| Dec. 7, 2017 | | THIS WEEK'S MUST-READ DEVELOPMENT STORIES | | |  | By Michael Igoe | | | | | | Yemen's escalating violence forces aid workers to pull out or shelter in place, a U.K. contractor faces funding oversight allegations, and U.S. President Donald Trump sets off alarm bells in the Middle East. This week in development.
Adam Smith International came under fire again this week after the BBC TV program Panorama alleged that U.K. taxpayer aid reached terrorist organizations through one of ASI's projects in Syria. ASI denied the claims, but donors have suspended the project — which supports approximately 3,800 unarmed civilian police officers in northern Syria — while they investigate the allegations. The kerfuffle has raised questions in the aid community about managing risk in unconventional, security-focused aid projects, and whether the onus is on donors such as the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to better explain risk to the media and general public.
The United Nations Population Fund has evacuated part of its team from Yemen, in another sign of the country's worsening humanitarian crisis, Amy Lieberman reported for Devex. A UNFPA spokesperson told Devex that they had experienced, "many sleepless nights of nonstop shelling and airstrikes," and that this partial evacuation was a "precautionary measure in case the situation escalated further." On Monday, Houthi rebels killed Yemen's former president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, and then unceremoniously displayed his body in a video online. Fighting in the capital city Sanaa has intensified, as has a devastating bombing campaign by Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has also imposed a blockade of Yemen's largest port, cutting off fuel and humanitarian shipments to a country where 7 million people are on the brink of famine. On Wednesday President Trump issued a statement calling on the Saudis to allow humanitarian access to the country. "I have directed officials in my administration to call the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to request that they completely allow food, fuel, water, and medicine to reach the Yemeni people who desperately need it. This must be done for humanitarian reasons immediately," Trump said. UNFPA is one of many relief organizations whose efforts have been hampered by widespread bombing. On Wednesday Mercy Corps reported that, "Currently, staff in and around Sanaa are forced to take shelter in their homes and humanitarian programs are hindered."
President Trump announced Wednesday that his administration will officially recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and that the United States will relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to the city, which both Israelis and Palestinians claim as their own. The U.S. Agency for International Development's West Bank and Gaza mission has offices in both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. A USAID official referred Devex to the White House and State Department for questions about moving the embassy. World leaders, including U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres expressed alarm about Trump's decision. "I have consistently spoken out against any unilateral measures that would jeopardize the prospect of peace for Israelis and Palestinians," Guterres said in a statement. Trump argued that recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's capital will help facilitate a Middle East peace process, which he previously said would be one of his primary foreign policy priorities. The State Department and USAID plan to spend more than $250 million in assistance to the West Bank and Gaza in 2018, and $3.1 billion in foreign assistance to Israel.
The World Health Organization warned that diphtheria is spreading among Rohingya refugees in Cox's Bazar, the city in Bangladesh where many of the more than 600,000 people who have fled from Myanmar have sought refuge. The WHO reported that more than 110 suspected cases have been diagnosed, and six people have died from the bacterial infection, which is preventable, but spreads quickly. "These cases could be just the tip of the iceberg. This is an extremely vulnerable population with low vaccination coverage, living in conditions that could be a breeding ground for infectious diseases like cholera, measles, rubella, and diphtheria," Dr. Navaratnasamy Paranietharan, WHO representative to Bangladesh, said in a statement. Devex reporter Kelli Rogers recently traveled to Cox's Bazar, where aid groups are scrambling to provide services for refugees in far-flung camps. | | | | | | | | | Joba Edwards spends the night outside in a tee-shirt and shorts, with a flashlight in hand, waiting for mosquitoes to bite him. When they do, he catches the bugs by sucking through the tube on a mouth aspirator, which traps them. He then funnels the mosquitoes into a Styrofoam cup, covered with a net. He has 12 of these cups, each marked by pen with a different hour of the night. Joba sits on a wooden stool doing this from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., five nights per month.
Joba's work is part of Zambia's plan to eliminate malaria by 2021 by tailoring its interventions for both low-burden and high-burden areas. Devex traveled to Kazinyone in Zambia's Southern Province, which is leading the country in its progress in the reduction of malaria cases, to see firsthand how these interventions work. | | | | | | | | | | The latest annual report from the Family Planning 2020 partnership shows clear progress on reaching more women and girls with access to family planning, but the group looks unlikely to reach its 2020 targets as the funding landscape becomes increasingly challenging. | | | | | | | | | The contractor managing a multibillion dollar, U.S. government-funded global health supply chain project has limited time to prove it can overcome a long list of problems that have plagued this lifesaving effort. Chemonics International is under mounting pressure to show that the largest project ever funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development has turned a corner. Facing a December performance deadline and scrutiny from a growing list of U.S. lawmakers and watchdog groups, project leaders are pointing to a range of actions they have taken in recent months to improve delivery times and cut down on chronic delays. This is the latest installment of Devex's ongoing investigation into the largest USAID contract in history. | | | | | | | | | Last week, Devex attended the annual Global Washington summit of aid, development, and public health professionals in Seattle. Experts gave their advice on how to defend overseas spending and global aid, amid the Trump administration's America First stance and proposed deep cuts to USAID and the State Department. Seattle leaders also warned the United States that domestic humanitarian problems such as homelessness, poverty, refugee resettlement, and immigrant deportation should occupy more of their attention. We also sat down with Alaa Murabit, the 28-year-old founder of Voice of Libyan Women and the only U.N. high-level commissioner under the age of 45. In her SDG advocate role, she sits alongside superstars such as Argentine football player Lionel Messi and Colombian singer Shakira. She discussed feminism, the role of celebrities in development, and what makes a truly female-empowering foreign policy. | | | | | | | | | | At the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition's annual Tribute Dinner, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley spoke about her approach to U.N. reform, a recent meeting with South Sudanese President Salva Kiir, and U.S. humanitarian aid. | | | | | | | | | SPONSORED ANNOUNCEMENT | | | Are you looking for a master's degree in public or international health? 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Students from 25 different countries helped me understand the finer details of various cultures and personal values in addressing public health issues." Which course can help you make a difference? Visit our website for more information and start your application now. | | | | | | | | | SPECIAL NOTICE | | | How does vision impact global populations and their ability to live healthier lives? Join Devex and Essilor for an important dialogue on vision and its unique link to the SDGs. Tune into the Twitter chat on Monday, December 11 at 10 a.m. ET / 4 p.m. CET by following #Vision4SDGs or tweeting @Devex | | | | | | | | | SPECIAL NOTICE | | | And you can experience it at Devex World. Next year, 1,000 leading thinkers and doers in our community converge in Washington, D.C., for Devex World 2018. Join the movement on June 12 for an action-packed day filled with interactive sessions, unique speakers, and opportunities to roll up your sleeves and turn ideas into action. The best thing attendees at last year's Devex World said was that even people with decades of global development experience met other leaders and changemakers they had never heard of before. The global development landscape is dynamic and changing, and Devex World is the only event that brings it all together. You'll hear from speakers such as Miguel McKelvey, co-founder of WeWork; Malcolm Gladwell, celebrated author and New Yorker veteran; Rula Ghani, the first lady of Afghanistan; actor Forest Whitaker; Jaha Dukureh, founder of Safe Hands for Girls, and many more. Limited tickets at 2017 prices remain, claim yours now. | | | | | | | |
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