Devex: Republican aid professionals on what’s next for aid in a Trump administration
“The United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, private sector engagement, and food aid may all be winners, or at least not losers, in the incoming Donald Trump administration, according to a group of Republican aid professionals who spoke with Devex…” (Saldinger, 12/8).

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Devex: USAID is ready, but still waiting, for the Trump transition
“The U.S. Agency for International Development is still waiting to hear from President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team. Agency leaders have made sure USAID is ready to change hands. … The only problem is, they still have no one to share this information with. It’s not yet clear who will make up Trump’s ‘landing team’ — the handful of individuals who will consider what direction the agency should take in the next administration…” (Igoe, 12/9).

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Nyasa Times: Malawi leader hails U.S. for its support towards HIV and AIDS
“Malawian President Peter Mutharika has hailed the United States government for its continued financial and technical support in the health sector. … Mutharika made the remarks on Thursday at Sanjika Palace when he had an audience with the United States delegation where they discussed issues of collaboration in the fight against HIV and AIDS and the girl child education…” (Yapuwa, 12/9).

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Devex: HIV prevention initiative seeks to break barriers in sub-Saharan Africa
“…DREAMS seeks to reduce HIV incidence among vulnerable populations of adolescent girls and young women in the 10 African countries where it works and stop the spread of new infections. On Wednesday, the Center for Health and Gender Equity released a new report, ‘Breaking Barriers to HIV Prevention for Adolescent Girls and Young Women.’ The report serves as a working document to inform U.S. policymakers, donors, and advocates on how the partnership is being implemented in South Africa and Kenya and to share some lessons the partnership has learned about what works, or what doesn’t in HIV prevention for adolescent girls and young women…” (Ehidiamen, 12/6).

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Devex: USAID’s plan to eliminate NTDs: What you need to know
“…Earlier this year, the U.S. Agency for International Development marked 10 years of work on NTDs and launched a new five-year strategy to eliminate trachoma, the world’s leading cause of preventable blindness, and lymphatic filariasis, a painful and disfiguring parasitic infection transmitted by mosquitoes. … Devex spoke to Emily Wainwright, head of NTDs at USAID, to find out more about the new strategy and what the agency has learned from the past 10 years of NTD programming…” (Edwards, 12/9).

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Devex: Q&A: What Washington state can teach DC about public health collaboration
“At a moment when U.S. politics have rarely felt so divided, Washington state — not Washington, D.C. — might offer a model worth watching. That’s according to Lisa Cohen, founder and executive director of the Washington Global Health Alliance, a coalition of leading global health organizations in the state. Their work building partnerships in the sector has won champions on both sides of the political aisle. … Devex caught up with Cohen about the incoming Donald Trump administration, how the WGHA model is spreading to other states and global cities, and why collaboration is more important now than ever before…” (Cheney, 12/8).

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STAT: Global nonprofit says it will help deliver vaccines to Syrian children
“An international organization that helps low-income countries buy vaccines is going to assist aid agencies to purchase vaccines for children in war-torn Syria. Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, announced the program Thursday following a meeting of its board. The special commitment, as Gavi is calling the program, will help aid agencies buy vaccines and equipment to refrigerate vaccines that must be kept cold or frozen…” (Branswell, 12/8).

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U.N. News Centre: U.N. agencies sign agreement on purchasing ‘greener’ health commodities
“The World Health Organization (WHO) has joined other United Nations and international agencies in a new agreement that will lead to more environmentally and socially sustainable procurement of health commodities. ‘We need to make sure that when international organizations procure health commodities, we promote responsible consumption and production patterns and support the Sustainable Development Goals,’ said Margaret Chan, director general of WHO as she signed the joint statement in Geneva on Wednesday…” (12/8).

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Thomson Reuters Foundation: Tanzania cracks down on secret ceremonies to circumcise teenage girls
“…Mary Wandia, program manager for London-based charity Equality Now, said the law against FGM is poorly enforced in Tanzania, putting thousands of girls at risk and encouraging others from neighboring countries to travel there. … Police in Tanzania and Kenya have teamed up to stop cross-border FGM activity. Officers from both countries are moving through villages to identify circumcisers and arrest them, said Tarime/Rorya Special Zone Police Commander Andrew Satta…” (Makoye, 12/9).

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The Lancet: Dangerous disregard for the right to water
Editorial Board

“On this year’s Human Rights Day, Dec. 10, current events in the USA suggest that a key human right is being dangerously disregarded. Access to water is an indispensable part of life, health, and dignity. In 2010, the U.N. General Assembly recognized the human right to safe and clean drinking water and sanitation; the U.S. has yet to agree and ratify this view. … Disregarding the importance of water as a human right has health consequences. But it also allows for the view that water is a commodity rather than a public good, which is similarly dangerous. Privatizing water supplies shifts the power from people to corporations, and cannot ensure safe, clean, accessible, and affordable water supply. Recognizing the right to water can. It is a right worth fighting for” (12/10).

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Huffington Post: It’s time to stop violence against women and girls
Flavia Bustreo, assistant director general for Family, Women’s, and Children’s Health at the WHO, and vice chair of the Board of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance

“…Violence against women and girls affects their physical, mental, sexual, and reproductive health in the short and long term in many ways: unwanted pregnancies, induced abortions, sexually transmitted infections including HIV, as well as mental health problems like depression, sleep and food disorders, emotional stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, and attempts to and even suicide. … Violence against women must be considered a major global public health problem and all countries must act quickly and effectively to address it. … Gender-based violence has devastating impacts on women and girls, and all of society in respect to equality, poverty and equity, HIV/AIDS, and peace and security. … It is no longer tolerable to turn away and pretend violence against women and girls does not exist. It is time to call a halt to this violence. It is time to act” (12/7).

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Devex: Opinion: Finishing the unfinished business of aid effectiveness
Amy Dodd, director of the U.K. Aid Network (UKAN)

“…[W]e need to capitalize on the renewed interest and energy from [last week’s second high-level meeting of the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation in Nairobi] and turn this progress into renewed action [to reach development goals]. To do that, provider countries such as the U.K. need to think about and show how they are going to deliver on their commitments. That means realistic and time-bound action plans, working together with other provider countries to learn and share experiences. It needs to be continually pushed up the political agenda as progress will be lackluster at best without political buy in. … Most important will be to see those changes in how things work in country. Perhaps the most frequent refrain from developing country partners — governments, civil society, or other — is to respect their democratic ownership of their own development, their right to define for themselves how they will progress. Further progress on that principle would mark a real step change in global development” (12/8).

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The Lancet: Universal Health Coverage — looking to the future
Editorial Board

“…Increasingly, political leaders seem to be presenting a shared global vision for [universal health coverage (UHC)]. … Next week, an important step towards the goal of UHC takes place in Geneva. In September, Margaret Chan announced the creation of the International Health Partnership for UHC 2030 (UHC 2030). The purpose of this new partnership is to coordinate efforts to strengthen health systems and deliver UHC, including financial risk protection. On Dec. 12-13, UHC 2030 brings countries and agencies together to establish the partnership as a formal global health systems coordination platform. It will also seek commitments from all parties as to next steps in the movement towards UHC. … UHC 2030’s role is not only to ensure that this opportunity is seized but also that governments don’t renege on their promises and commitments” (12/10).

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HHS: HHS Awards $40 Million in Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands to Fight Zika
“[On Thursday], Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced nearly $39 million in funding to 23 health centers in Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands and $1 million to two Primary Care Associations (PCAs) to help combat the Zika virus…” (12/8).

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