China emerging as a serious player in humanitarian aid

China is becoming a bigger player in humanitarian aid and emergency relief:
– China has demonstrated a preference to respond to natural disasters — rather than “complex emergencies” — and may concentrate its funding on just one or two major crises each year, the paper shows.
– China’s foreign aid spending was channeled to 4,300 projects in 140 countries. The top five recipients for Chinese aid were Cuba, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe, and Cameroon.
– Less than a quarter of China’s total foreign spending of $350 billion from 2000 to 2014 was comprised of official development assistance — compared to the United States, which allocated 93 percent of its spending to ODA during this time period.
-China’s diplomatic interest in countries is considered the “most important” factor in guiding its aid, according to the ODI — a connection evidenced by the fact that African countries that vote with China at the U.N. get an average increase of 86 percent in aid, as AidData shows.
– But Beijing does also look beyond political allegiances and gains when responding to some emergencies, like the Haiti earthquake in 2011, even though the Haitian government is an ally of Taiwan, as Andreas Fuchs, a senior economics researcher at Heidelberg University’s Alfred-Weber-Institute for Economics notes.
– Adds Fuch: “The purpose of China’s aid activities and aid is to win heart, it is about its reputation and of course now the changes in the U.S. administration is understood as an opportunity to increase China’s influence. It is about promoting China’s image around the world.”
– Says Xiaoqing Boynton, a senior director at the global advisory group ASG: “I think the trajectory will continue to develop and I think China will continue to grow its aid and to grow its soft power influence in Africa, and also in places like Latin America and neighboring countries,” she said. “An area I want to watch is how China really becomes more integrated in the traditional, international donor society, with governments like the U.S. and major European donors and works to improve transparency in aid.”

[Read full Devex article]

7 issues that will shape the humanitarian agenda in 2018

Highlights of an article by Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC):

Syria enters its seventh year of fighting in 2018. Hunger and disease will affect millions of people in Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen. Around the world people will flee conflict only to become trapped in misery, as seen in Libya. People will suffer from immediate and long-term effects of conflict and violence, as I witnessed in Central African Republic earlier this month. We believe the following seven key issues will shape the humanitarian agenda in 2018:

1. The international community’s report card on conflict – The international community’s efforts and successes in addressing conflict will be critical in shaping the political agenda and the humanitarian response in 2018. The international community must offer a fresh perspective for peace – in high-profile and neglected conflicts.
2. Rebuilding urban battlefields – Fifty million people are bearing the brunt of war in cities around the world. Reconstruction is a vast challenge in populated locations and goes beyond rebuilding streets and houses to include water, sewer and electrical systems.
3. Transforming humanitarian funding – In protracted conflicts we work on a dual timeline, conducting urgent relief and looking towards the 2030 horizon of long-term needs. Conflicts are not temporary interruptions, they are structural, socio-economic catastrophes, and funding must be allocated accordingly.
4. International Humanitarian Law – We see violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) on the news every day. But the fact that IHL has changed wartime behavior over the decades is drastically under-reported. In 2018 we must strengthen consensus around the law as a stabilizing force.
5. Forgotten people – Sixty-five million people have been forced to flee their homes globally, including over 40 million in their own countries, people often neglected and unable to access aid.
6. Cyber attacks and new weapons of war – New technologies are rapidly giving rise to unprecedented methods of warfare. Innovations that yesterday were science fiction could cause catastrophe tomorrow, including nanotechnologies, combat robots, and laser weapons. Think of the humanitarian consequences of air traffic control systems, oil pipeline systems, or nuclear plants being hacked.
7. 7. Tech for good – The Fourth Industrial Revolution does not just entail risks; it also brings solutions to humanitarian problems. For example, the ICRC is partnering with Microsoft to use facial recognition technology to help reunite families separated

CDC anticipating a loss of 80% of its funding for international outbreak prevention work

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) operational interventions were key to ending the West Africa Ebola outbreak.

About two weeks ago, an internal memo leaked from the CDC informing personnel that the center was anticipating a loss of approximately 80% of its funding for international outbreak prevention work. Yesterday, the Washington Post reported in more detail  that starting in September 2019, the CDC will narrow its focus and eliminate many of its foreign country programs.

The CDC works overseas in two different ways. It funds programming that it is implemented by international NGOs and companies that support disease surveillance and preparedness, and it works government-to-government with health agencies and departments that fight infectious disease.

The programming that CDC supports around the world does things like improve the capacity of national laboratories to diagnoses illnesses like HIV, TB, Hepatitis, and Zika. It helps countries build better national disease surveillance systems so that they can catch outbreaks early and stop them before they turn epidemic. And it builds health information systems, so data can be shared across regions, and internationally.

The government-to-government relationships are equally important. CDC’s role as the lead US government institution on epidemiology gives it unique status and credibility overseas. Their US role means that foreign counterparts recognize them as colleagues and treat them accordingly.

From October 2019, CDC will support overseas programs in only ten countries. By contract, in October 2017, CDC was operational in 124 countries. That’s a massive decrease. This 80% to CDC”s foreign operations cut may save some money in the short term, but it comes at the expense of enhanced security and possibly the health of Americans in the homeland.

[UN Dispatch]

Five cities selected to develop global water resilience framework

Cities from five continents have been selected to contribute to the development of a global framework for water resilience. The City Water Resilience Framework (CWRF), developed by Arup with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, will help cities better prepare for and respond to shocks and stresses to their water systems.

Amman, Cape Town, Mexico City, Miami, and Hull were selected because they represent the range of water challenges facing cities around the world. As part of this partnership, the project will explore each city’s specific water concerns through field research and stakeholder interviews. Data and findings will be used to establish qualitative and quantitative indicators to measure city water resilience, for use in any city, anywhere, enabling cities to diagnose challenges related to water and utilize that information to inform planning and investment decisions.

• Amman, the capital city of Jordan with a population of 4 million, is not located near sources of water and regularly experiences drought. The city also experiences unusually heavy rains, leading to flooding in the lower-lying areas of the city.
• Cape Town, in South Africa with a population of 3.7 million has been experiencing severe drought, due to three years of low rain fall. Officials have warned that there are fewer than 90 days left before the city’s water supply runs dry.
• Mexico City, the largest of the cities participating, has a population of 21.3 million. The rapidly growing city is heavily reliant on underground aquifers, and is at serious risk of running out of water in the future. Mexico City is also located on land that was once a lake, making it particularly prone to flooding.
• Greater Miami, and the Beaches, with a population of 5.9 million, is a coastal location with a high groundwater table and complex canal system, making it particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels.
• Hull located in Yorkshire United Kingdom, has a population of 323,000. With 90 per cent of the city standing below the high-tide line it is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels.

[Reuters]

The mental health needs of asylum seekers

In the wake of the 2015-16 European migrant and refugee crisis, mental health has emerged as a critical issue—not only for the well-being of asylum seekers who may have experienced trauma, but for the outcomes of their protection claims and the integrity of the processing system itself.

The primary mental-health conditions affecting asylum seekers are PTSD, depression, and anxiety, while alcohol and drug addictions and somatoform disorders have also been reported.

Asylum seekers can experience trauma before, during, and after their journey to Europe. In addition to living through painful situations in their countries of origin, some face violence, detention, or even torture along the path to safety. When they arrive at their destinations, long periods spent waiting in overcrowded and often isolated reception facilities can add new stress to an already grueling experience, as can a lack of optimism about the future.

Asylum seekers reported experiencing trauma during multiple stages of the trip. At origin, the most commonly reported traumatic events by asylum seekers include combat situations, sexual assault, and having witnessed violence and death. During the journey, in debt and under the control of smugglers, many asylum seekers spend long periods in harsh conditions and may be subject to continuous threats, violence, and even torture. Persistent worries about the whereabouts and fates of their loved ones add further anguish.

A study by psychologist Martina Heeren and her coauthors in Switzerland found that trauma-related mental-health disorders are also strongly influenced by resident status: Asylum seekers were more likely to suffer from PTSD compared to those whose protection claims were recognized earlier and had been granted permanent residency. Similarly, the rate of depression among those awaiting an asylum decision was nearly twice that of recognized refugees.

[Read full Migration Policy Institute article]

Humanitarian and development to ensure that drought doesn’t turn to famine

The year 2017 was momentous for Somalia, with the inauguration of a new president and parliament following a historic electoral process. However, the peaceful transition of power was soon followed by the declaration of a natural disaster in the form of a prolonged drought that sparked fears of famine. By the end of 2017, 6.2 million people were in need of humanitarian assistance and over 1 million people internally displaced.

Since the end of the 2011 famine, about $4.5 billion has been spent on emergency response to save lives. Joint efforts by the Somali Government and local and international partners in 2017 averted another famine, but indications are that the effects of the continuing drought will continue into 2018.

It was within this context that the Somali Government—with the support of the United Nations (UN), the World Bank and the European Union (EU)—carried out an assessment and frameworks to provide all development actors a blueprint for action that can decrease Somalia’s vulnerability to shock, strengthen livelihoods, and increase economic growth.

Continuing humanitarian assistance and livelihood support to Somalia is vital in 2018, paralleled by development solutions that focus on job creation, access to finance, and support to public service delivery, to ensure that drought never turns to famine again.

[World Bank]

Progress toward a malaria-free Africa has stalled

The World Health Organization (WHO)’s World Malaria Report 2017 signals that, for the first time in more than a decade, progress against malaria on the African continent, which accounts for almost 90% of the global malaria burden, has stalled.

“Malaria alone is estimated to rob the continent of US$12 billion per year in lost productivity, investment and associated health care costs. It is therefore critical that we sustain the political commitment, as articulated in our continental Agenda 2063, to eliminate malaria in Africa by 2030 through increased domestic financing, increased access to life-saving malaria interventions, as well as more robust health systems,” said H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission.

African leaders previously committed to eliminating malaria by 2030. And while some African countries have seen a greater than 20% increase in malaria cases and deaths since 2016, others are showing that beating malaria is possible.

High-burden countries such as Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), which account for 27% and 10% of the global malaria cases, respectively, also face significant gaps in financing their malaria efforts over the next three years. Alternatively, several African countries that have stepped up their efforts, such as Senegal and Madagascar, have achieved a greater than 20% decrease in malaria cases in 2016, according to the World Malaria Report 2017.

“African countries are at greatest risk of losing the significant gains made over a decade and must renew efforts to make fighting malaria a priority. Domestic funding needs to be urgently stepped up. These investments — only a fraction of what African nations will save if we succeed in eliminating malaria — will pay off, in millions more lives saved, health systems strengthened, economies grown and the world back on track to end this disease,” said Dr Kesete Admasu, CEO of the RBM Partnership to End Malaria.

[African Union]

World Food Programme honors UPS

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has honored David Abney, Chairman and CEO of UPS, in recognition of outstanding contributions the company and its foundation have made towards achieving Zero Hunger.

“UPS is a steadfast partner that is always quick to offer vital resources that are often in short supply during emergencies,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley. “UPS and its employees are true champions for Zero Hunger and great examples of what can be achieved working together with the private sector.”

Beasley presented the 2018 Hunger Hero Award to Abney at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Since 2009, UPS has provided critical in-kind support to WFP directly and as a founding member of its Logistics Emergency Teams (LET), a collaboration of global logistics and transportation companies that support the humanitarian community during emergencies.

UPS’s support to WFP has included deploying rapid response teams and calling up logistics personnel from an emergency roster to take part in coordinated responses; providing airlift services to deliver essential food and supplies to depots at the scene of a response; and providing warehouse facilities and equipment to WFP when needed. Additionally, UPS executives are often deployed to share logistics expertise to help prepare for future emergencies. UPS also provides capacity building grants to strengthen WFP’s capabilities to respond more efficiently to rapid onset and complex global crises.

In addition to the company’s in-kind resources and expertise, The UPS Foundation provides cash donations to WFP, often at the earliest moments following a natural disaster when flexible funds are needed most.

[WRP]