Advocacy Update: Top Things to Know This Week
GHC Joins WHO Healthcare Data Collaborative Board
Global Health Council recently joined the WHO Healthcare Data Collaborative governing board. The Healthcare Data Collaborative convenes more than 1,100 individual members from over 450 organizations and represents a diverse range of stakeholders. It serves as a platform to discuss the quality and use of data, and how to improve weak/fragmented health information systems. In this new role, GHC will advocate for governments and key stakeholders to design health information systems that prioritize and routinely collect data from populations for whom we currently have the least information.
Going forward, the Healthcare Data Collaborative will have opportunities for civil society at the country level to become engaged, including capacity-building workshops. We will be sure to keep you informed. If you are interested in learning more, please email advocacy@globalhealth.org.
Pandemic Agreement Update
The WHO’s Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) is meeting to continue negotiations on the pandemic agreement. Decisions from these ne
An updated draft of the Pandemic Agreement is now available. Negotiations on the Agreement are scheduled to conclude in May, at the World Health Assembly. However, countries continue to be far off track in reaching consensus.
The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Global Affairs — which serves as the U.S. representative to WHO and is part of the team engaged with the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body for the Pandemic Agreement — will be hosting a listening session on April 11 to gather input on the current draft from U.S. global health stakeholders.
WHO Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors
During this year’s WHO Executive Board meeting, Member States failed to approve the Secretariat’s recommended list of CSOs applying for official relation status, despite all criteria having been met . A decision was made to continue discussions in upcoming meetings leading up to the World Health Assembly.
This decision not only undermines the purpose of the Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors (FENSA), but further demonstrates the shrinking space for civil society engagement at WHO.
GHC has put together a sign-on letter and would welcome your organization lending its support. Together, we can hold Member States accountable for their commitment to engage with NSAs to build a healthier and safer world for all. Sign on here by Monday, April 22, 2024.
U.S. Global Health Budgets Continue Era of Stagnation
As mentioned above, both the approved SFOPSs FY24 budget and the Biden Administration’s proposed FY25 budget were released this month. The back-to-back announcements were a clear illustration of how much ground we must make up in order to meet current health challenges. For more details, we encourage you to read GHC’s statements on our website here.
We turn our attention now to FY25 appropriations. To join our efforts, consider becoming a part of the Budget & Appropriations Working Group. We will be convening advocates to participate in meetings with Members of Congress and their staff on the Hill in early April. Contact advocacy@globalhealth.org to learn more.