Advocacy Update: Top Things to Know This Week

GHC President & CEO selected as Interim CSO Representative to the now formally established Pandemic Fund

On September 7, GHC’s President & CEO, Elisha Dunn-Georgiou, was selected as an interim civil society representative of the new Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response (PPR) Governing Board. In this role, Dunn-Georgiou will elevate and center community voices, as well as demonstrate the importance of civil society in informing the design and governance of the PPR FIF. 

The FIF Governing Board officially established the new financial intermediary fund (FIF) at its inaugural meeting on September 8-9. This fund is housed at the World Bank and targets low- and middle-income countries to provide significant investments to strengthen PPR capabilities and address critical gaps in their health systems. The first calls for proposals for investments to be funded by the FIF will open in November.

Biden administration requests supplemental global COVID-19 funds as part of a larger package

On September 2, the Biden Administration requested Congress to pass a short-term continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown that includes $47.1 billion in emergency funding to aid Ukraine, combat COVID-19 and monkeypox, and respond to natural disasters. Approximately $4.6 billion would go towards global health, including $4 billion to the State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for COVID-19 to support shots in arms, therapeutics and diagnostics, and preparedness and response capacity, as well as $600 million to fight monkeypox globally.

77th UN General Assembly commences tomorrow 

The 77th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA77) will take place from September 13-27 and will bring world leaders together to debate and work together on a wide array of international issues. The annual meeting is expected to focus on ongoing global crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, food insecurity, and Russia’s war in Ukraine. A list of UNGA77 side events can be found here. 

Congress returns to Washington to work on must-pass Continuing Resolution

House and Senate lawmakers are returning to Washington following the August recess. Attention is focused on passing a continuing resolution to fund the government past the September 30 fiscal year deadline. It is unclear which parts of President Biden’s supplemental request might be attached to the resolution but broad support for COVID-19 or monkeypox funding is unlikely.

Global Fund releases 2022 Results Report

The new report highlights the progress made in the last year in the fight against HIV, TB and malaria despite many challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, escalating conflicts, and climate change. Programs supported by the Global Fund partnership had saved 50 million lives as of the end of 2021.

WHO and UNICEF release new report on WASH services in healthcare facilities  

The latest Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) emphasizes the linkages between water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and infection prevention and control measures. The report notes that half of healthcare facilities worldwide lack water and soap or alcohol-based hand rub where patients receive care, and at toilets in these facilities. Approximately 3.85 billion people rely on these healthcare facilities, putting them at greater risk of infection, including 668 million people who receive care at facilities without any hygiene services at all. 

USAID and PEPFAR releases HRH2030 Global Final Report

The Human Resources for Health in 2030 (HRH2030) program, funded by USAID and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) is a six-year cooperative agreement that supports low- and middle-income countries to develop the health workforce needed to prevent maternal and child deaths, support the goals of Family Planning 2020 (now 2030), control the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and protect communities from infectious diseases. The final report highlights the program’s achievements and looks at the road ahead for health systems to further strengthen the health workforce and advance universal health coverage.