The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
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Week ending 9 December 2017

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 9 December 2017

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

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HUMAN RIGHTS DAY, 10 DECEMBER 2017
Values enshrined in Universal Declaration of Human Rights under assault, must be defended – Zeid
“Human Rights Day falls on 10 December every year, the day when, back in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – the world’s most widely translated* and possibly most influential document – was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly, itself just three years old at the time.”

“Thanks to the Universal Declaration, the daily life of millions has been improved, untold human suffering has been prevented and the foundations for a more just world have been laid. While its promise is yet to be fulfilled, the very fact that it has stood the test of time is testament to the enduring universality of its perennial values of equality, justice and human dignity.”

“Next year – on 10 December 2018 – we will celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and this year’s Human Rights Day on Sunday marks the beginning of a year-long 70th anniversary commemoration.”

“It will also, I hope, be a year of intense and profound reflection on the continuing and vital importance of each and every one of the 30 articles contained in this extraordinary document.”
“The Universal Declaration was drawn up by a world wounded by war, the remedy prescribed by States to inoculate their populations against their own worst instincts and omissions. It was drawn up by representatives, and endorsed by leaders, of countries from all continents, who were – to quote from the Declaration’s preamble – fully, recently, sorely, aware that ‘disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind.’”

“It was drawn up with the memory and knowledge of the Holocaust, and the attitudes and accumulation of policies and practices that made it possible, seared on the conscience of those who failed to prevent it.”

“It was drawn up to cover not only civil and political rights, but also social, economic and cultural rights, in the full understanding that you cannot have development without human rights and you cannot have a full enjoyment of human rights without development – and peace and security depend on both.”

“Today, as World War II and the Holocaust grow distant, that awareness appears to be evaporating at an alarming rate, and the enormous progress that has been achieved through progressive enactment of human rights principles, as laid out in the Universal Declaration, is being increasingly forgotten or wilfully ignored.”

“The universality of rights is being contested across much of the world. It is under broad assault from terrorists, authoritarian leaders and populists who seem only too willing to sacrifice, in varying degrees, the rights of others, for the sake of power. Their combined influence has grown at the expense of liberal democratic order, peace and justice.”

“We see mounting cruelties and crimes being perpetrated in conflicts across the world; an antagonistic nationalism on the rise, with surging levels of racism, xenophobia and other forms of discrimination taking root, even in countries which had grown complacent in the belief these were problems of the past, rather than ones that could all too easily re-emerge and reassert themselves.”

“We see measures to end discrimination and promote greater justice – some of the fruits of the Universal Declaration and the immense body of law and practice it has spawned – starting to be being dismantled by those who seek profit from hatred and exploitation. We see a backlash against many human rights advances, including on the rights of women and those of many minorities, in the Americas, Asia, Africa and Europe.”

“We see political leaders who openly deny the fundamental truth of article 1 of the Universal Declaration which states that ‘All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.’ Political leaders who defy their forbears’ promise ‘to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance.’”

“The Universal Declaration is a commitment, by all States, that they will protect and promote human rights. It is essential that we continue to hold those States to account. But human rights are too important to be left to States alone – too precious to all of us, and to our children.”
“As we enter the 70th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration, it is right that we should honour its achievements and pay tribute to its inspired architects. At the same time, we should be under no illusions: the legacy of the Universal Declaration is facing threats on many fronts. If we let our commitment to uphold human rights drift – if we turn aside when they are abused – they will slowly shrivel and die. If that happens, the cost in human life and misery will be immense, and the whole of humanity will pay a heavy price.”

“Ultimately it is up to us, to ‘we the people,’ for whom this Declaration was written. It is up to me; to you; to everyone in every city, province and country where there is still space to express thoughts, participate in decisions, raise one’s voice. We need to act to promote peace, fight back against discrimination, and to uphold justice.”

“We must organize and mobilise in defence of human decency, in defence of a better common future. We must not stand by, bewildered, as the post-World War II system of values unravels around us. We must take a robust and determined stand: by resolutely supporting the human rights of others, we also stand up for our own rights and those of generations to come.”

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UNESCO Commemorates 70th anniversary of Universal Declaration of Human Rights with a focus on freedom of expression
08 December 2017
Events at UNESCO Headquarters focusing on the safety of journalists and human rights in the modern world on 12 December will mark the beginning of the year-long observance to mark the 70th anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which informs all of the Organization’s work all year, ev

Humanitarian Response – Refugee Operations Funding

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Donors pledge US$857 million to protect and assist refugees in 2018
05 December 2017
GENEVA – Donor governments on Tuesday pledged an initial US$857 million to UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, to fund operations destined to help some 67 million displaced or stateless people worldwide in 2018.

The pledges, made at an annual meeting in Geneva, amount to around 11 per cent of UNHCR’s total 2018 funding needs of over US$7.5 billion. This year’s pledges are considerably higher than those made at end 2016, when US$701 million was pledged.

While today’s pledges do not cover all of next year’s funding needs, they can be seen as a useful indication of the anticipated funding levels and of overall support, allowing the organization to plan and continue operations that provide life-saving assistance and protection, without interruption. These include operations in some of the biggest emergencies around the world such as those in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

While this figure represents the highest level of funds committed by States at this pledging conference, the gap between the funds received and the needs of refugees and other displaced people continues to grow, in a context of new crises and worsening displacement running at record levels.

“A year of no peace and much war is about to end,” said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. “Refugee crises grow. Refugee needs grow as well.” He stated that UNHCR is often asked what these figures mean and what the impact of funding gaps is. “It means that UNHCR has to prioritize, sometimes mercilessly,” he explained. “This can mean some (refugees) will be left to fend for themselves during the harsh winter months and others won’t get the assistance they need to reintegrate upon return.”…

Health – Human Rights

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WHO Fact Sheet – Human rights and health
December 2017
Key facts
:: The WHO Constitution (1946) envisages “…the highest attainable standard of health as a fundamental right of every human being.”
:: Understanding health as a human right creates a legal obligation on states to ensure access to timely, acceptable, and affordable health care of appropriate quality as well as to providing for the underlying determinants of health, such as safe and potable water, sanitation, food, housing, health-related information and education, and gender equality.
:: A States’ obligation to support the right to health – including through the allocation of “maximum available resources” to progressively realise this goal – is reviewed through various international human rights mechanisms, such as the Universal Periodic Review, or the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In many cases, the right to health has been adopted into domestic law or Constitutional law.
:: A rights-based approach to health requires that health policy and programmes must prioritize the needs of those furthest behind first towards greater equity, a principle that has been echoed in the recently adopted 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Universal Health Coverage. (1)
:: The right to health must be enjoyed without discrimination on the grounds of race, age, ethnicity or any other status. Non-discrimination and equality requires states to take steps to redress any discriminatory law, practice or policy.
:: Another feature of rights-based approaches is meaningful participation. Participation means ensuring that national stakeholders – including non-state actors such as non-governmental organizations – are meaningfully involved in all phases of programming: assessment, analysis, planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

Introduction
“The right to the highest attainable standard of health” implies a clear set of legal obligations on states to ensure appropriate conditions for the enjoyment of health for all people without discrimination.

The right to health is one of a set of internationally agreed human rights standards, and is inseparable or ‘indivisible’ from these other rights. This means achieving the right to health is both central to, and dependent upon, the realisation of other human rights, to food, housing, work, education, information, and participation.

The right to health, as with other rights, includes both freedoms and entitlements:
:: Freedoms include the right to control one’s health and body (for example, sexual and reproductive rights) and to be free from interference (for example, free from torture and non-consensual medical treatment and experimentation).
:: Entitlements include the right to a system of health protection that gives everyone an equal opportunity to enjoy the highest attainable level of health.

Focus on disadvantaged populations
Disadvantage and marginalization serve to exclude certain populations in societies from enjoying good health. Three of the world’s most fatal communicable diseases – malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis – disproportionately affect the world’s poorest populations, and in many cases are compounded and exacerbated by other inequalities and inequities including gender, age, sexual orientation or gender identity and migration status. Conversely the burden of non-communicable diseases – often perceived as affecting high-income countries – is increasing disproportionately among lower-income countries and populations, and is largely associated with lifestyle and behaviour factors as well as environmental determinants, such as safe housing, water and sanitation that are inextricably linked to human rights.

A focus on disadvantage also reveals evidence of those who are exposed to greater rates of ill-health and face significant obstacles to accessing quality and affordable healthcare, including indigenous populations. While data collection systems are often ill-equipped to capture data on these groups, reports show that these populations have higher mortality and morbidity rates, due to noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and chronic respiratory disease. These populations may also be the subject of laws and policies that further compound their marginalization and make it harder for them to access healthcare prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and care services.

Violations of human rights in health
Violations or lack of attention to human rights can have serious health consequences. Overt or implicit discrimination in the delivery of health services – both within the health workforce and between health workers and service users – acts as a powerful barrier to health services, and contributes to poor quality care.

Mental ill-health often leads to a denial of dignity and autonomy, including forced treatment or institutionalization, and disregard of individual legal capacity to make decisions. Paradoxically, mental health is still given inadequate attention in public health, in spite of the high levels of violence, poverty and social exclusion that contribute to worse mental and physical health outcomes for people with mental health disorders.

Violations of human rights not only contribute to and exacerbate poor health, but for many, including people with disabilities, indigenous populations, women living with HIV, sex workers, people who use drugs, transgender and intersex people, the health care setting presents a risk of heightened exposure to human rights abuses – including coercive or forced treatment and procedures.

Human rights-based approaches
A human rights-based approach to health provides a set of clear principles for setting and evaluating health policy and service delivery, targeting discriminatory practices and unjust power relations that are at the heart of inequitable health outcomes.

In pursuing a rights-based approach, health policy, strategies and programmes should be designed explicitly to improve the enjoyment of all people to the right to health, with a focus on the furthest behind first. The core principles and standards of a rights-based approach are detailed below.

Core principles of human rights
Accountability
States and other duty-bearers are answerable for the observance of human rights. However, there is also a growing movement recognising the importance of other non-state actors such as businesses in the respect and protection of human rights. (2)

Equality and non-discrimination
The principle of non-discrimination seeks ‘…to guarantee that human rights are exercised without discrimination of any kind based on race, colour, sex, language, religion, political, or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status such as disability, age, marital and family status, sexual orientation and gender identity, health status, place of residence, economic and social situation’.

Any discrimination, for example in access to health care, as well as in means and entitlements for achieving this access, is prohibited on the basis of race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, physical or mental disability, health status (including HIV/AIDS), sexual orientation ,and civil, political, social or other status, which has the intention or effect of impairing the equal enjoyment or exercise of the right to health.

The principle of non-discrimination and equality requires WHO to address discrimination in guidance, policies, and practices, such as relating to the distribution and provision of resources and health services. Non-discrimination and equality are key measures required to address the social determinants affecting the enjoyment of the right to health. Functioning national health information systems and availability of disaggregated data are essential to be able to identify the most vulnerable groups and diverse needs.

Participation
Participation requires ensuring that all concerned stakeholders including non-state actors have ownership and control over development processes in all phases of the programming cycle: assessment, analysis, planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. Participation goes well beyond consultation or a technical addition to project design; it should include explicit strategies to empower citizens, especially the most marginalized, so that their expectations are recognised by the State.

Participation is important to accountability as it provides “…checks and balances which do not allow unitary leadership to exercise power in an arbitrary manner”.

Universal, indivisible and interdependent
Human rights are universal and inalienable. They apply equally, to all people, everywhere, without distinction. Human Rights standards – to food, health, education, to be free from torture, inhuman or degrading treatment – are also interrelated. The improvement of one right facilitates advancement of the others. Likewise, the deprivation of one right adversely affects the others.

Core elements of a right to health
Progressive realization using maximum available resources
No matter what level of resources they have at their disposal, progressive realisation requires that governments take immediate steps within their means towards the fulfilment of these rights. Regardless of resource capacity, the elimination of discrimination and improvements in the legal and juridical systems must be acted upon with immediate effect.

Non-retrogression
States should not allow the existing protection of economic, social, and cultural rights to deteriorate unless there are strong justifications for a retrogressive measure. For example, introducing school fees in secondary education which had formerly been free of charge would constitute a deliberate retrogressive measure. To justify it, a State would have to demonstrate that it adopted the measure only after carefully considering all the options, assessing the impact and fully using its maximum available resources.

Core components of the right to health
The right to health (Article 12) was defined in General Comment 14 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights – a committee of Independent Experts, responsible for overseeing adherence to the Covenant. (4) The right includes the following core components:

Availability
Refers to the need for a sufficient quantity of functioning public health and health care facilities, goods and services, as well as programmes for all. Availability can be measured through the analysis of disaggregated data to different and multiple stratifiers including by age, sex, location and socio-economic status and qualitative surveys to understand coverage gaps and health workforce coverage

Accessibility
Requires that health facilities, goods, and services must be accessible to everyone. Accessibility has four overlapping dimensions:
:: non-discrimination
:: physical accessibility
:: economical accessibility (affordability)
:: information accessibility.

Assessing accessibility may require analysis of barriers – physical financial or otherwise – that exist, and how they may affect the most vulnerable, and call for the establishment or application of clear norms and standards in both law and policy to address these barriers, as well as robust monitoring systems of health-related information and whether this information is reaching all populations.

Acceptability
Relates to respect for medical ethics, culturally appropriate, and sensitivity to gender. Acceptability requires that health facilities, goods, services and programmes are people-centred and cater for the specific needs of diverse population groups and in accordance with international standards of medical ethics for confidentiality and informed consent.

Quality
Facilities, goods, and services must be scientifically and medically approved. Quality is a key component of Universal Health Coverage, and includes the experience as well as the perception of health care. Quality health services should be:
:: Safe – avoiding injuries to people for whom the care is intended;
:: Effective – providing evidence-based healthcare services to those who need them;
:: People-centred – providing care that responds to individual preferences, needs and values;
:: Timely – reducing waiting times and sometimes harmful delays.
:: Equitable – providing care that does not vary in quality on account of gender, ethnicity, geographic location, and socio-economic status;
:: Integrated – providing care that makes available the full range of health services throughout the life course;
:: Efficient – maximizing the benefit of available resources and avoiding waste

WHO response
WHO has made a commitment to mainstream human rights into healthcare programmes and policies on national and regional levels by looking at underlying determinants of health as part of a comprehensive approach to health and human rights.

In addition, WHO has been actively strengthening its role in providing technical, intellectual, and political leadership on the right to health including:
:: strengthening the capacity of WHO and its Member States to integrate a human rights-based approach to health;
:: advancing the right to health in international law and international development processes; and
:: advocating for health-related human rights, including the right to health.

Addressing the needs and rights of individuals at different stages across the life course requires taking a comprehensive approach within the broader context of promoting human rights, gender equality, and equity.

As such, WHO promotes a concise and unifying framework that builds on existing approaches in gender, equity, and human rights to generate more accurate and robust solutions to health inequities. The integrated nature of the framework is an opportunity to build on foundational strengths and complementarities between these approaches to create a cohesive and efficient approach to promote health and well-being for all.

References
1. Transforming our World: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
UN General Assembly. 2015. 21 October. UN Doc. A/RES/70/1.
2. General comment No. 20: Non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. 2009.
3. Guiding principles for business and human rights, Implementing the United Nations “Protect, Respect and Remedy” Framework
Office of the high Commissioner for Human Rights, Geneva, 2011.
CESCR General Comment No. 14: The Right to the Highest Attainable Standard of Health (Art. 12)
CESCR (Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights). 2000. ). 11 August. Doc. E/C.

Heritage Stewardship

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“On Culture and Development” Remarks by World Bank Group Senior VP Mahmoud Mohieldin
30th General Assembly of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM)
Thursday, November 30, 2017 Rome, Italy

Distinguished delegates, excellencies, and friends, I am delighted to be here today — at the 30th General Assembly of the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property — to talk about the scope of the development challenges embedded in cultural heritage preservation, the World Bank Group’s work in this area, especially in fragile and post-conflict settings, and the programs that we are currently doing in partnership with UNESCO and other development partners to develop global knowledge and improve our effectiveness…

Cultural Heritage in the Context of Global Goals and Conditions
As you know, in 2015, 193 countries endorsed the 17 Sustainable Development Goals — or SDGs — which seek to protect people and the planet, while leaving no one behind, by 2030. These goals are extremely ambitious — ending poverty, hunger, child mortality, improving incomes, etc. — and global economic, environmental, and social conditions won’t make them any easier to attain.

Yet by 2030, and following the current patterns, disasters are projected to cost cities around the world over $300 billion dollars, with the concentration of people and assets in cities making them vulnerable to cascading failures in the wake of a disaster. Conflicts and climate-induced displacement are pushing even more people towards cities. Right now, there are 66 million inhabitants displaced, with roughly one-third of those settling in cities. These numbers are expected to grow significantly in the future, because of climate change.

Cultural landmarks and the historic core of cities are often the victims of collateral damage, during urban battles, or even when deliberately targeted due to their symbolic meaning. Disasters and conflicts not only limit people’s access to their cultural heritage, but also affect their intangible practices and creative industry.

Cultural heritage is a scarce resource, but when used properly, can be a valuable asset for recovery and critical economic growth to reduce poverty and achieve other important social goals. Rebuilding sustainable cities after disasters is an opportunity that should not be missed to: strengthen urban resilience and social inclusion; improve land use planning; rebuild more efficient infrastructure; and conserve cultural heritage to contribute to both economic recovery and reconciliation….

Disasters send us a reminder that investing in cultural heritage conservation can make our heritage resilient and mitigate the damaging effects of disasters. In the medium term, conserving and promoting our unique cultural heritage would also attract sustainable and responsible tourists, encourage the private sector to invest, create jobs, encourage creativity, while protecting the environment.

We can preserve historic monuments and landmarks, while improving cultural amenities and public facilities. Our libraries, museums, theaters, parks, and spaces for performance, art and creativity, both conserve our heritage and help give birth to a creative and entrepreneurial future.

World Bank Group Approach
The World Bank Group has a long history in this area, integrating these approaches into our country partnership strategies, and aligning them with national objectives and the World Bank Group’s twin goals to end poverty and boost shared prosperity in a sustainable manner.
The World Bank’s role in the protection of built cultural heritage dates back to the first reconstruction loan to France after World War II. It is only, however, in the late 1970s and early 1980s that the institution started to engage in cultural heritage conservation in developing countries, such as the pilot rehabilitation of the Hafsia neighborhood in the Tunis medina or the upgrading of Lahore’s historic walled city.

The Bank Group increased lending and technical assistance for cultural heritage in the late 1990s, following the international conference held in Florence in 1999, and now has financed more than 300 lending and non-lending operations that include components in historic city regeneration and cultural preservation…

World Bank Group Cultural Heritage Work in Post-Conflict and Post-Disaster Reconstruction
The Bank’s experience regarding cultural heritage at risk in conflict-affected and post-conflict countries is always part of comprehensive plans, designed in the context of development partnerships. World Bank Group-financed post-conflict or disaster projects often involve several development partners, given the humanitarian, reconstruction and recovery dimensions that are at the core of the activities. They are challenging to implement, as they need to strike a delicate balance between the imperatives of speedy recovery, sustainable development, and improvement of the living conditions, while taking the cultural dimension into account.

Right now, the World Bank Group has a portfolio of about $1 billion dollars in support of cultural heritage conservation and post-disaster/post conflict reconstruction around the world. We are involved in the three phases of post-conflict reconstruction of historic cities: pre-conflict (prevention by strengthening disaster risk management and institutional preparedness), during the conflict (protection) and post-conflict (recovery, maintenance, sustainability, and re-appropriation).

Out projects often utilize the Bank’s extensive experience with disaster management. They underline the importance of community involvement and the need for flexibility. Designs are often adjusted to accommodate local needs and they may also be affected by resurgent conflicts. Despite their inherent difficulties, however, all projects demonstrate the power of cultural heritage in fostering a collective sense of identity, pride, and social cohesion.

It is also important to note that we believe we must work with our partners to build resilience before there is a disaster or conflict. Thus, our work encompasses preventive approaches, to protect cultural heritage through the strengthening of disaster risk management and institutional preparedness.

Our projects are developed at the request of national governments, which often appoint technical units to implement the activities. The local governments and institutions are then best suited to play the coordinating role that can, in turn, be supported by partner NGOs, associations, and private entities…

Conclusion
We know that, to be successful in building these durable global public goods and critical services, we have to work in partnership — with UNESCO, ICCROM and other international agencies, with MDBs, bilateral partners, CSOs, foundations, academic, and many others. These partnerships are even more critical in fragile, conflict-affected, and post-disaster contexts.

To preserve our civilization, we need to listen to lessons of history and culture. Drawing on collective wisdom will help us rebuild better and smarter, to safeguard our precious cultural heritage, so that — together — we can build a world that is more peaceful, prosperous, and more secure.

The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
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Week ending 2 December 2017

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 December 2017

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

Humanitarian Response – Human Rights Action: Yemen

United Nations leaders call on the Saudi-led coalition to fully lift blockade of Yemeni Red Sea ports
Joint statement by:
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner
UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi
UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake
WFP Executive Director David Beasley
IOM Director General William Lacy Swing
Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Mark Lowcock.

2 December 2017 Geneva/Rome/New York
The partial lifting of the blockade of Yemen’s Red Sea ports by the Saudi-led coalition in recent days is allowing humanitarian organizations to resume the provision of life-saving assistance to people in desperate need. Given the massive scale of Yemen’s humanitarian crisis, however, all this does is slow the collapse towards a massive humanitarian tragedy costing millions of lives. It does not prevent it. Without the urgent resumption of commercial imports, especially food, fuel and medicines, millions of children, women and men risk mass hunger, disease and death.

Ongoing commercial import restrictions have led to shortages of fuel, food and other essentials, driving up prices and devastating lives and livelihoods. The price of wheat flour has risen by 30 per cent, while the price of fuel has doubled and that of trucked water has skyrocketed by 600 per cent in some locations.

Urban water networks in seven cities have run out of fuel and now depend on humanitarian organizations to fill in the gap. Other cities will shortly be in a similar situation if the blockade is not lifted, which would leave 11 million people without safe water.

In other areas, people are reducing their food consumption to dangerous levels in order to pay for the rising cost of water trucking, or are turning to contaminated water sources to meet their basic needs. This further compounds the risk of disease, especially among children.

Less than half of the health facilities are functioning, and more hospitals and health centers will close should fuel and water supplies not improve. Sewage networks in six main cities are compromised, threatening a renewed spike in the country’s cholera outbreak, which has reached almost 1 million suspected cases and killed over 2,200 people.

Yemen remains on the cusp of one of the largest famines in modern times. Nearly 400,000 children suffer from severe acute malnutrition and face an increased risk of death. More than 8 million people could starve without urgent food assistance coming into Yemen. With 90 per cent of the country’s food imported, the lack of commercial imports through Red Sea ports would alone push a further 3 million people into starvation. The threat of widespread famine in a matter of months is very real.

This imminent catastrophe is entirely avoidable, but it requires immediate action by the coalition. While three ships carrying food have been granted permission to berth at Hudaydah port in recent days, four fuel tankers and ten ships carrying food have all been waiting for permission to enter port. Together, we call on the coalition to urgently open up all Yemeni Red Sea ports fully and to facilitate the entry and free-flow of humanitarian and vital commercial goods.

The United Nations is sending a team to Riyadh to discuss any concerns the coalition and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia may have in relation to these ports. But we need the coalition to urgently grant unimpeded access for imports that are a lifeline for millions of people.

Human Rights – Protection – Accountability

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Myanmar: UN experts request exceptional report on situation of women and girls from northern Rakhine State
GENEVA (28 November 2017) – A group of UN experts tasked with monitoring a global treaty on discrimination against women has requested an exceptional report from the Government of Myanmar on the situation of Rohingya women and girls from northern Rakhine State.

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) made the decision at a regular meeting in Geneva last week, setting a six-month deadline for the submission of the report to the UN Secretary General. The request was sent to the Government of Myanmar on Monday, meaning the report should be submitted by 28 May 2018. It is only the fourth time an exceptional report has been requested by the Committee since holding its first session in October 1982.

The Committee, comprised of 23 independent human rights experts drawn from around the world, called on the Government to provide information on a range of issues surrounding alleged instances of violence against women and girls in northern Rakhine State in recent months.
As a party to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Myanmar is obliged to report to the Committee on its implementation of the treaty.

The Committee requested information concerning cases of sexual violence, including rape, against Rohingya women and girls by State security forces; and to provide details on the number of women and girls who have been killed or have died due to other non-natural causes during the latest outbreak of violence.

It also requested information on investigations, arrests, prosecutions, convictions and sentences or disciplinary measures imposed on perpetrators, including members of the armed forces, found guilty of such crimes.

The Committee also requested information on:
:: the designation of the battalions that have undertaken the clearance operations in Northern Rakhine State since 25 August 2017 and under whose command;
:: the findings of the final report of the Tatmadaw investigation team led by Lieutenant-General Aye Whin concerning the conduct of the armed forces during the security clearance operations;
:: whether instructions have been or are being issued to all branches of the State security forces that torture, gender-based violence, including rape and other forms of sexual violence, expulsions and other human rights violations are prohibited and that those responsible will be prosecuted and punished;
:: the gender-specific measures taken by the State party to rehabilitate and compensate Rohingya women and girls who are victims/survivors of such violence;
:: the remedies available to Rohingya women and girls to claim violations of their rights;
:: the number of Rohingya women and girls currently detained by State security forces;
:: the number of Rohingya women and girls who have died during childbirth;
:: the number of clinics providing obstetric services and the ratio of doctors and midwives to the Rohingya population; and
:: the number of Rohingya families displaced by the violence, disaggregated by sex, and measures taken by the Government to ensure their voluntary and safe return, economic reintegration and compensation for loss of land or property.

The report of the Government shall be made public, and will be reviewed by CEDAW.

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Editor’s Note:
We monitored remarks made by Pope Francis during visits last week to Myanmar and then Bangladesh. We provide selected Vatican reports and excerpts from speeches as identified below.

Pope Francis addresses interreligious meeting for peace
01/12/2017 12:30
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Friday greeted and blessed a group of Rohingya Muslim refugees who fled to Bangladesh from neighboring Myanmar.
The moving meeting took place during an Interreligious and Ecumenical Meeting for Peace in the garden of the Archbishop of Dhaka’s residence.
The meeting, which saw the participation of representatives of different faiths, took place on the second day of the Pope’s Apostolic Journey to Bangladesh.
The 16 Rohingya – 12 men, two women and two young girls – traveled to Dhaka from Cox’s Bazar, the district bordering Myanmar where refugee camps are overflowing with more than 620,000 Rohingya who have fled violence in Myanmar.
One by one, each one of the refugees approached the Pope at the end of the event and through the aid of an interpreter told him their stories and their experiences.
During his address to the religious leaders at the meeting, the Pope said a spirit of openness is fundamental for building a culture of harmony and peace…

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Pope speech to authorities and diplomatic corps in Dhaka
30/11/2017 13:19
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Thursday expressed his gratitude to the nation of Bangladesh for providing assistance and shelter to the hundreds of thousands of refugees pouring into the country, he appealed to the international community to address the crisis both on a political and on a material level, and he warned against using God’s name to justify hatred and violence against our fellow human beings.
The Pope’s words came during his address to political leaders, civil society and the diplomatic corps at the President House in Dhaka.
[Excerpts/Editor’s text bolding]:
…In recent months, the spirit of generosity and solidarity which is a distinguishing mark of Bangladeshi society has been seen most vividly in its humanitarian outreach to a massive influx of refugees from Rakhine State, providing them with temporary shelter and the basic necessities of life. This has been done at no little sacrifice. It has also been done before the eyes of the whole world. None of us can fail to be aware of the gravity of the situation, the immense toll of human suffering involved, and the precarious living conditions of so many of our brothers and sisters, a majority of whom are women and children, crowded in the refugee camps. It is imperative that the international community take decisive measures to address this grave crisis, not only by working to resolve the political issues that have led to the mass displacement of people, but also by offering immediate material assistance to Bangladesh in its effort to respond effectively to urgent human needs.

…In a world where religion is often – scandalously – misused to foment division, such a witness to its reconciling and unifying power is all the more necessary. This was seen in a particularly eloquent way in the common reaction of indignation that followed last year’s brutal terrorist attack here in Dhaka, and in the clear message sent by the nation’s religious authorities that the most holy name of God can never be invoked to justify hatred and violence against our fellow human beings…

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Pope Francis addresses Myanmar’s leaders
28/11/2017 12:15
Official English-language translation of Pope Francis’ address Myanmar’s government authorities, civil societies, and the diplomatic corps in the capital Nay Pyi Taw.
[Excerpts; Editor’s text bolding]
…I would also like my visit to embrace the entire population of Myanmar and to offer a word of encouragement to all those who are working to build a just, reconciled and inclusive social order. Myanmar has been blessed with great natural beauty and resources, yet its greatest treasure is its people, who have suffered greatly, and continue to suffer, from civil conflict and hostilities that have lasted all too long and created deep divisions. As the nation now works to restore peace, the healing of those wounds must be a paramount political and spiritual priority. I can only express appreciation for the efforts of the Government to take up this challenge, especially through the Panglong Peace Conference, which brings together representatives of the various groups in an attempt to end violence, to build trust and to ensure respect for the rights of all who call this land their home.

Indeed, the arduous process of peacebuilding and national reconciliation can only advance through a commitment to justice and respect for human rights. The wisdom of the ancients defined justice precisely as a steadfast will to give each person his due, while the prophets of old saw justice as the basis of all true and lasting peace. These insights, confirmed by the tragic experience of two world wars, led to the establishment of the United Nations and the universal declaration of human rights as the basis for the international community’s efforts to promote justice, peace and human development worldwide, and to resolve conflicts through dialogue, not the use of force. In this sense, the presence of the diplomatic corps in our midst testifies not only to Myanmar’s place in the concert of nations, but also to the country’s commitment to uphold and pursue those foundational principles. The future of Myanmar must be peace, a peace based on respect for the dignity and rights of each member of society, respect for each ethnic group and its identity, respect for the rule of law, and respect for a democratic order that enables each individual and every group – none excluded – to offer its legitimate contribution to the common good.

In the great work of national reconciliation and integration, Myanmar’s religious communities have a privileged role to play. Religious differences need not be a source of division and distrust, but rather a force for unity, forgiveness, tolerance and wise nation-building…

Humanitarian Response – Funding / Scale / Global Humanitarian Overview 2018

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Global Humanitarian Appeal Hits Record $22.5 Billion, Aiming to Reach 91 Million People with Assistance in 2018
The UN-coordinated response plans for 2018 are based on the world’s most comprehensive, authoritative and evidence-based assessment of humanitarian needs

(Geneva, 1 December 2017) – Some 136 million people across the world need humanitarian aid and protection due to protracted conflicts, natural disasters, epidemics and displacement. In response to people’s most urgent needs, UN-coordinated humanitarian response plans launched today in Geneva aim to reach 91 million of the most vulnerable people with food, shelter, health care, emergency education, protection and other basic assistance in 2018.

This will require a record US$22.5 billion in funding, slightly more than the $22.2 billion appeal launched for 2017.

“Humanitarians can only respond to the growing needs with the generous support of our donors. Investing in coordinated response plans is a sound choice. It delivers tangible and measurable results, and has a proven track record of success,” said Mark Lowcock, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, launching the Global Humanitarian Overview 2018.

In 2017, humanitarian agencies reached tens of millions of people in need, saving millions of lives, and donors provided record levels of funding to Humanitarian Response Plans – nearly $13 billion by the end of November 2017. Together, aid groups and humanitarian donors helped stave off famines in South Sudan, Somalia, north-east Nigeria and Yemen and stepped up to provide rapid assistance to refugees fleeing from violence in Myanmar.

“With this unprecedented level of humanitarian need, we at Save the Children have a lot to do. As NGOs we are working hard to find quicker and more effective ways to use every dollar donated well,” said Helle Thorning-Schmidt, CEO of Save the Children International. “But we also need governments and institutions to take a longer term approach by tackling the cause of these crises as well as the symptoms. By brokering peace agreements, investing in education, helping communities build resilience to climate shocks, and speaking up when people are persecuted. Without this, we will continue to see a record level of suffering.”

For 2018, needs will remain at exceptionally high levels in Nigeria, South Sudan, the Syria region and Yemen, which is likely to remain the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.

In some countries needs will fall, but still remain significant, including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Mali, and Ukraine. But at the same time, needs are rising substantially in Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya and Somalia.

The Global Humanitarian Overview 2018 document is available through unocha.org/globalhumanitarianoverview or https://reliefweb.int/node/2354269

Education/Literacy – Disability Gap

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THE PRICE OF EXCLUSION: DISABILITY AND EDUCATION
Disability gaps in educational attainment and literacy
World Bank Group: Male, Chata; Wodon, Quentin T..
2017/12/01 :: 16 pages
PDF: http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/396291511988894028/pdf/121762-WorldBank-GapsInEdAttainmentLiteracy-Brief-WebReady-v5.pdf
Abstract
This note provides an analysis of gaps in educational opportunities for children with disabilities. It also measures the impact at the margin of exclusion related to various typesof disabilities on education outcomes for children. Four main outcomes are considered: whether children ever enroll in school, whether they complete their primary education, whether they complete their secondary education, and whether they are literate. The analysis is implementedusing the most recent census data available for a total of 19 countries.

KEY MESSAGES
This note provides an analysis of gaps in educational opportunities for children with disabilities. It also measures the impact at the margin of exclusion related to various types of disabilities on education outcomes for children. Four main outcomes are considered: whether children ever enroll in school, whether they complete their primary education, whether they complete their secondary education, and whether they are literate. The analysis is implemented using the most recent census data available for a total of 19 countries.

Key findings are as follows:
:: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) call for ensuring inclusive and quality education for
all and promoting lifelong learning (Goal 4). The SDGs explicitly mention equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities. Unfortunately, gaps in education outcomes between children with and without disabilities have been increasing over time.

:: For children without disabilities, completion rates at the primary level have increased substantially over the last few decades. Smaller gains have been observed for children with disabilities. As a result, the gap in primary completion rates between children with and without
disabilities has increased over time from a few percentage points a few decades ago to 17.6 points for boys and 15.4 points for girls in the latest available census data.

:: Many children with disabilities are never enrolled in school. Among children aged 11, the likelihood of having ever enrolled in school was 13 percentage points lower for children with disabilities versus children without disabilities at the time of the latest available census data. As for primary education, the disability gap in ever enrolling has increased over time.

:: Large gains in secondary completion rates have also been achieved for boys and girls without disabilities, but gains are again smaller for children with disabilities, leading to disability gaps in completion rates of 14.5 points for boys and 10.4 points for girls.

:: The last indicator considered for the analysis of trends over time is literacy. In part, as a result of differentiated trends in educational attainment by disability status, the disability gaps for literacy also grew over time, reaching 16.2 points for boys and 15.5 points for girls.

:: When looking through regression analysis at the marginal effects of exclusion associated with disabilities, findings are similar to the results from simple statistical comparisons. Across the 19 countries, the average reductions at the margin for children with disabilities in the probabilities of ever enrolling in school, completing primary schooling, completing secondary schooling, and being literate are estimated at 11.9 points, 16.8 points, 13.9 points, and 16.4 points respectively.

:: The marginal effects on education outcomes of exclusion related to disabilities are often larger than the effects of other child or household characteristics. For example, the marginal effect of a disability is often larger than that of the quintile of wealth of the child’s household.

:: Overall, the analysis demonstrates that children with disabilities are being left behind by global efforts to improve education opportunities for all. The rising gaps between children with and without disabilities in developing countries call for stronger policies and interventions to achieve the target of inclusive education adopted under the Sustainable Development Goals.

The 19 countries included in the report are: Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Ghana, Indonesia, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Malawi, Mexico, Mozambique, Peru, South Africa, South Sudan, Vietnam, and Zambia.

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Press Release
Education: Children with disabilities are being left behind, says World Bank/GPE report
WASHINGTON, December 1, 2017 – Children with disabilities are being left behind by global efforts to improve education opportunities for all, as gaps between children with and without disabilities have increased dramatically in developing countries, according to new research from the World Bank and the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) released ahead of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

The study, Disability Gaps in Educational Attainment and Literacy, found that primary school completion for children with disabilities in 19 developing countries* is just 48 percent, and as many as three in ten children with disabilities have never been in school. The study, based on analysis of census data, also found that literacy rates and secondary school completion lag considerably behind: Only six in ten children with disabilities can read and write, and only a third complete secondary school….

Heritage Stewardship – Amazon Rainforest

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Colombia Launches Partnership to Protect Amazon Rainforest from Deforestation
· Colombia is working with the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020 to convene a multistakeholder platform of buyers, producers, international donors, NGOs and civil society organizations to protect the Amazon rainforest
· The platform will initially cover palm oil and is expected to extend to other major commodity-driven causes of deforestation, including beef, dairy and timber
· The government aims to have zero net deforestation in the Amazon by 2020, and to have stopped all natural forest loss by 2030
· More information is available at www.tfa2020.org

Geneva, Switzerland, 28 November 2017 – The Tropical Forest Alliance 2020, an initiative hosted by the World Economic Forum, is joining forces with the Government of Colombia to launch a multistakeholder platform of businesses, civil society organizations and donor agencies to protect over 60 million hectares of Amazon rainforest within its borders from commodity-driven deforestation.

The platform, launched today, is called the TFA 2020 Colombia Alliance and follows the government’s target to have zero net deforestation in the Amazon by 2020.

It will initially cover palm oil and is expected to extend to other major commodity-driven causes of deforestation, including beef, dairy and timber. It will follow principles laid out in TFA 2020’s Commodities and Forests Agenda 2020, which outlines strategies to address deforestation – a major driver of pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and biodiversity loss. Colombia is home to one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on Earth, home to about 10% of the world’s species, yet its tropical forests are under threat.

It is supported by a range of stakeholders:
:: Businesses include dairy company Alqueria, retailer Grupo Exito, agricultural firm Poligrow, consumer goods company Unilever, and chemicals and agricultural products company Yara International.
:: Donor countries and organizations include the governments of Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom, USAID and the World Bank.
:: NGOs and civil society organizations include Climate Focus, Earth Innovation Institute, Fondo Acción, Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), The Nature Conservancy, Proforest, Solidaridad, the South Pole Group, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

“The TFA 2020 Colombia Alliance will be a platform to join forces towards sustainable agricultural production free of deforestation,” said Colombia’s Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development, Luis Gilberto Murillo. “The signature of the Palm Oil Zero Deforestation Agreement represents a key effort in bringing down international commitments to the Colombian context, and in employing our National Forest and Carbon Monitoring System from IDEAM as a catalytic tool to identify and prevent deforestation in the production and supply of palm oil in Colombia. We are pleased to have a critical mass or companies and organizations joining these efforts.”

Vidar Helgesen, Norway’s Minister of Climate and Environment, said: “Colombia is at the forefront, and is becoming one of the world leaders on forest preservation and restoration. I commend Colombia for being the first country in Latin-America to join the Tropical Forest Alliance 2020. We are very happy to be taking part in today’s launch of a national coalition of public and private partners committed to promoting sustainable agriculture and zero deforestation supply chains in Colombia.”

Retailer Grupo Éxito was the first company in Colombia to become a TFA 2020 global partner in 2014. Since then, the company have been working on several activities to promote a more sustainable production in Colombia of beef and palm oil, as well to promote reforestation and sustainable gardens in urban areas.

“The launch of the TFA 2020 Colombia Alliance is important as a strengthening mechanism for joint action in Colombia to reach our deforestation goals,” said Mariana Villamizar, Director of Public Relations at Grupo Éxito.

Peterson Foundation and Ford Foundation Launch US 2050
New research initiative to explore the demographic, socioeconomic, and fiscal trends that will define America at mid-century
NEW YORK, Nov. 28, 2017 – Today, the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and the Ford Foundation launched US 2050, an initiative that will engage leading scholars to examine and analyze the multiple demographic, socioeconomic, and fiscal trends that will shape the nation at mid-century.

In the coming decades, a transformational wave of foreseeable demographic changes will create a new American tapestry. Social, economic, and technological changes will reshape the domestic and global economy, and the nation’s fiscal condition will face increasing challenges resulting from a range of factors, including an aging society and a structural mismatch between spending and revenues. These interconnected trends will have significant, but not yet fully understood, implications for the social and financial well-being of Americans. US 2050 will explore these issues and their link to the country’s fiscal and economic health.

“America is rapidly changing and we know that our population, workforce, and economy will look very different by 2050. What isn’t clear is how these shifting trends will impact the opportunities and well-being of Americans,” said Michael A. Peterson, President and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. “It is time to start thinking seriously today about the critical questions and challenges that will shape our future – and ensure that we deliver a solid fiscal and economic foundation to future generations.”

“It is imperative in order to continue the upward mobility and the fulfillment of the American dream to truly understand the long-term impacts of current fiscal decisions,” said Darren Walker, President of the Ford Foundation. “The rampant inequality in the United States has been in part a result of short-term decisions that will only deepen without a course correct. US 2050 will hopefully provide the evidence necessary to map out and deliver a more equitable future.”

US 2050 is calling for research papers from economists, political scientists, sociologists, demographers, and other scholars. The research question is: How do the changing demographics of America – including aging, race, ethnicity, and other factors – affect the future fiscal and economic health of the nation, and what are the best policies to prepare for and respond to the challenges and opportunities that this future presents?A distinguished Advisory Committee of academics and policy experts will guide the project, bringing valuable expertise across the key research disciplines. The Committee will be coordinated by the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution, and includes:

Charles Blahous, Mercatus Center
Heather Boushey, Washington Center on Equitable Growth
Susan Collins, Ford School of Public Policy
Robert Doar, American Enterprise Institute
Maria Fitzpatrick, Cornell University
Bradley Hardy, American University
Doug Holtz-Eakin, American Action Forum
Mark Hugo Lopez, Pew Research Center
Ronald Mincy, Columbia University
Alicia Munnell, Boston College
Louise Sheiner, Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy
Margaret Simms, Urban Institute
Karl Smith, Niskanen Center
Michael Strain, American Enterprise Institute
David Wessel, Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy

More information on US 2050 and the call for papers can be found at www.pgpf.org/us-2050; deadline for submissions is January 22, 2018.

Health Systems – Governance – National Debt

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Spain, Three African Countries and the Global Fund Launch New Debt2Health Initiative
29 November 2017
MADRID – The government of Spain today announced an agreement to waive debts owed by Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia in exchange for investments in domestic health programs supported by the Global Fund.

Signed under the Global Fund’s Debt2Health initiative, the accords will allow Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ethiopia to invest a total of 15.5 million euros of their national resources in the fight against AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria and to strengthen health systems. In exchange, Spain will cancel outstanding debts amounting to 36 million euros.

The announcement was made by Spain’s Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness and shows Spain’s commitment to global health.

Christoph Benn, Director of External Relations of the Global Fund, said the agreement reinvigorates the partnership between the government of Spain and the Global Fund.
“We are delighted that Spain has joined the Debt2Health initiative,” Dr. Benn said during a signing ceremony held in Madrid.

“Debt2Health is an innovative and powerful mechanism that allows countries to turn debt payments into programs that save lives. Reaching our goal of ending AIDS, TB and malaria as epidemics requires a close partnership between implementing countries, countries that are ready to provide additional financial resources such as Spain, and a multilateral organization such as the Global Fund that can act as a catalyst.”

Debt2Health is an innovative financing mechanism that is designed to encourage domestic financing in health by converting debt repayments into lifesaving investments in health. Under individually negotiated ‘debt swap’ agreements, a creditor nation foregoes repayment of a loan when the beneficiary nation agrees to invest part or all of the freed-up resources into a Global Fund-supported program. To date, debts swapped under Debt2Health agreements total close to 200 million euros with the support of Australia, Germany and Spain.

Specifically, the agreement announced in Madrid will allow Cameroon to invest 9.3 million euros in HIV programs; the Democratic Republic of Congo to invest US$3.4 million in malaria programs; and Ethiopia to invest 3.2 million euros to strengthen its health system.

By cancelling the debts through the Debt2Health program, Spain is assured that the mobilized funds go directly to country-led programs as part of the respective national health strategies, which are supported and monitored by the Global Fund partnership…

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Global Fund relaunches debt-to-health swaps after six-year hiatus
Devex | 29 November 2017
The Global Fund on Wednesday announced its first debt-to-health, or D2H, swap since 2011, kicking off a strategy that aims to engage up to five new creditor countries in 2018. “Over the next five years, I aim for at least 10 new D2H agreements that can really complement the resources of the Global Fund,” Christoph Benn, director of external relations at the Global Fund, told Devex…

Emergencies
 
POLIO
Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC)
Polio this week as of 29 November 2017 [GPEI]
:: Both the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) on Polio Eradication in Afghanistan, and in Pakistan, have met this week. The TAGs are reviewing the latest epidemiology, and performing a thorough program review. The outcomes will help advise each country program on improving the planning and implementation of their National Emergency Action Plans.

:: Summary of newly-reported viruses this week:
…Afghanistan: one new wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) case, from Nangarhar province.

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Syria cVDPV2 outbreak situation report 24: 28 November 2017
Situation update 28 November 2017
:: No new cases of circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2) were reported this week in Syria. The most recent case (by date of onset) is 9 September 2017 from Mayadeen district.
:: The total number of confirmed cVDPV2 cases remains 70.
:: Outbreak response teams continue to use inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) strategically to boost immunity and additional vaccines are being prepositioned as part of ongoing contingency planning to ensure that the programme is able to respond quickly in areas where there has been recent evidence of virus transmission. Activities will be carried out when the security situation allows.
:: 7751 children aged 2–23 months were reported vaccinated with IPV in Damascus (representing 86% of the administrative target), as part of a subnational campaign aiming to reach children with bOPV and IPV. The campaign also reached more than 14 000 children aged 2–23 months from 5 camps for internally displaced people in Hasakah governorate, hosting populations from Deir Ez-Zor.
:: WHO continues to support the strengthening of active AFP surveillance in outbreak areas. In Ein Eisa IDP camp, Raqqa governorate and Al-Arysha IDP camp in Hasakah governorate, orientation sessions on reporting of AFP cases are being conducted for physicians operating out of camps.

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WHO Grade 3 Emergencies  [to 2 December 2017]
The Syrian Arab Republic
:: Beyond the bullets and bombs: Saving the lives of chronic disease patients living in conflict settings
WHO has developed a new health kit to support treatment for chronic disease patients in emergency settings. Three years after the kit’s conceptualization, the first shipment of 6 kits, enough for 60 000 medical treatments, has been delivered cross-border from Turkey to northern Syria.
23 November 2017, Cairo, Egypt – In countries facing ongoing violence, the most direct victims are the people caught in the crossfire who sustain life-threatening trauma injuries. But in the longer term, conflict affects another group of people: those who are unable to access medicines and regular treatment for noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer, kidney diseases and other chronic conditions…

:: Polio- Situation update 28 November 2017
[See Polio above for detail]

Yemen
:: WHO delivers medicines as diphtheria spreads in Yemen
News release
27 November 2017 | Sana’a – WHO has delivered medicines to tackle an outbreak of diphtheria in Yemen, warning that sustained humanitarian access is critical to stopping its spread.
The shipment of 1,000 vials of life-saving anti-toxins and 17 tonnes of medical supplies arrived in Sanaa on Monday (November 27) after being stalled by the three-week closure of sea and air ports.
“It is shocking that in 2017, there are children dying of an ancient disease that is vaccine-preventable and can be easily treated,” said Dr Nevio Zagaria, WHO Country Representative in Yemen.
The anti-toxins can help stop the spread of the bacterium to vital organs in patients already infected with diphtheria. But no supplies were available in Yemen before the arrival of the WHO shipment on Monday.
Antibiotics and vaccines are also critical to treating and preventing the highly infectious respiratory disease – both of which are in short supply in Yemen…
Despite the conflict and recent closures, WHO, UNICEF, and partners have continued to work with available supplies, vaccinating 8,500 children under five years in al-Sadah and Yarim districts in Ibb governorate during November.
A vaccination campaign targeting 300,000 children younger than 12 months began on Saturday (November 25). Further vaccination rounds for more than 3 million children and young adults in priority districts are due in December.

Iraq  
:: Iraq: Lifesaving mobile health teams reach people in newly liberated areas of Hawiija, Iraq
27 November 2017 – For more than three years, the people of Hawiija district in Kirkuk governorate, Iraq, were cut off from lifesaving health care and immunization services, leaving many children susceptible to vaccine-preventable diseases.

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WHO Grade 2 Emergencies  [to 2 December 2017]
Democratic Republic of the Congo
:: Democratic Republic of the Congo – cholera in Lomami district
22 November 2017 Kinshasa — WHO Country Office in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and health partner ALIMA (Alliance for International Medical Action) signed an financing agreement, US$ 70 000 USD, to support and response to the cholera epidemic in Lomami Province. ALIMA will support the activities of case management for a period of two months. The focus will be on treated water supply, hygiene and increasing community awarenes of the importance of sanitation.

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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
:: 30 Nov 2017  Syria Arab Republic: Whole of Syria Shelter/NFI Sector Winter Assistance Update 2 (30 November 2017)
:: Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock: Statement to the Security Council on the humanitarian situation in Syria, 29 November 2017
 
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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.
ROHINGYA CRISIS
:: ISCG Situation Update: Rohingya Refugee Crisis, Cox’s Bazar – 30 November 2017

Ethiopia  
:: 28 Nov 2017  Ethiopia Humanitarian Bulletin Issue 41 | 13 – 26 Nov. 2017
The OCHA-managed Ethiopia Humanitarian Fund (EHF) allocated US$11.35 million under its Reserve Allocation as a bridging response to the critical requirements identified until early 2018.
 
Somalia 
:: Humanitarian Bulletin Somalia, 01 – 29 November 2017
HIGHLIGHTS
…Food security needs nearly double five-year average.
…Late Deyr rainfall falls short, risk of fifth poor rains.
…Number of newly displaced people decline in October.
…Plans underway to kick start measles vaccination campaign.
…Additional funding required to support humanitarian assistance.
 
 
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Editor’s Note:
We will cluster these recent emergencies as below and continue to monitor the WHO webpages for updates and key developments.
 
Yellow Fever  [to 2 December 2017]
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/yellowfev/en/
:: 1 December 2017 1.4 million vaccines from global stockpile support yellow fever control in Nigeria
Geneva – The International Coordinating Group (ICG) on vaccine provision for yellow fever has provided 1.4 million vaccine doses for an immunization campaign that starts on Saturday (2 December) to help control an ongoing yellow fever outbreak in Nigeria.
The Government of Nigeria, supported by World Health Organization and partners, is expected to vaccinate 1.3 million people to contain the outbreak in affected areas. The vaccines, funded by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, will be administered in parts of Zamfara state where cases of the deadly disease have been confirmed.
“WHO is working with the Government of Nigeria to address the low immunity among affected populations that is giving rise to cases of yellow fever,” said Dr Wondimagegnehu Alemu, WHO Representative in Nigeria.
The release of 1.4 million doses from the global stockpile builds on earlier efforts in October that reached 874 000 people in Kwara and Kogi states…
 
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The Sentinel

Human Rights Action :: Humanitarian Response :: Health :: Education :: Heritage Stewardship ::
Sustainable Development
__________________________________________________
Week ending 25 November 2017

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 25 November 2017

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 – Ethnic Cleansing – Accountability

Efforts To Address Burma’s Rakhine State Crisis
November 22, 2017 Press Statement
Rex W. Tillerson
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
[Editor’s text bolding]

I visited Naypyitaw, Burma on November 15, where I met separately with State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. I reaffirmed the United States’ strong commitment to Burma’s successful democratic transition as the elected government strives to implement reforms, bring peace and reconciliation to the nation, and resolve a devastating crisis in Rakhine State. Our first priority is to relieve the intolerable suffering faced by so many. In response to the dire situation, I announced last week an additional $47 million in humanitarian assistance for those affected by the Rakhine State crisis, bringing the total amount spent in response to this crisis to more than $87 million since August of this year.

Burma’s response to this crisis is vital to determining the success of its transition to a more democratic society. As I said in Naypyitaw, the key test of any democracy is how it treats its most vulnerable and marginalized populations, such as the ethnic Rohingya and other minority populations. Burma’s government and security forces must respect the human rights of all persons within its borders, and hold accountable those who fail to do so.

I reiterate the United States’ condemnation of August 25 attacks on security forces by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA). Yet no provocation can justify the horrendous atrocities that have ensued. These abuses by some among the Burmese military, security forces, and local vigilantes have caused tremendous suffering and forced hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children to flee their homes in Burma to seek refuge in Bangladesh. After a careful and thorough analysis of available facts, it is clear that the situation in northern Rakhine state constitutes ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya.

Those responsible for these atrocities must be held accountable. The United States continues to support a credible, independent investigation to further determine all facts on the ground to aid in these processes of accountability. We have supported constructive action on the Rakhine crisis at the UN Security Council and in the UN General Assembly’s Third Committee. The United States will also pursue accountability through U.S. law, including possible targeted sanctions.

We support the Burmese government’s commitment to create the conditions necessary for all refugees and internally displaced people to return to their homes safely and voluntarily, and welcome recent exchanges between the governments of Burma and Bangladesh on repatriation. Support by Burma’s military for these government efforts is crucial. This is a difficult and complex situation. Many stakeholders must work together to ensure progress.

World Children’s Day – UNICEF Analysis

Despite progress, 180 million children face bleaker prospects than their parents – UNICEF
Press release
World Children’s Day activities in over 130 countries to provide platform for children to speak out about their concerns; advocate for children being left behind

NEW YORK, 20 November 2017 – Despite global progress, 1 in 12 children worldwide live in countries where their prospects today are worse than those of their parents, according to a UNICEF analysis conducted for World Children’s Day.

According to the analysis, 180 million children live in 37 countries where they are more likely to live in extreme poverty, be out of school, or be killed by violent death than children living in those countries were 20 years ago.

“While the last generation has seen vast, unprecedented gains in living standards for most of the world’s children, the fact that a forgotten minority of children have been excluded from this – through no fault of their own or those of their families – is a travesty” said Laurence Chandy, UNICEF Director of Data, Research and Policy…

“It is the hope of every parent, everywhere, to provide greater opportunities for their children than they themselves enjoyed when they were young. This World Children’s Day, we have to take stock of how many children are instead seeing opportunities narrow and their prospects diminish,” added Chandy.

Assessing children’s prospects in escaping extreme poverty, getting a basic education and avoiding violent deaths, the UNICEF analysis reveals that:
:: The share of people living on less than $1.90 a day has increased in 14 countries, including Benin, Cameroon, Madagascar, Zambia and Zimbabwe. This increase is mostly due to unrest, conflicts or poor governance.

:: Primary school enrolment has declined in 21 countries, including Syria and Tanzania, due to such factors as financial crises, rapid population growth and the impact of conflicts.

:: Violent deaths among children below the age of 19 have increased in seven countries: Central African Republic, Iraq, Libya, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen – all countries experiencing major conflicts.

:: Four countries – Central African Republic, South Sudan, Syria and Yemen – witnessed a decline across more than one of the three areas measured, while South Sudan has experienced declines across all three.

“In a time of rapid technological change leading to huge gains in living standards, it is perverse that hundreds of millions are seeing living standards actually decline, creating a sense of injustice among them and failure among those entrusted with their care,” said Chandy. “No wonder they feel their voices are unheard and their futures uncertain.”

A separate UNICEF survey of children aged 9-18 in 14 countries also released today shows that children are deeply concerned about global issues affecting their peers and them personally, including violence, terrorism, conflict, climate change, unfair treatment of refugees and migrants, and poverty…

Development Finance – “Gender Bond”

Dai-ichi Life Invests in First Ever ADB ‘Gender Bond’ to Support Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment
Media Release
MANILA, PHILIPPINES (24 November 2017) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has issued its first “gender bond” to finance a pool of eligible projects that promote gender equality and women’s empowerment in Asia and the Pacific. The NZ$130 million bond (equivalent ¥10 billion) was purchased in its entirety by Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Limited of Japan.

The proceeds raised through the gender bond will be used by ADB to finance projects that promote gender equality and women’s empowerment, such as ADB’s support for financial inclusion for women. One example is the Second Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Development Project in Bangladesh, which in addition to access to credit provides women with tools to increase financial literacy and training.

“Gender equality and women’s empowerment are valuable in their own right, but they are also an integral part of fostering more inclusive development outcomes in Asia,” said ADB Treasurer Pierre Van Peteghem. “Through the issuance of this bond, ADB is demonstrating that we can integrate gender considerations into our funding operations. Incorporating gender equality into ADB’s work is essential in our mission to promote sustainable and inclusive growth in Asia and the Pacific.”…

Dai-ichi Life continues to improve its investment returns through enhancement and diversification of its investment methods, while proactively expanding ESG investment [1] in an effort to contribute to creating a sustainable society as a responsible institutional investor. While they secure stable returns through investment in this bond, they support projects for gender equality and women’s empowerment in Asia and the Pacific through financing and by regularly following up on the progress of these projects.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, ADB is celebrating 50 years of development partnership in the region. It is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2016, ADB assistance totaled $31.7 billion, including $14 billion in cofinancing.

[1] ESG stands for Environment, Society and Governance. Dai-ichi Life follows ESG investment principles that combine safety and profitability with social and public interest (environmental protection, social contributions, promotion of diversity and corporate governance).

Heritage Stewardship

President Enrique Peña Nieto Signs Revillagigedo National Park Decree
“Mexico confirms its commitment to global efforts to conserve the environment for the benefit of all people and nations”
November 24, 2017 Press Release
:: The decision was taken to turn the Revillagigedo Archipelago into a national park, the largest in North America, to ensure its conservation by providing it with the greatest possible protection.
:: During this Administration, six Natural Protected Areas and five safeguard zones have been decreed, equivalent to just over 65 million hectares, almost triple the area protected at the beginning of this government.
:: Mexico has thereby achieved a total of 182 Protected Natural Areas, which together cover approximately 91 million hectares, including nearly 70 million hectares of marine areas and 21 million of land areas.

President Enrique Peña Nieto today signed the Revillagigedo National Park Decree, whereby the Mexican government fulfills its commitment to ensuring the conservation of this exceptional archipelago, which will allow the conservation of hundreds of marine species, many of them at risk.

After noting that, “This wonderful protected natural area is an invaluable heritage of Mexico as well as an enormous responsibility,” the president declared that he made the decision to convert the Revillagigedo Archipelago into a national park, the largest in North America, to ensure its conservation by providing it with the greatest possible protection…

He explained that as a result of these actions, “In 2016, we joined the small group of countries that have complied with the marine component of the Aichi target, which establishes the commitment to protect 10 percent of the marine area, which we have already more than doubled by achieving nearly 23 percent”

President Peña Nieto recalled that barely a year has passed since the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) declared the Revillagigedo Archipelago a World Heritage Site, adding that, “The criteria on which its inscription in this list were based reflect the importance of this maritime paradise”:
FIRST: Possessing natural beauty and exceptional aesthetic value.
SECOND: Being a representative example of the biological and ecological processes of marine ecosystems; and
THIRD: Containing natural habitats for the in situ conservation of biological diversity, particularly of threatened species with universal value.

The president declared that the decree signed today, “Will contribute to maintaining the connectivity of Pacific Ocean ecosystems, including other protected areas in that extensive marine corridor such Clipperton Atoll, the Galapagos Islands and Coco Island, in Costa Rica”.

The core zone of the Revillagigedo Archipelago National Park includes14.8 million hectares. As of the entry into force of this decree, “Any fishing activity, extraction of any natural resource or the construction of hotel infrastructure will be prohibited in this area”. Unlike what has happened in the past, he said, “This national park came into existence with equipment, facilities and personnel, which will ensure its proper conservation”.

“To this end, the Mexican Navy, in collaboration with the Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, will carry out surveillance, equipment and training actions, which will include remote monitoring in real time, environmental education for fishermen, and sanctions against offenders. These actions will contribute to increasing the number of species and will help the recovery of marine banks that have been reduced by environmental impact and human activity,” he explained…

Women on the move: Migration, care work and health
World Health Organization
2017 : 102 pages
ISBN: 978-92-4-151314-2
PDFs:
Women on the move: Full report
Women on the move: Policy brief

Executive Summary [Excerpt; text bolding from original]
Ageing in late industrial and middle-income economies, combined with rising demographic dependency ratios and female labour force participation, has led to emerging care deficits in many developed and developing countries. Around the world, more women are entering the labour force, thus taking them away from traditional unpaid caring roles.

This report focuses largely on one population group: women migrant care workers who provide home-based personal care. However, many of the issues, and the next steps suggested here, also apply to other migrants and refugees – particularly women and girls – as well as to other socially excluded and marginalized groups engaged in paid and unpaid care work across the world.

Without a doubt, women migrant care workers play an increasingly prominent role in securing and protecting the health status of others and are contributing both to health in the broadest sense
and to health systems. Yet relatively little is known about their own health status, the health implications to their families of their out-migration, and the extent of their important contributions to health systems. Around the world, care workers are overwhelmingly female, and many are migrants. This report documents how, despite making a large contribution to global public health, they are exposed to many health risks themselves, while enjoying few labour market and health protections. The report also underscores that paid and unpaid care work is central to the broad health and well-being of individuals, their families and communities, as well as society at large.

The care paradox: global public health and the role of migrant women care workers
Increasingly, immigrant women are being imported into receiving country economies to care, often in informal settings, and are frequently engaged by private households, without full access to social protection and labour rights. Yet this group of migrants provides essential care services and, increasingly, health-care services, thus contributing to health systems and to health and well-being worldwide.

As the leading normative agency on health, the World Health Organization (WHO) calls attention to the paradox that migrant women care workers buttress health systems in countries with shortfalls in health-care provision, while their own rights to health may be eroded and their health-care needs are unfulfilled. Migrant women care workers act as a cushion for states that lack adequate public provision for long-term care, child care and care for the sick.

Unmet needs and growing demand for care
Home-based personal care – whether for older persons, children, or those with chronic diseases or disabilities – constitutes an important component of modern health systems. This applies to both high-income countries, where formal health-care institutions and services are struggling to meet the growing demand for such care, as well as to middle- and lower-income countries and regions where home-based care relieves the demand for, and expense of, institutional care. In all societies there is a cultural preference for care “in the family” or for “ageing in place”.

One area in which the care deficit in receiving countries is particularly pronounced is long-term care for older persons. Critical shortages of long-term care workers make quality services unavailable for large parts of the global population aged 65 years and over. The extent of the unmet need varies worldwide, but in Europe alone the shortage is estimated at around 2.3 million formal long-term care workers.

The policy architecture related to care work, migration and women
The unique status of migrant women care workers as both providers and consumers of health and social care requires that both sending and receiving countries reflect on this paradox and work
urgently, and much more collaboratively, to overcome challenges, contradictions, gaps and inconsistencies in international, regional, national and subnational policies, laws and programmes across all relevant sectors. This report proposes the integration of policy actions – and of gender, equity and human rights approaches – to mediate concerns about care deficits and decent and safe work in the care sector as a crucial component of maintaining global and national public health.

Why this report?
WHO initiated this report in response to growing global political interest in population health and development, particularly noting discussions at the 42nd G7 meeting in Japan in May 2016 which called for more attention to migrants and their role in paid and unpaid care work. It is hoped that this report, and its reflection on potential next steps, will foster further debate about approaches to ensure that the global community meets its obligations to leave no one behind in securing long-term equitable and sustainable development. The analysis is also shaped by commitments to the principles of human rights, the Tanahashi Framework on health service coverage and evaluation, the United Nations Migration Governance Framework,i the Framework of priorities and guiding principles for a World Health Assembly Resolution on the health of migrants and refugees, the concept of progressive universalism towards achieving universal health coverage (UHC), and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Developmentii with its overarching goal of leaving no one behind…