Reuters: Businesses can unlock $12 trillion via key development goals: Davos study
“Companies could unlock at least $12 trillion in market opportunities by 2030 and create up to 380 million jobs by implementing a few key development goals, according to a study by a group including global business and finance leaders. The report, released on Monday by the Business & Sustainable Development Commission, said pressure on business to become a ‘responsible social actor’ was likely to grow. The group was launched at the Davos 2016 World Economic Forum to encourage businesses to take the lead in poverty reduction and sustainable development…” (Rao, 1/16).

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Miami Herald: Haiti’s cholera fight hits global stage at World Economic Forum in Davos
“The British doctor in charge of helping the United Nations raise millions of dollars to support Haiti’s anti-cholera efforts is taking his case to some of the world’s most deep-pocket power brokers. David Nabarro arrived at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week with a plan to introduce Haiti’s plight ‘into the minds and hearts of people of power and influence, and people who wish to do good in key places’…” (Charles, 1/17).

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Devex: How this tech startup drew the attention of Gavi, Gates, and Google
“Google.org and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced a new partnership to support Nexleaf Analytics, a Los Angeles-based startup that builds wireless sensors turning everyday objects like refrigerators and cookstoves into connected devices. The Gates Foundation is matching a $2 million contribution from Google.org in a collaboration resulting from INFUSE, an accelerator launched by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, to identify innovations that can modernize the way vaccines are delivered…” (Cheney, 1/18).

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New York Times: How the Response to Zika Failed Millions
“…The WHO ended the emergency status [of the Zika outbreak] in November, but the consequences of the outbreak will be with us for years to come. So maybe now is a good time to ask: How’d we do? Not so great, according to more than a dozen public health experts who were asked to reflect on the response. The battle was a series of missed opportunities, they said, that damaged still-uncounted numbers of babies across a whole hemisphere…” (McNeil, 1/16).

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STAT: We’re not prepared for future Ebola outbreaks, experts warn
“Despite recent headlines declaring the success of an experimental Ebola vaccine, the world is not fully prepared for future epidemics — and not in position to use vaccines to prevent another deadly outbreak, a report published Tuesday warned. The report raised serious concerns about the work that remains to be done on Ebola vaccines…” (Branswell, 1/17).

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Devex: Q&A: WHO candidate Sania Nishtar
“If Sania Nishtar wins the race to become director general of the World Health Organization, she will be the first leader in the organization’s history to come from a developing country. But it would hardly be Nishtar’s first time trailblazing. As Pakistan’s first female cardiologist, she has emerged as a leader of public health both at home and abroad. … In this Q&A, Nishtar discusses why she places particular emphasis on transparency in her candidacy, how she plans to address questions of the WHO’s relevance and offers a glimpse of how she plans to address the organization’s financial constraints…” (Ravelo, 1/18).

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Africa Renewal: We can improve health systems in Africa — Dr. Matshidiso Moeti
“Botswana’s Dr. Matshidiso Moeti is the first woman to head the World Health Organization (WHO)’s Regional Office for Africa. The new regional director has over 36 years of experience in public health. Her goal is to make the organization more responsive, effective, and results-oriented. She plans to accelerate progress towards global development goals while tackling emerging threats. The following are edited excerpts of her interview with Tefo Pheage for Africa Renewal…” (Pheage, December 2016-March 2017).

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Wall Street Journal: Family Asks Indian Court to Allow Woman to Take Last-Resort Tuberculosis Drug
“The family of an 18-year-old woman is fighting in court for access to a new tuberculosis drug that doctors say may be her only hope of survival, in a case that is being closely watched by TB experts and health workers in India and around the world. The family of the young woman, whose name her lawyer asked to keep confidential, filed a petition in Delhi’s High Court in December seeking access to bedaquiline, one of the first new tuberculosis drugs to be developed in nearly half a century…” (McKay, 1/16).

Washington Post: Indian teen’s court battle for a new tuberculosis drug draws global support
“…The new drug, bedaquiline, came to India last year, and it is the only hope for a frail 18-year-old woman in the northern city of Patna who has failed to respond to traditional antibiotics. She was diagnosed as suffering from ‘extremely drug-resistant’ tuberculosis. But the supply of bedaquiline is tightly controlled by the Indian government, which administers it sparingly to patients in only five Indian cities[, not including Patna]. … The court case, now being watched by public health experts worldwide, is setting a precedent for many countries that are severely restricting and rationing the rollout of the drug… (Lakshmi, 1/15).

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Devex: Opinion: What the development community can expect from Davos
Raj Kumar, founding president and editor in chief of Devex

“It is a feature of the importance of the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting — gathering again in the Swiss resort of Davos this week — that it perennially becomes drawn into the zeitgeist of the moment. This year all eyes are on the rise of populism in the rich world. … What is different this year is a sense that this gathering itself is not an objective observer of world events but a partisan on the losing side; that Davos is all about globalization, technological progress, and social inclusion at a time when so many people are demanding a different vision of their economies and their political future. … [A]s we begin our coverage of the World Economic Forum annual meeting, Devex will be looking out for all the big themes as they play out — some that are impacting our community today and others into the future. One of the most important themes is the changing politics around foreign aid. … Our team, both on the snowy ground here and around the world, will be monitoring official announcements and social media to keep the Devex community up to date on all the global development news coming out of Davos…” (1/16).

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Center for Global Health Policy’s “Science Speaks”: President Obama leaves a global health legacy marked by science, strategy, progress, challenge
Antigone Barton, senior editor and writer of “Science Speaks,” discusses the Obama administration’s work in global health and progress toward achieving an AIDS-free generation. She writes, “The eight years that had followed President Obama’s oath of office marked a new path for global health responses, that while accomplishing more, also faced more challenges than ever. … If the Obama administration years have left a legacy of vision, strategy, success, and hope, they also have left a challenge to the administration, Congressional leaders, and implementers who follow, to apply the lessons of the last decades that infectious disease anywhere pose threats everywhere, and ensure that the access to health care and services that have been proven possible, become universal reality” (1/15).

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WHO: New report offers global resource on using the law to improve health
“…A new report from WHO, in collaboration with the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), the University of Sydney, and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., describes the many ways in which the law makes a crucial difference for public health. The report features case studies from around the world on how the law has improved the health and safety of populations, providing a resource for countries to learn from the experience of others…” (January 2017).

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Aidspan: Global Fund Observer
Aidspan, an independent watchdog of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, published Issue 303 of the “Global Fund Observer.” The newsletter features articles on various topics including improvements that will be made to the Global Fund’s business model; how the Trump presidency raises questions for and could potentially impact U.S. investments in global health; and how African governments must increase domestic funding for malaria as Global Fund allocations are reduced (1/18).

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U.S. Department of State’s “DipNote”: Reflecting on Eight Years of U.S. Refugee Assistance
Anne C. Richard, assistant secretary of state in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) at the State Department, reflects on the humanitarian aid work of the Obama administration, including refugee assistance, disaster relief, and food aid (1/17).

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U.S. Department of State’s “DipNote”: Five Ways to Make the United Nations Even More Effective
Sheba Crocker, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of International Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, discusses the Obama administration’s engagement with the U.N. and suggests five areas U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres could prioritize to make the U.N. system more effective, including “1. Make high-impact management, human resources, and accountability changes. … 2. Transform the United Nations’ development and humanitarian assistance architectures. … 3. Continue badly needed peacekeeping reforms. … 4. Strengthen the United Nations’ conflict prevention, mediation, and peacebuilding capabilities. … 5. Create a high-level U.N. coordinator for counterterrorism and countering violent extremism…” (1/17).

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