Advocacy Update ~ February 11, 2020
US Updates
President Trump Releases Proposed FY2021 Budget
Yesterday, the Trump Administration released its budget proposal for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021. Here is the link to the full budget appendix, as well as the State Department’s Congressional Budget Justification. GHC’s statement can be found here. Our fully updated budget table is available here.
Meeting to be Held on the Agricultural Implications of USAID’s Journey to Self-Reliance
USAID’s Board for International Food and Agricultural Development will hold a public meeting: Agricultural Growth, Structural Transformation, and the Journey to Self-Reliance: Implications for USAID Programming to be held on March 25 from 9:00am – 4:00pm.
Administration Nominates Jenny McGee to be an Associate Administrator at USAID
The Senate received the Administration’s nomination of Jenny McGee to become the Associate Administrator for Relief, Response, and Resilience at USAID. A hearing has not yet been scheduled.
House Passes Legislation on Childhood Cancer and Girls’ Education
The House passed H.R. 5338, the Global Hope Act on January 28. The bill authorizes the Secretary of State to pursue public-private partnerships, innovative financing mechanisms, research partnerships, and coordination with international and multilateral organizations to address childhood cancer globally. On the same day, the House also passed H.R. 2153, Keeping Girls in School Act, to support empowerment, economic security, and educational opportunities for adolescent girls around the world. Neither have been voted on in the Senate.
Hearings Held on the Hill:
- The House Foreign Affairs Committee (HFAC) held hearings on the Unique Challenges Women Face in Global Health as well as the Wuhan Coronavirus: Assessing the Outbreak, the Response, and Regional Implications on February 5th. Community advocates and GHC members participated as witnesses. In addition to the hearing on the novel coronavirus, Members of Congress received a briefing about the novel coronavirus with information from Dr. Redfield (CDC), Dr. Fauci (NIH), Dr. Kadlec (HHS), and Denise Hinton (FDA). Administration officials also briefed Senators about the virus and the U.S. response.
- On February 13th, HFAC will hold a hearing on the Youth Bulge in Africa: Considerations for U.S. Policy. Witness testimony text is not yet available for these hearings, but should come available shortly.
Global Updates
WHO Executive Board Meeting
The WHO’s Executive Board meeting took place last week from February 3-8 in Geneva. Topics included: primary health care, universal health coverage, ending tuberculous, neglected tropical diseases, cervical cancer elimination, vaccines, polio, and public health emergencies preparedness and response, including daily updates on the novel coronavirus. Meeting documents and recordings of the live webcasts are available online.
Release of Global Report on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights Funding
The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (PMNCH) recently released Funding for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights in low- and middle income countries: threats, outlook and opportunities. The focus of the report is on donors’ current and future priorities around sexual and reproductive health and rights, with a specific focus on universal health coverage.
This post was written by Kiki Kalkstein, Director of Advocacy and Engagement, and Rebecca Daedalus, Advocacy & Community Partnerships Coordinator.