Global Dispatches -- World News That Matters

Dr. Roseanne Njiru is a sociologist at the University of Nairobi who has conducted cutting edge field research that finds a link between healthcare and peacebuilding. Specifically, she examines the role that community health workers play in preventing conflict in marginalized communities, like urban slums, around Nairobi, Kenya. Community health workers (or what in other contexts are sometimes called health extension workers) link poor, rural or otherwise marginalized communities to a country's broader health care system. The health workers themselves are from these communities and they are given some basic level of training. Essentially, they are the eyes and ears and first point of contact between the health system and the community. Deploying cadres of these community health workers has become increasingly popular as a public health strategy in the developing world. In my years of reporting, I've seen the key role that community health workers play in places like rural Bangladesh and Ethiopia. This strategy has been demonstrated to improve health outcomes in some of the most vulnerable communities in a society. But what I did not appreciate until I encountered Dr. Njiru's research was some of the ancillary benefits, beyond health, that community health workers can confer to their community. Namely, Dr. Njiru found through her research that community health workers are also agents of peace and conflict prevention--including helping to prevent political violence. Her research is absolutely fascinating and I am glad to bring it to you as part of a series of episodes supported in part from a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York to feature African perspectives on peace and security issues in Africa. https://www.undispatch.com/ https://www.globaldispatchespodcast.com/ https://www.facebook.com/UNDispatch/

For a brief period this fall, it appeared that the crisis in Yemen was de-escalating. Fighting had reached some of its lowest levels since 2015, when Saudi Arabia led an international coalition to intervene in Yemen's civil war. But any hopes that a lull in fighting could be sustained were dashed in early 2020 with a series of high profile attacks. Today, as I record, in February 2020 fighting in Yemen is intense -- indeed as bad as it has ever been since the civil war began -- if not worse. According to the United Nations, Yemen is the single worst humanitarian crisis in the world today. On the line with me to explain this newest iteration of the conflict in Yemen is Scott Paul. He is a humanitarian policy lead with Oxfam and we spend a lot of time discussing why the crisis in Yemen is getting worse right now. For those who are not familiar with the crisis in Yemen, Scott Paul does a very good job at the start of the conversation explaining how we got to this point.

There is a category of diseases that sickens, injures and kills the poorest people on the planet. These are called Neglected Tropical Diseases or NTDs You may be familiar with some of them, like leprosy, guinea worm disease or River Blindness; but you have probably never heard of most of them--I know I have not. But these diseases, combined, affect nearly 1.7 billion people around the world and further add to the costs of developing economies. So, in an effort to make these diseases a little less neglected, about eight years ago governments, philanthropies, UN agencies and NGOs came together to design and implement strategies to reduce and ultimately eliminate many of these diseases. On the line with me today is someone who has been at the very forefront of that effort. Dr. Thoko Elphick-Pooley is the director of a collective called Uniting to Combat NTDS. We discuss the progress that has been made towards the elimination of NTDs and also what strategies have been most effective in combating these diseases. As it happens, we spoke on the first-ever World NTD Day, so I kick off asking Dr. Elphick-Pooley about the significance of having a new world day around Neglected Tropical Diseases. https://www.undispatch.com/ https://www.undispatch.com/category/podcast/ https://www.globaldispatchespodcast.com/

Aid work can be a dangerous business. According to the latest verified data, 131 aid workers were killed in the line of duty in 2018. Many more were injured in serious attacks. According to my guest today, Abby Stoddard, attacks on aid workers and humanitarian relief operations are both a symptom and a weapon of modern warfare. Indeed, it is the changing nature of conflict around the world that is driving increasing levels of violence against aid workers. Abby Stoddard is a former aid worker and a longtime researcher. Along with her research partner Adele Harmer, Stoddard has compiled a dataset of verified attacks on aid workers around the world. Their research is compiled in the Aid Worker Security Database, which has tracked attacks on aid workers since 1997. The data they compiled tell many stories and offer important insights into trends of conflict, which we discuss on the show today. Abby Stoddard's new book in which much of this data is discussed and analyzed is called Necessary Risks: Professional Humanitarianism and Violence against Aid Workers. Abby Stoddard is a partner with Humanitarian Outcomes, an international consultancy that does research and policy advising for governments and organizations on humanitarian action. If you have twenty minutes and want to learn how the changing nature of conflict is making humanitarian relief work more dangerous, have a listen. 7:35 Aid workers most impacted by violence 14:05 Successful humanitarian efforts 22:17 Attack in Juba as an example of recent trends 27:51 The impact on civilians trapped in the conflict aidworkerssecurity.org https://www.amazon.com/Necessary-Risks-Professional-Humanitarianism-Violence/dp/3030264106

At the time of recording, the coronavirus outbreak that originated in China has infected over 4,500 people -- though that number is sure to dramatically increase in the coming days. The vast majority of the people affected by this outbreak are in China, though infections have been confirmed in at least 14 other countries. And, again, the number of countries impacted will certainly increase. There is a lot we still don't know about the coronavirus and this outbreak -- but we do know that this coronavirus outbreak is poised to become a major global health crisis. So, for this episode, I wanted to give you a sense of the kind of global health infrastructure that exists for exactly moments like this. On the line with me to discuss the international response to this outbreak so far, including actions taken by the World Health Organization is Ambassador John E Lange. He is a retired ambassador from the United States who currently serves as a senior fellow for Global Health Diplomacy with the United Nations Foundation. Ambassador Lange also served, from 2006 to 2009 as the US Special Representative for Avian Flu and Pandemic Flu preparedness. This gives him some unique insight into how both the US government and entities like the WHO respond to these kinds of fast-moving outbreaks. We kick off discussing the World Health Organization's role in managing the global response to an outbreak like this, including the relevance of something called the 2005 International Health Regulations. These were adopted by the international community following the SARS outbreak in 2003. We also discuss potential scenarios for the coronavirus to turn into a pandemic that could deeply impact poorer countries with weak health systems. By the time you are listening to this, the WHO will likely have declared this situation. But when Amb. Lange and I spoke on January 28, they had not yet made that declaration. Still, anticipating it, we do discuss what is meant by the term. https://www.undispatch.com/ https://www.facebook.com/UNDispatch/ https://www.globaldispatchespodcast.com/ https://www.who.int/

In the midst of the impeachment drama unfolding in Washington, DC a rare thing happened: Republicans and Democrats came together and in an overwhelmingly bi-partisan move, supported a bill known as the Global Fragility Act. In brief, The Global Fragility Act is intended to address a key gap in how the US government approaches conflict prevention and post-conflict peace-building in what are known as fragile countries. The bill was broadly supported and in part conceived by advocates in the global humanitarian and relief community. And on the line with me to discuss the new Global Fragility Act is Dr. Dafna Rand, vice president of policy and research at Mercy Corps. She is also a former deputy assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor. The Global Fragility Act is one of those under-the-radar policy stories that has big potential to change key aspects of US policy towards parts of the world beset by instability. 0:56 The Global Fragility Act 3:52 The first exciting aspect of the Global Fragility Act 9:17 Definition of a 'fragile' state 13:41 The second exciting aspect of the Global Fragility Act 15:18 The intended results of the new law https://www.undispatch.com/ https://www.globaldispatchespodcast.com/ https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches https://www.facebook.com/UNDispatch/

Burkina Faso, the landlocked country in West Africa, is in the midst of an escalating humanitarian emergency. Over half a million people have been displaced in the last year -- a 500% increase from one year ago, according to the latest data from the United Nations. The vast majority of the newly displaced are fleeing an unrelenting series of terrorist attacks. Most of these attacks are occurring in regions near the border with Mali. But terrorist violence has also reached the capitol city Ouagadougou including high profile strikes against foreign targets, like an attack on a western hotel in 2016 and an attack on the French embassy in 2018. As we enter 2020, the scale and pace of terrorist attacks has picked up in intensity. This includes a late December attack in the town of Arbinda, in a province that borders Mali, which saw at least 37 civilians killed. Also, earlier this year, there was a bombing of a bus carrying school children that killed 14 people. This surge in violence in Burkina Faso comes six years after peaceful protests lead to the ouster of longtime ruler Blaise Compaoré. And according to my guest today, the increase pace of terrorist attacks in Burkina Faso might be tied to upcoming elections in 2020, which are being contested by Blaise Compaoré's political party. Arsene Brice Bado is professor of political science at the center for research and action for peace, known as CERAP, at the Jesuit University in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. He is from Burkina Faso, and in this conversation he offers a few explanations for why his country is experiencing such violence after a rather euphoric period following the ouster of Blaise Compaoré. We kick off discussing some recent attacks in Burkina Faso before having a longer conversation about the causes and consequences of increasing violence in Burkina Faso. We also discuss what kinds of policies and what kinds of international engagement might help reduce the prospect of further violence. If you have twenty minutes and want to understand why Burkina Faso is experiencing a man-made humanitarian emergency, and what that means for the broader Sahel region -- and the world, have a listen. I am very excited to announce that this episode is the first in a series of episodes supported in part from a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York. The grant will help the show feature African perspectives on peace and security issues in Africa. Needles to say, I am very excited for the content that will be produced from this partnership. I'll discuss it in more detail after the episode.

On January 12 2010, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives. Millions more were made homeless. Around the world, there was a huge outpouring of support and solidarity for the people of Haiti. This included billions of dollars pledged for Haiti relief and reconstruction. Ten years later, much of the rubble is gone. But the massive reconstruction plans have materialized to a degree commensurate with the promises that were made at time. So what happened to the billions of dollars pledged and to the grand promises to "build back better?" On the line with me to discuss what happened with Haiti earthquake reconstruction is Jacqueline Charles. She is a veteran reporter with the Miami Herald who has reported this story for many years. I caught up with her in Port Au Prince where she was covering events around the 10th anniversary of the earthquake. Her series in the Miami Herald, called Haiti Earthquake: A Decade of Aftershocks is an absolute must read and I'll post a link to it on the homepage. The series includes an interview with Bill Clinton, who was the major international figure raising money for Haiti reconstruction and helping to coordinate the international response. He served, for a time as the co-chair of a commission directing international relief efforts and Jaqueline Charles and I discuss the legacy of Bill Clinton's efforts to that end.

The conflict in Syria is entering a new phase. Over the last several years Syrian government forces, backed by outside powers like Russia and Iran, have steadily regained control of territory held by rebel factions. As they lay siege to opposition fighters, they forced groups, including massive numbers of civilians to retreat to a part of Syria called Idlib. This is in the Northwest of the country near the border of Turkey. Today, this is the largest rebel-held bastion. The number of fighters is relatively small compared to the some 4 million civilians trapped there. Russian fighter jets and Syrian artillery have continued to target this area, though there has not been an all out ground invasion. Meanwhile, millions of civilians trapped here and also other rebel held parts of the country in the Northeast are dependent on humanitarian relief to stay alive. For the last six years, the main lifeline for civilians in rebel held territory in these parts of Syria has been aid delivered across the border. What is significant about the cross border aid delivery is that it is done without the consent of the Syrian government; this is unusual because for both legal and practical reasons the United Nations and aid agencies it works with requires the host country's permission to operate. But in 2014, with humanitarian disaster mounting across the border from Turkey, and with the Syrian regime not permitting aid deliveries to rebel held parts of the country, the UN Security Council used its authority to authorize the cross border delivery of aid -- even if the Syrian government would not consent. This was a big deal at the time, and allowed a massive aid operation to reach vulnerable populations in Northern Syria. The Security Council resolution enabling the cross border delivery of aid requires re-authorization every year. And every year, even with Russian acceptance, it was re-authorized. That was until this year. On January 10th Russia forced the Security Council to severely limit these aid operations. Now, says Vanessa Jackson of the humanitarian organization CARE International, cross border aid operations will be extremely limited and perhaps even cease all together in the near future. Vanessa Jackson is the United Nations representative for CARE International. She has been following both the debate on Syria at the Security Council closely we discuss the impact of this restriction on the delivery of humanitarian aid as well as how this move fits into the broader trajectory of the conflict in Syria.

We may be in for a very turbulent year of nuclear diplomacy with North Korea Since 2018, North Korea has had a self-imposed moratorium on the testing of nuclear weapons and long range missiles, like the kind that could reach the United States. The moratorium stems from the diplomatic opening between the United States and North Korea that culminated in three meetings between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un. However, even as North Korea has paused its long range missile and nuclear testing, it has continued other tests to advance its nuclear weapons program. At the very end of 2019, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivered remarks in a New Year's speech that suggest what this self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and missile testing was over -- and on top of that, that North Korea has a powerful new weapon in its arsenal. So what does this all mean for nuclear diplomacy with North Korea and the prospect of more provocations, or even outright conflict? On the line with me to discuss where we are headed with North Korea is Dr. Jeffrey Lewis. He is a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterrey. He is a longtime nuclear security expert and and North Korea watcher. We kick off discussing the impact, if any, of the US killing of Iranian general Qassam Soulemani on North Korea's strategic thinking before having a longer conversation about North Korea's nuclear program and the prospects for diplomacy in 2020. Also, last time Jeffrey Lewis was on the show we discussed his book, published in 2018, which is actually a novel that presents a very plausible scenario for a nuclear exchange between North Korea and the United States that takes place in 2020. So, naturally, we ended this conversation discussing the likelihood of whether or not the events he describes in his book may transpire. https://www.patreon.com/GlobalDispatches