Advocacy Update ~ February 24, 2020
US Updates
Senators Call on Trump Administration to Immediately Fill Global Health Security Position
A group of 27 Senators sent a letter to Robert O’Brien, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs requesting they appoint a qualified, dedicated, senior global health security expert to the White House’s National Security Council to address and coordinate administration efforts in response to COVID-19 and other global health security threats.
Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Held Pandemics Roundtable
On February 12, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee (HSGA) held a roundtable about protecting America from global pandemics.. Guests included Julie Gerberding (former CDC Director), Scott Gotlieb (former FDA Commissioner), and Luciana Borio (former Director for Medical and Biodefense Preparedness at the National Security Council).
Global Updates
UN Secretary General Visited Pakistan
Secretary General Antonio Guterres visited Pakistan during a nationwide polio campaign. He commented that “Polio is one of the few diseases we can eradicate in the world in the next few years.”
WHO Director-General Addressed COVID-19 and Ebola at Munich Security Conference
The annual Munich Security Conference took place from February 14-16. As global health security concerns took center stage, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesuswas, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), was in attendance along with 135 leaders and ministers He addressed global concerns around the ongoing COVID-19 and Ebola outbreaks.
New Date Announced for the 19th International Conference on Infectious Diseases
The conference which was originally planned for this week has been rescheduled for September 10-13. Details about the conference are available here.
This post was written by Rebecca Daedalus, Advocacy & Community Partnerships Coordinator, and Kiki Kalkstein, Director of Advocacy and Engagement.