reliant upon timely reporting of emergencies and threats to enable appropriate preparedness and response.

2. Withholding, suppression, delayed, or deliberate inaccurate reporting of public health information presents a risk of potential health threats to populations.

3. That Customary International Humanitarian law recognizes the prohibition of attacks on, destruction of, or render useless any public health infrastructure indispensable to the survival of the civilian population; that the Geneva Convention (Article 55 & 56) requires that any occupying power must restore the public health infrastructure and protections afforded to the civilian population to mitigate and prevent mortality and morbidity after any conflict or war; that this applies equally to post-sudden-onset natural disasters or public health emergencies of international concern necessary to protect the global health.

4. The accurate, transparent, and timely release of official public health information is necessary to identify risks, provide health alerts, and promote and protect global health.
[References available at title link]

Health – EBOLA/EVD

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WHO: Ebola vaccine provides protection and hope for high-risk communities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
30 May 2018
…”Ring vaccination is a new and vital tool in the control of Ebola,” said Dr Michael Ryan, WHO Assistant Director-General, Emergency Preparedness and Response. “I just spent the day out with the vaccination teams in the community, and for the first time in my experience, I saw hope in the face of Ebola and not terror. This is a major milestone for global public health.”
The ring vaccination is led by the National Institute of Biomedical Research and the Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is working with a wide range of partners, including WHO, Médecins sans Frontières and UNICEF. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, contributed funds towards the operational costs, and through an agreement with Merck, the vaccine developer, helped ensure that 300 000 investigational doses of the vaccine are available in case of an outbreak. The vaccination is being provided to the contacts of confirmed cases, and the contacts of contacts, as well as healthcare workers, front line responders and other people with potential exposure to Ebola…

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The Africa CDC Deploys Teams to the Province of Equator in the DRC to Support the Response to the Ebola Outbreak
June 01, 2018
Addis Ababa, 01 June 2018- After recruiting and training 18 Congolese volunteers, Arica CDC has just deployed them to Equator province to support the response to Ebola Virus Disease in DR Congo.
The responders, who are former volunteers of the African Union Support to the Ebola Outbreak in West Africa (ASEOWA) in the 2014-16 outbreak, also participated in the post-Ebola enhanced surveillance in the Democratic Republic of Congo in July 2017 in the province of Bas-Uélé.
Distributed in 4 subgroups, Africa CDC volunteers will be based in Mbandaka (Headquarters of the province of Equator), Bikoro, Itipo (Epicenter of the ongoing epidemic) and Iboko. This multi-disciplinary team is composed of epidemiologists, physicians, communication experts, infection prevention and control experts, and a data manager. They will support the efforts of the Congolese government in epidemiological surveillance, case management, laboratory diagnostic, water, hygiene and sanitation as well as communication and social mobilization.
In the meantime, the Africa CDC today held a task force meeting to further plan for the African Union support to the Ebola outbreak in the DRC. The meeting, chaired by the Africa CDC director Dr John Nkengasong received a situation report on the current status and deliberated on the concept of operations.

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DRC: MSF begins Ebola vaccination trial in Bikoro to help curb outbreak
Press release
NEW YORK/KINSHASA, MAY 29, 2018—The international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) started vaccinating Ebola frontline workers yesterday in Bikoro, Equateur Province, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The vaccination, which is being conducted with Epicentre—MSF’s research arm—will also be offered to contacts of patients. The start of the Bikoro trial comes about a week after health care workers in Mbandaka began receiving the vaccine.
The vaccination trial—which is only one element of the larger strategy to control the spread of Ebola—will be administered using a “ring” approach. This involves identifying newly diagnosed and laboratory-confirmed Ebola patients, locating the people they have been in contact with—often family members, neighbors, colleagues, and friends—and vaccinating them. This type of approach aims to help contain and prevent the spread of infection.
This investigational vaccine (rVSVDG-ZEBOV-GP) has not yet been licensed and is being implemented through a study protocol, which has been accepted by national authorities and the Ethical Review Board in Kinshasa, as well as MSF’s Ethical Review Board.
Participation in this vaccine trial is voluntary and free, participants receive information on the vaccine before consenting, and those who choose to be vaccinated are carefully monitored over a period of time. “Given that it has not yet been licensed, we will be closely monitoring the vaccination,” said Micaela Serafini, MSF’s medical director in Geneva…