At least three people were killed when Typhoon Hagupit made landfall this weekend, but the storm was not a severe as many had feared. Still, the experience of the Philippines is informing ongoing climate negotiations and is offering other Island states a glimpse into their potential future. From the Thomson Reuters Foundation:
Mary Ann Lucille Sering, secretary of the Philippines climate change commission, urged world leaders to respond to the increasingly costly and damaging impacts of global warming.
“Every year since 2008, typhoons have become the backdrop of the climate change conference,” Sering said. That worsening weather means that a way of dealing with growing losses and damage must be part of a climate deal expected to be reached in 2015 in Paris, she said.
Typhoon Hagupit made its first landfall in Dolores town in eastern Samar on Saturday, following almost the same path taken by last year’s Typhoon Haiyan. The storm brought heavy rains, storm surges, flooding and landslides in densely populated areas of the country.
The Philippine government had already evacuated millions of people to higher ground.
Sering said such heavy annual storms mean “the impacts of climate change are beyond our capacity already”.
“Our country’s experience makes our work here (in Lima) so much more meaningful, as this is no longer just a job for us but a fight for our survival and the future of our nation,” she said.
“We hope that the Philippine experience, no matter how difficult, can help unite all nations to take more concrete actions on climate change,” Sering said.
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Global Health and Development Beat
President Barack Obama’s National Security Council has voiced concern over Gambia’s moves to block access to top United Nations human rights investigators and enact tough new legislation against homosexuality.
A United Nations peacekeeper who contracted Ebola in Liberia arrived in the Netherlands on Saturday for treatment, the Health Ministry said in a statement.
A Cuban doctor who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone and was cured after experimental treatment in a Swiss hospital vowed on Saturday to return to West Africa and continue treating patients.
Another Sierra Leonean doctor has died from Ebola, the 10th to succumb to the disease, in what the country’s chief medical officer on Sunday called a shocking trend.
Liberia’s top court issued a stay on a government order banning public gatherings in the capital ahead of Senate elections next week that was imposed because electioneering risks spreading Ebola.
Indian police on Sunday arrested a driver from the international taxi-booking service Uber for allegedly raping a young woman in the capital.
The clamor of indigenous peoples for recognition of their ancestral lands resounded among the delegates of 195 countries at the climate summit taking place in the Peruvian capital.
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Spotlight on PSI
The Impact blog marks the anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s death with a list of three ways he transformed global health. Here are a few:
1. Promoted children’s rights for access to life-saving vaccines
Mandela was the founding chairman of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization’s Fund Board (GAVI). Knowing that more than 3 million children were killed by preventable diseases at the time was all the motivation he needed.
At GAVI he gathered together world leaders, advocated for every child’s right to immunization, and secured over $800 million of dollars in commitments for universal vaccination programs in Africa.
3. He raised awareness around AIDS, globally
By 2000, South Africa was the country worst affected by HIV/AIDS, with more than 4 million people infected with the disease. [2]
Following his presidency, Mandela focused his attention heavily on the HIV/AIDS fight. He delivered a game-changing speech at the 2000 International AIDS Conference in Durban that changed the AIDS agenda. Mandela revisited the topic a few months later on World AIDS Day. He spoke powerfully about the state of the disease in South Africa:
“Our country is facing a disaster of immeasurable proportions from HIV/AIDS. We are facing a silent and invisible enemy that is threatening the very fabric of our society. Be faithful to one partner and use a condom… Give a child love, laughter and peace, not AIDS.”
As Mandela aged and became more fragile, he stopped attending events except those that allowed him to speak about AIDS. It became the most important work of his foundation.
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Buzzing in the Blogs
The locally-led fight against Ebola in Sierra Leone deserves global support, says Tom Dannatt for the Guardian. He writes:
The medical and military effort is impressive, but the humanitarian aid response appears hardly to have begun.
Ebola centres are increasingly appearing, standing impressively on the edge of towns – I saw them in Port Loko, Bo, Kailahun, Kenema. And more are being built, including improvised solutions such as the transformation of a large school near Lunsar into an Ebola clinic. The British army is bringing structure and skills. These are expensive operations – you can’t deny that the world is investing in the fight against Ebola.
But the impact of Ebola extends beyond those who are infected by the disease. Regionally, we project that 20,000 children have been effectively orphaned by Ebola. We have delivered aid to 5,000.
When I visited Kailahun – a district hit by Ebola in May, and which has probably suffered 1,000 deaths – it was a surprise not to encounter any real relief operation for destitute families. In fact, beyond widespread support for families in quarantine, I did not find a single humanitarian operation for orphans or families anywhere I went.
The urgent needs extend beyond children. For example, in Kenema, badly hit since June, I met Ebola survivors who urgently need help restarting their economic lives , a necessary step on the path to restoring their sense of status and self-respect. They said no assistance was available.
The medical response is growing, but too few Sierra Leoneans know enough about Ebola, especially in the remoter, poorest places.
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Capital Events
Monday
8:45 AM – A Strategic Approach to Malaria – CSIS
Tuesday
11:45 AM – Washington DC Launch of the Global Nutrition Report 2014 – IFPRI
Wednesday
8:30 AM – Ebola and Other Emerging Infectious Disease Threats: Prevention and Preparedness – New America Fdn
2:00 PM – TFGH: Defining the Multi-Sector Landscape Symposium – GHC
4:00 PM – Innovations in Public Health Advocacy: Comparing Experiences in Russia, Ukraine and the US
Thursday
3:00 PM – The Threat of Global Health Emergencies to Food Security – Aspen Institute
Friday
12:00 PM – Myanmar’s Election Year and US Policy – East-West Center
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By Mark Leon Goldberg and Tom Murphy
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Disclaimer: Opinions presented in this email do not necessarily reflect the views of PSI.