Measles crisis, UN guidelines on disability inclusion, Investment Impact, and more.

+ Latest on measles crisis

There are currently 3,728 measles cases in Samoa, including 198 in the past 24 hours. 53 patients diagnosed with measles have died. Since the nation-wide immunisation campaign started on the 20th November, over 60,000 people have received vaccinations, with a further 100,000 vaccines on order. The Samoan Government has extended the vaccination programme to include everyone aged between 6 months - 59 years.

World Health Organisation's immunisation department Director, Kate O'Brien warned that a steep decline in vaccination rates in Samoa had paved the way for a "huge outbreak". 

In 2018, only 31% of children under five had been immunised. The tragedy, she said, was that immunisation rates used to be far higher in Samoa, with coverage measured at 84% just four years ago.

Community concerns about vaccination had been compounded by the deaths of two babies due to incorrectly administered medicines last year. WHO's O'Brien states that an anti-vaccine group had also been stoking fears in Samoa recently, lamenting that "this is now being measured in the lives of children who have died in the course of this outbreak".

MFAT have updated their public messaging on the best way for the New Zealand public to support the response to the Samoa measles outbreak. This includes a donating  money to an experienced and trustworthy organisation working on the ground, such as the work of the following CID member organisations:

• UNICEF - providing over 100,000 vaccine doses.  
• Caritas Aotearoa - providing hospital-grade linen and hand sanitiser, and transportation support to ensure medical staff mobility.  
• ADRA - providing of water and food to queuing families and staff at vaccination centres, along with delivery of neo-natal equipment donated by regional medical authorities.  
• Rotary - working with local manufacturers and business to provide beds and cots to further support the comfort of high numbers of patients in hospital.

A copy of CID's full press release is available here, with CID's Humanitarian Coordinator (Aaron Davy) having been interviewed on both the morning porgrammes for Newtalk ZB and Nui FM today.

+ UN guidelines on disability inclusion in humanitarian action

This month, the United Nations launched its first guidelines to tackle the exclusion of people with disabilities in humanitarian action, reports Devex.

Actions recommended for humanitarian organizations include recruiting more people with disabilities — including as front-line workers — partnering with organisations that represent people with disabilities, training humanitarians to recognize barriers and design inclusive programs, and collecting more data on disability to monitor equal access.
 

+ CID Talk: Cash transfers in the Pacific (+ Xmas drinks)

Oxfam’s Pacific cash advisor, Sandra Hart will deliver a talk to CID members and friends in Auckland and Wellington during the second week of December.

Sandra has been leading Oxfam’s innovative cash projects in Vanuatu. One was a major cash programme for Ambae evacuees on Santo, the second a blockchain pilot project (which we’ve previously discussed) for IDPs in Port Vila.
 
Sandra will give her talks on the following days:

• AUCKLAND: Tues, 10^th December at 12.30 pm at Oxfam (Level 1/14 West Street, Eden Terrace, Auckland)
• WELLINGTON: Fri, 13^th December at 12.30 pm at Volunteer Service Abroad (Level 2/77 Thorndon Quay, Pipitea, Wellington)

The Wellington Talk on 13th December will be followed by CID Xmas Drinks at Thunderbird Cafe, 154 Featherston Street, Wellington, from 5.00pm.

+ China has most diplomatic post

China now has more diplomatic posts than any other country, according to the Lowy Institute's  2019 edition of the Global Diplomacy Index.

The Index visualises the diplomatic networks of 61 G20, OECD, and Asian countries and territories, allowing users to compare the most significant diplomatic networks in the world.

Users can view the interactive global map of networks, select and view individual country networks on the map, and prepare side-by-side comparisons of networks, as well as see diplomatic representations city by city for any of the three years of data  - 2016, 2017, and 2019.

China overtook the US in 2019, with 276 embassies and other representative offices globally. 

That's three more posts than the US - France, Japan and Russia are in the next spots, reports the BBC.

Taiwan is ranked 32nd with 107 posts, only 15 of which are embassies though. 

Both China and Taiwan have a policy that they only have full diplomatic ties with a country if said country does not have ties with their rival.

+ Understanding 'Investment Impact'

Read Gretchen Leuthart's discussion paper on impact investment, and find useful links to organisations across different sectors working in this area.

• Purpose Impact Fund mobilises new capital for systemic social and environmental change.
• John Holt, an entrepreneur is setting up a digital platform to bring stakeholders together around 'purpose'.
• Impact Lab combines big data with human stories to shape impact measurement tools
• Chapman Tripp has released a report on impact investment in New Zealand.
• New Zealand Green Investment Finance (NZGIF) was recently launched and is set to accelerate low emissions investment in Aotearoa.
• Wealth management firms, like JBWere are growing their philanthropic teams in response to both listed companies and clients keen to focus more on environmental, economic and social sustainability (ESG) principles.
• Aotearoa Circle is a new alliance of leaders from the public and private sectors collaborating to investigate the state of our natural resources, and to commit to priority action. This includes leading New Zealand companies like Air New Zealand, Fonterra, Spark and Vector.  
• In the Government space, The Social Impact Agency works with the social sector to create tools and practices that improve people’s wellbeing.

Gretchen Leuthart started this research after leaving VSA by asking herself why despite all the time, talent and treasure that NGOs apply to the pressing social and environmental issues of our time, what is really holding us back from lasting impact?

CID would like to thank Gretchen for sharing her research and ideas.

+ A Guide for Businesses & NGOs

A reminder that Tonkin & Taylor produced these excellent snapshots, to explain NGOs to businesses and vice versa.

You can find the Guide to the Private Sector here.

And the Guide to the Pacific NGO System here.

+ Hui E! release final SDG report

Hui E! have released the final version of their ‘People’s Report on the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): an alternate report for Aotearoa New  Zealand 2019’. 

This includes a few updates since a draft was delivered to the UN High-Level Political Forum in July this year. 

This final version will be shared with government departments, ministers and MPs.

"I want to thank you all again for your collaboration, participation, and support of various kinds during this process. We hope that it is an inspiration for more collaboration and partnership and is the start of a series of such progress reports," says Hui E's Ronja Levers.

The report provides a benchmark and a basis for increased multi sectoral partnership. 

For more information contact Ronja at  ronja.ievers@huie.org.nz

+ Zimbabwe on the brink of starvation

Zimbabwe is on the brink of human induced starvation and the number of people needing help is “shocking” for a country not in conflict, United Nations special expert on the right to food, Hilal Elver said last week.

Newstalk ZB reported that Zimbabwe is among the four most food insecure states in the world. The others — Yemen, South Sudan and Somalia — have been ravaged by war.

Elver blames widespread corruption, mismanagement, natural disasters, droughts and sanctions for the crisis. 
 

+ Podcast: The politics of counting - who gets missed

Who is missing from the stats at the very bottom and the very top of society, and how those with power control who gets counted.

Oxfam GB speak to the Tax Justice Network‘s Alex Cobham about his upcoming book “The Uncounted”, which gives an insight into the politics of counting. 

Listen to the podcast here.

 

+ How to stop aid falling into the hands of terrorists

The Centre for International Strategic Studies (CSIS) has realised a report on how to deal with the increasing barriers to humanitarian aid.

"Principled humanitarian action is under attack around the world. Globally, 70.8 million people are considered forcibly displaced by armed conflict and nearly 132 million people need emergency humanitarian assistance," writes CSI's Jacob Kurtzer.

"At the same time, there has been a steep escalation in the deliberate, willful obstruction of humanitarian access, impeding the ability of humanitarian aid to reach the most vulnerable people and vice versa.

"As humanitarian emergencies become increasingly complex and protracted, blocked humanitarian access will only increase without urgent action."

+ A Manual to Decarbonize by Mid-Century

The Roadmap to 2050: A Manual for Countries to Decarbonize by Mid-Century report provides an overview of the latest decarbonization technologies available for national governments.

It was released by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN).

The report adopts a systems approach, aspiring to both address multiple objectives and promote both policy instruments and technological solutions that can be used across sectors. The multiple objectives span decarbonization and environmental sustainability, economic prosperity (including poverty reduction), and social inclusion to ensure no one is left behind.
 

+ Oxfam NZ launches new online shop

Oxfam New Zealand has launched its new online shop to the New Zealand public.
 
Oxfam Shop will sell a range of thoughtfully curated fairtrade items, including beautiful homewares, ceramics, clothing, chocolate and coffee, plus its alternative gift range Oxfam Unwrapped.
 
Shoppers will also be able to purchase limited edition art prints from Oxfam’s recent collaboration with world-famous New Zealand wall and pop artist Misery. The renowned artist joined forces with Oxfam New Zealand to fundraise for Oxfam's project providing clean drinking water and sanitisation in remote areas of Papua New Guinea. 
 
The full range of Oxfam Shop’s products is available at www.oxfam.org.nz/shop
 
Check out the range and shop with the code CID10 to enjoy a special %10 discount* on your first purchase!
 
*This special is offered only to CID Weekly readers, expiring December 31, 2019. The discount coupon can only be used once, not in conjunction with any other offers. Does not apply to Oxfam Unwrapped products.
 

+ Walking the Talk (within your office)

'Walking the Talk - Ethical Expectations in Social Impact Organisations' is the latest blog of Darren Ward, at Direct Impact Group, and it follows on from the workshop on 'Culture and how it determines legitimacy and impact' he ran at the International Civil Society Centre’s Global Perspectives Conference in Addis Abeba recently. 

The blog discusses the importance of creating an organisational culture that embeds development values and high standards of ethics in its DNA and prompts leadership to lead by example and to gain trust, rather than thinking of being entitled to it.
 

+ Organised attacks on rights-based groups

Civicus' new report, Against the Wave: Civil Society Responses to Anti-Rights Groups, shows how movements attacking fundamental freedoms and civil society groups, differ in membership, histories and outlooks but together share tactics and offer a growing threat to civil society.

Examples cited in the report, among many others, include ultra-conservative faith groups conspiring to block women’s access to abortion in Argentina, nationalists stoking violence against ethnic and religious minorities in India and neo-fascist activists smearing civil society and the political opposition in Serbia.

The report outlines 10 ways that civil society organisations are fighting back, including greater international collaboration and solidarity, creative communications, reclaiming human rights language and exposing anti-rights groups. It calls for more intensive and integrated civil society action to take on the growing threat of anti-rights groups. 

You can access Civicus' social media toolkit here. 

+ CID Talks for 2020 - let us know!

Have you got a topic that you'd like to see discussed in a CID Talk? Are you expert, or do you know someone who's an expert of some cutting-edge development theme? Are you conducting a special piece of research and you'll like to share it with other fellows CID members and supporters? 

If yes, we would really like to hear from you! Please, send any CID Talk proposals or suggestions for the next year to Gaia at office@cid.org.nz
 

+ Inclusive Governance in fragile settings

Care have released 3 reports on inclusive governance in fragile and complex settings.

Integrating Inclusive Governance and Gender Equality in Papua New Guinea: Exploring the necessity of a combined approach
Report  
Snapshot  
Gender equality and inclusive governance are each acknowledged to be key cross-cutting issues vital for ensuring sustainable development.  This report looks at CARE’s work in PNG to engage with both supply and demand sides to create safe neutral spaces for constructive dialogue, and build women’s meaningful engagement in and benefit from governance processes.

 
Social Inclusion in Fragile Contexts: Pathways towards the inclusion of women & girls in local governance processes
Report
Policy Brief
This study explores the connections between social inclusion, governance and building more peaceful and stable societies, with specific emphasis on gender equality. The goal of the study was to understand the pathways and factors that enable women and girls to be effectively included in local government budgeting and planning processes through ‘degrees of inclusion’: from access, to participation, to influence. 

Enhancing Inclusive Governance in Fragile & (Post) Conflict-Affected Settings: An exploration of social norms related practices affecting public authorities
Report
Discussion Paper
The Every Voice Counts programme has identified social norms as one of the key determinants of success or failure for inclusive governance (IG) development initiatives. Isolating key norms and the related practices that influence IG development, as well as the origins and mechanisms for social norm change, can help us understand why current IG interventions may not be as successful as planned, and identify mechanisms or leverage points to enhance the effectiveness of these interventions.  

In this study, IG is measured through four elements: transparency, inclusivity, responsiveness, and accountability.