Associated Press: Trump sending aid mission to Bolivia ahead of election
“The Trump administration is sending an assessment team to Bolivia this week to discuss possible resumption of foreign aid to the Andean nation following the ouster of leftist leader Evo Morales, according to two people with knowledge of the visit. … The White House on Monday announced that it was lifting a longstanding ban on foreign aid to Bolivia imposed for its failure to cooperate in U.S. anti-narcotics efforts…” (Goodman, 1/8).

Link to individual story

Devex: Partners must prioritize access in fight against HIV/AIDS, experts say
“In July, researchers, advocates, policymakers, and others will gather in San Francisco and Oakland, California, for the International AIDS Conference, billed as the largest conference on any global health or development issue. … In the lead up to the AIDS 2020 conference, the conversation on existing and emerging HIV technology is shifting toward how to ensure that these products and services are scalable, affordable, and sustainable…” (Cheney, 1/9).

Link to individual story

Devex Pro: Global Fund country allocations: Who’s in and out?
“Which countries are getting the biggest Global Fund allocations, and which ones are getting none for the funding cycle 2020-2022?” (Ravelo, 1/9).

Link to individual story

Wall Street Journal: New Virus Discovered by Chinese Scientists Investigating Pneumonia Outbreak
“Chinese scientists investigating a mystery illness that has sickened dozens in central China have discovered a new strain of coronavirus, a development that will test the country’s upgraded capabilities for dealing with unfamiliar infectious diseases. The novel coronavirus was genetically sequenced from a sample from one patient and subsequently found in some of the others affected in the city of Wuhan, people familiar with the findings said. Chinese authorities haven’t concluded that the strain is the underlying cause of sickness in all the patients who have been isolated in Wuhan since the infection first broke out in early December, the people said…” (Khan et al., 1/8).

Additional coverage of the ongoing research into the cause of the viral pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan is available from the AP (2), Bloomberg, Financial Times, New York Times, Reuters, STAT, and Washington Post.

Link to individual story

Devex: DRC changes measles strategy amidst world’s largest outbreak
“The death toll from the measles outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo reached 6,000 this week. As the cases mount, the government and global health partners have called for a reframing of the response, including expanding the ongoing vaccination campaign to include older children…” (Jerving, 1/9).

UPI: WHO: ‘World’s worst measles epidemic’ in Congo has killed 6,000
“…Health officials say about $40 million is needed to implement a six-month plan to expand vaccinations to children between 6 and 14 years old and pay for other containment efforts like improved treatment, health education, community engagement, surveillance, and response coordination…” (Hughes, 1/8).

Additional coverage of the DRC measles outbreak is available from CNN, BBC, and DW.

Link to individual story

Bloomberg: Dangote Expects Africa to Be Polio-Free by End of Year (1/8).

The Guardian: Hague and Jolie’s sexual violence scheme ‘letting survivors down’ (Hodal/Ford, 1/9).

Homeland Preparedness News: Zika false-negatives crush hopes through long-term neurodevelopmental effects (Galford, 18).

Scientific American: Virus Spread by Shrews Linked to Human Deaths from Mysterious Brain Infections (Lewis, 1/8).

U.N. News: ‘Unprecedented terrorist violence’ in West Africa, Sahel region (1/8).

Link to individual story

Washington Post: 2019 saw a major setback in fighting polio
Editorial Board

“…The goal of eradication seemed at least possible when there were only eight cases in 2017, and 12 cases in 2018. Now, the latest data show there have been 128 cases of polio in Pakistan in the past year. Moreover, the global campaign to eradicate polio, which began in 1988, is facing a whole new set of uncertainties. … Unfortunately in Pakistan, political instability, population mobility, and violence driven by intolerance have made it hard to reach all children for vaccination. … No global eradication effort can be successful without Pakistan. This year must see progress against these serious obstacles, which are caused by human behavior, not virology. … The [switch from a trivalent to a bivalent polio vaccine, excluding poliovirus type 2,] in April 2016 was made with a realization that some type 2 outbreaks were possible if the vaccine-derived strain reverted. Now this has occurred, to a far greater extent than anticipated, especially in Africa. There have been 47 outbreaks in 20 countries since the switch, some very difficult to stop. … Global health officials are rushing to get ready by this summer a new type 2 vaccine that won’t revert to active and is believed to be effective. Hopefully it will work. Otherwise a major strategy shift may be required in one of the world’s most difficult battles against disease” (1/8).

Link to individual story

Financial Times: Letter: Less celebration, a lot more action on SDGs
Kevin Watkins, chief executive of Save the Children U.K.

“…Progress in human development is indeed one of the central themes in human experience post-2000. Child mortality has been falling at almost 4 percent a year — twice the rate registered in the 1990s. Extreme poverty has been falling at an unprecedented rate. … Yet the world is manifestly not on track for achieving the 2030 goals. … The primary barrier to accelerated progress is a failure to tackle deep-rooted inequalities linked to wealth and gender, allied to a diminishing commitment to international co-operation. Add to this mix the catastrophic consequences of failure to tackle climate change, and you have a prescription for the reversal of past gains. … We can make the 2020s a decade of delivery for the SDGs, but not without a little less celebration and a lot more action” (1/9).

Link to individual story

IntraHealth International: Kenya Now Uses iHRIS Software to Manage PEPFAR Health Workforce
“The government of Kenya is now using IntraHealth’s iHRIS software to manage 25,000 health workers contracted through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). IntraHealth already supports national and county governments in managing Kenya’s 67,000 public sector health workers using iHRIS through the USAID-funded Human Resources for Health Kenya Mechanism. But now that use is expanding…” (1/8).

Link to individual story

Oxfam’s “From Poverty To Power”: How to stop the Foreign Office gobbling up DFID?
This post addresses the potential merging of the U.K. Department for International Development (DFID) with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the implications of such an action. The piece also includes the latest updates on the issue, including the recent news that the U.K. government will not merge the offices but might make some administrative changes to DFID (1/8).

Link to individual story

WHO Regional Office for Africa: The complex logistics of Ebola response
“…Every day, 2.89 metric tons of medical and non-medical supplies and equipment leave WHO hubs in Kinshasa and in Goma, the capital of North Kivu province, to hubs in Beni and Butembo towns and five district warehouses. More than 800 vehicles, one plane, two helicopters, four trucks, 410 motorcycles (for accessing remote villages) and 37 ambulances are needed to move the supplies and team members. … WHO works closely with the Ministry of Health and United Nations partners such as the World Food Programme and UNICEF as well as the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement in-country. [WHO Operations Support and Logistics (OSL)] also supports the logistics of some partners and fills gaps when partners lack implementing capacity. … WHO logistics operations in the DRC is supported by the European Commission Humanitarian Aid (ECHO)” (January 2020).

Link to individual story

Brookings: Foresight Africa: Top priorities for the continent 2020-2030
This summary of the report states, “This special edition of Foresight Africa highlights the triumphs of past years as well as strategies from our experts to tackle forthcoming, but surmountable, obstacles to a prosperous continent by 2030.” The report contains five chapters: “Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals,” “Deepening good governance,” “Leveraging demographic trends for economic transformation,” “Combating climate change,” and “Capturing the Fourth Industrial Revolution” (1/8).

Link to individual story