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About the Lutheran Office for World Community
(LOWC)

LOWC Update - #5
March 2006

An occasional, informal bulletin of news, events and resources for LOWC partners

News

UN concludes Commission on the Status of Women and Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women
The Lutheran Office for World Community in New York has been following the work of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), which discussed two themes: women’s participation in development, and women in decision making. Margaret Obaga of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya attended as the official LWF delegate. LOWC also monitored the recent (January ’06) session of the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), submitting a “shadow” report prepared by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Venezuela. LOWC has written reports on the recent CEDAW processes for: Eritrea, Macedonia, Togo, Australia, Venezuela and Cambodia.

For information on LWF treaty body monitoring see: http://lwf-humanrights.org
For information or copies of our CSW or CEDAW reports, contact Emily Freeburg

UN Launches Emergency Fund
The United Nations has formally launched the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). The goal of the Fund is to provide aid workers with quick initial funding to jump-start lifesaving relief operations and to immediately deploy staff, goods and services for people in need, when most lives are on the line. The Fund was approved by the General Assembly in December of 2005, and marks another milestone in the United Nations reform process.

The CERF adds a grant facility of up to $450 million to the existing Central Emergency Revolving Fund loan mechanism of $50 million. Up to two thirds of the grant facility can be allocated to rapid response, with the other one-third devoted to addressing under-funded emergencies. When donor funds are in the pipeline, the loan portion will be used, when not - the grant portion.

So far, 19 Member States have pledged a total of $188 million to the CERF that is entirely dependent on voluntary contributions. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is urging more Governments, the private sector and individuals to donate to the CERF to eliminate delays in funding.

Jan Egeland, who manages the Fund on behalf of the Secretary-General, will disburse funds within three to four days after the request of a Humanitarian or Resident Coordinator. He will be guided by an Advisory Group of 12 independent experts. While United Nations Agencies and the International Organization for Migration are able to draw on the Fund, non-governmental organizations may also receive CERF funds, as partners in responding to these emergencies.
http://ochaonline.un.org/webpage.asp?Page=2101

UN Creates Human Rights Council
After months of protracted debate, on March 16 the General Assembly created a new Human Rights Council to replace the work of the ECOSOC Commission on Human Rights. The 47-member Council will be Geneva-based and mandated to meet more frequently in response to urgent human rights situations. Its members will be elected in early May and the first meeting will begin on June 19. The Council is another element of the UN reform package to which Member States agreed in principle in September 2005.
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/ga10449.doc.htm

Resources
A Toolkit for Assessing and Building Capacities for High Quality Responses to HIV/AIDS
This tool can be used with community organizations to identify capacity-building needs, plan any technical support needed by the organization and monitor and evaluate the impact of capacity-building support. To order hard copies of this publication please send an email to publications@aidsalliance.org to request your copy of this publication (up to 10 copies per request) along with your name and address details.
http://www.aidsalliance.org/sw31738.asp

CD-Rom toolkit on supporting orphans and other vulnerable children International HIV/AIDS Alliance
The International HIV/AIDS Alliance and Family Health International have published a new CD-Rom on supporting orphans and other vulnerable children. It contains over 600 documents sharing learning and resources from a wide range of organizations.

The OVC CD-Rom covers the following broad categories: Running a programme; Health and nutrition; Education; Psychosocial support; Economic strengthening; Living environments; Children's rights. Each section and sub-section has explanatory notes as well as the accompanying resources. This CD-Rom toolkit is for people and organizations that support NGOs and CBOs responding to HIV/AIDS in developing countries; that are working or wish to work with children. This CD-ROM can be ordered free of charge from the Alliance website at: www.aidsalliance.org
http://www.aidsalliance.org/sw7443.asp

Women Testify: A Planning Guide for Popular Tribunals and Hearings
Presented by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership's (CWGL), Women Testify includes step-by-step information on the following: developing & structuring the judicial programs; defining the roles of all participants; selecting testifiers, advisors, & commentators; planning effective media strategies; recording & documenting the hearings; and providing seamless logistical support. The Appendices have strategies including case studies of some CWGL tribunals/hearings, testimonies, sample press release, and task lists. http://www.cwgl.rutgers.edu

Toolkit for researchers and practitioners who wish to communicate to policymakers
The tools in this kit are specifically geared towards the needs of researchers and practitioners in civil society organisations (CSOs), including development NGOs, research institutes, think tanks, universities and networks. The toolkit, developed by UK RAPID, addresses the questions of how researchers and CSOs can best communicate evidence in order to inform or influence policy, to achieve their own stated development objectives, or simply to make their own knowledge accessible and understandable to a wider audience. www.odi.org.uk/publications/rapid/tools2.pdf

MDG-based project’s handbook
The handbook is a hands-on guide to help developing countries prepare MDG-based national development strategies. It translates the recommendations of the UN Millennium Project and lessons learned through the project’s country advisory work into a user friendly “how-to” format that can assist countries initiating their own MDG-based strategies. It is organized into five “steps” that describe different elements needed to develop an effective national strategy to meet the Goals.

• Step 1 Launch an effective and inclusive process—
• Step 2 Take inventory—
• Step 3 Conduct a needs assessment—
• Step 4 Develop a 10-year framework for action—
• Step 5 Write a three- to five-year national development strategy—

The document is available at: http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/policy/handbook.htm . Please let them know how this resource worked for you! They will be updating it based on feedback. Send your comments and suggestions to: handbook@unmillenniumproject.org .

New Research and Reports

Two New Reports from the International Council on Human Rights Policy:
The International Council on Human Rights Policy is happy to announce the release of TWO NEW REPORTS: Assessing the Effectiveness of National Human Rights Institutions Co-published with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (C 2005, 43 pages). This practical report proposes detailed benchmarks to evaluate national institutions' compliance with the Paris Principles, and suggests how national institutions may use indicators to measure their performance and impact. For further information: beuze@ichrp.org . It is available in English, French and Spanish.
You can also order these reports at: info@ichrp.org
http://www.ichrp.org/paper_files/125_p_01.pdf

New from USAID “Policy Framework for Bilateral Foreign Aid”
A new USAID paper, “Policy Framework for Bilateral Foreign Aid”, sets a new policy framework. This policy affirms that USAID will seek to use bilateral foreign assistance to build toward a safer, more secure, democratic and prosperous world to enhance our own national security. Implementing this policy will make U.S. bilateral aid more effective and better coordinated with other U.S. Government policies and programs. It puts countries at the center of their own development, with bilateral foreign aid in a supporting role. USAID’s approach to transformational diplomacy through development, outlines five key objectives of US foreign aid, and calls for clearly delineated success criteria linked to each objective, with clearly labeled program funding streams. There is a reasonable concern that applying poverty reduction criteria to all the objectives will undermine the seeming efficacy of aid, and a perhaps underlying fear that this problem could worsen if transformational diplomacy means greater financial support for strategic allies.
http://www.usaid.gov/policy/policy_framework_jan06.html

Big Pharma, Small Patients - The Issue Outlined
Abbott Laboratories, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and the biotechnology company Gilead Sciences make anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) which dramatically slow the onset of AIDS in HIV-positive patients, allowing them to lead normal and productive lives, often for many years. Over half of kids with AIDS are dead by age two, unless they get these ARVs. While generic competition has dropped the price of adult medicines by astounding amounts - for example, a first line treatment regime costing over $1,000 in 2001 now costs $200 per patient/year - the cost for children remains high.

The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) has developed a menu of policy options for the Boards of Directors of major pharmaceutical companies. ICCR members’ concern as stockowners of pharmaceutical firms extends beyond the negative public relations impact of the AIDS pandemic. Potentially, the global intellectual property regime coming into force today could be undermined by the lack of movement from drug companies on this crisis. More concretely, potential markets are being decimated by AIDS. Measuring and mitigating that impact, with regular public reporting to shareholders, should be at the forefront of company responses to this pandemic. ICCR recommends that pharmaceutical companies:

~ Reduce. Reduce the price of pediatric formulations to adult levels.
~ Research. Develop fixed dose combination syrups, chewable tablets, and other
child-friendly medicines.
~ Register. Ensure all pediatric formulations are registered in all markets.

To see ICCR’s full analysis:
http://www.iccr.org/publications/examiner_pastarticles/examiner_bigpharma.htm
*The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is a member of ICCR

Tools for Youth Sex and Reproductive Health and HIV/AIDS education
Impact of Sex and HIV Education Programs on Sexual Behaviors of Youth in
Developing and Developed Countries: Youth Research Working Paper No. 2
The authors analyzed 83 evaluations of such education programs and found that two-thirds of them had positive impacts on measurements of sexual behavior and virtually none had negative impacts. The paper identifies 17 characteristics of effective curricula used in the evaluated programs; four tables summarize research findings.
http://www.fhi.org/en/Youth/YouthNet/Publications/YouthResearchWorkingPapers.htm

Formative Research on Youth Peer Education Program Productivity and Sustainability: Youth Research Working Paper No. 3 presents the results from Phase 1 of a two-part study, including the core components of youth peer education programs and tools developed to assess such programs across cultural settings. Phase 2 will use these results to help measure impact on behavior.
http://www.fhi.org/en/Youth/YouthNet/Publications/YouthResearchWorkingPapers.htm

January 9, 2006: New Evidence on Reproductive Health/HIV Curriculum-Based
Education for Youth: Global Research and Local Action
http://www.fhi.org/en/Youth/YouthNet/NewsEvents/youthcurriculumedmtg.htm

Taking Stock of Youth Reproductive Health/HIV Peer Education: Progress, Process, and Programming for the Future
http://www.fhi.org/en/Youth/YouthNet/NewsEvents/youthpeeredmtgday1.htm

To request a hard copy of either paper, please send an email to: youthnetpubs@fhi.org

Websites of Note

Micro-Finance for Women's Empowerment
This website brings together existing analysis of women and micro finance, including overviews of different programs from around the world.
http://www.genfinance.info

UN Review Meeting on HIV/AIDS

In preparation for the May 31-June 2 UN Review Meeting on HIV/AIDS several web sites have been established. The official UNAIDS site is http://ungasshiv.org/ and LOWC has been collaborating with the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance http://www.e-alliance.ch/ungassreview.jsp to help NGOs prepare for meaningful participation in the event.

Top list of Underreported Humanitarian Disasters
Medecine Sans Frontier has released its latest compilation list of underreported humanitarian disasters in 2005, including Democratic Republic of Congo, Chechnya, Haiti, R&D For HIV/AIDS, Northeastern India, Southern Sudan, Somalia, Colombia, Northern Uganda, Ivory Coast.
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/publications/reports/2006/top10_2005.html

MILLENNIUM DEVELOPMENT GOALS

National Campaigns for the Millennium Development Goals and Make Poverty History

This issue of LOWC Update has been produced by Dennis Frado, Emily Freeburg and Dan Pieper.