Advocacy Update
Senate Appropriations Committee Advances FY25 SFOPS Bill
Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee met to markup the fiscal year (FY) 2025 State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs (SFOPS) bill. The bill included a topline of $61.6 billion, more than $3 billion above the FY24 enacted level, as well as $9.67 billion for global health programs — approximately $355.5 million below the FY24 enacted level and approximately $152.65 million below the FY25 President’s Budget Request — but an improvement on the steep cuts proposed in the House version of the bill. The challenge, now, will be the negotiation, or conference, between Senate and House appropriators, with the final numbers likely falling somewhere between the two. Lawmakers leaving D.C. for August recess, and uncertainty around the outcome of U.S. elections, will make lame-duck negotiations to finalize appropriations bills by the end of the calendar year even more challenging.
GHC will have more advocacy actions as the Senate and House hopefully come together for negotiations in the Fall. In the meantime, we encourage advocates to take a look at the bill text and report.
Pandemic Fund Launches New Investment Case
In advance of a pledging conference later this year, the Pandemic Fund launched its Investment Case on July 24th. Earlier this month, Priya Basu, Executive Head of the Pandemic Fund, and Dr. John Nkengasong, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator and Senior Bureau Official for Global Health Security and Diplomacy at the U.S. Department of State, provided context for the Investment Case in a Town Hall for the Fund’s Civil Society & Communities Constituency. The discussion highlighted the demand for Pandemic Fund resources, the unique role of the Fund within the broader global health architecture, and its resource needs going forward.
To raise awareness of the Pandemic Fund’s mandate and resource mobilization objectives, advocates are encouraged to use the available social media tools and executive summary of the Investment Case.
WHO Pandemic Agreement Negotiations Resume
The 10th meeting of the WHO Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB10), which is guiding Member State-led negotiations on a pandemic agreement, took place July 16–17 to determine a path forward for the negotiations. At the meeting, Anne-Claire Amprou, French Ambassador for Global Health, was named new INB co-chair, replacing Roland Driece of the Netherlands. Precious Matsoso of South Africa will continue in her role as co-chair. Member States took the floor during the two-day meeting to share their views on how negotiations should progress and when countries should aim to have an agreement finalized. Some Member States called for negotiations to be wrapped up by the end of the year, while others noted their preference for a longer deadline of the World Health Assembly next May.
The agenda also included a discussion of civil society and non-State actor (NSA) engagement in the negotiations for a pandemic agreement; GHC made a statement on this issue. Civil society voices must be included when contentious issues — such as access to treatment, vaccines, and diagnostics; pathogen access and benefits sharing; and financing — are discussed. GHC will continue to keep you up-to-date on the meetings planned for the coming months. In the meantime, we encourage you to stay engaged in the process.
New Immunization Data
UNICEF and WHO just released the latest report on immunization data. According to the data, 2.7 million more children were un- or under-vaccinated globally in 2023, as compared to 2019. More than half of these unvaccinated children live in fragile, conflict-affected, and vulnerable settings, where they are most likely to be affected by preventable diseases due to lack of access to security, nutrition, and health. Governments must increase investments and collaborations to fill the vaccination gap, giving special attention to those children living in vulnerable settings. Advocates must push governments to accelerate efforts to meet the Immunization Agenda 2030 targets.