Advocacy Updates ~ June 13, 2022
Administration News
Dr. John Nkengasong sworn in as U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator
On June 13, Dr. John Nkengasong was sworn in as U.S. Ambassador-at-Large, Coordinator of the United States Government Activities to Combat HIV/AIDS Globally. In this role, Dr. Nkengasong will manage and oversee the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a U.S. initiative to accelerate progress toward ending the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
President Biden announced a plan for health emergency response and health system strengthening at Summit of the Americas
On June 8, President Biden led leaders at the Summit of the Americas to adopt an “Action Plan on Health and Resilience in the Americas” to help countries prevent, prepare for, and respond to future pandemic threats and expand health services to improve equity and reach marginalized populations. To achieve these goals, President Biden also announced a new initiative called the Americas Health Corp, which will be aligned with another new initiative called the Global Health Worker Initiative.
White House releases first-ever water security strategy
On June 1, the White House launched the White House Action Plan on Global Water Security. This plan identifies the direct links between water and U.S. national security amid rising water insecurity and accelerating climate crisis. The Action Plan is organized around three pillars:
- Advancing U.S. leadership to help achieve universal and equitable access to affordable, sustainable, and climate-resilient water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services without increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
- Promoting the sustainable management of water resources and their associated ecosystems to support economic growth, build resilience, mitigate the risk of instability or conflict, and increase cooperation.
- Ensuring that multilateral action mobilizes cooperation and promotes water security.
Congressional News
House schedules FY23 appropriations markups
The House Appropriations Committee announced the expected schedule for marking up the Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 appropriations bills. Subcommittee and Full Committee markups for the 12 annual appropriations bills are scheduled to commence on Wednesday, June 15, and conclude on Thursday, June 30. The State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) Subcommittee markup is expected to take place on Wednesday, June 22, and the SFOPS full committee markup is expected to take place on Wednesday, June 29. Dates are subject to change and the location of each markup will be shared as they become available.
International News
WTO’s 12th Ministerial Conference is underway
The World Trade Organization (WTO)’s 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12) is currently taking place from June 12-15 at WTO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. This is the first ministerial meeting since December 2017. High on the agenda is a proposal to temporarily waive intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines. Ministers are also expected to discuss whether to lift or ease export restrictions on food to address the looming global food crisis arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and war in Ukraine. They will also decide on whether to increase support for the U.N. World Food Program to help fight the current surge in food insecurity. All relevant documents on MC12 can be found here.
G7 leaders to meet at summit later this month
The 48th G7 Summit will take place from June 26- 28 at Schloss Elmau in Germany. The seven nations are set to discuss the conflict in Ukraine and the resulting global food and energy crisis in addition to combating climate change and the ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. GHC has worked with partners at InterAction to develop health policy recommendations focused on addressing inequities of the COVID-19 pandemic in low- and middle-income countries, strengthening the global health architecture through smart policies and sustainable financing, and strengthening health systems and addressing overlooked health challenges.
Pandemic instrument negotiations continue
The Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) negotiating a new pandemic instrument resumed its second session on June 6-8. Discussions during the resumed session focused on the process to identify the substantive elements of the instrument. The INB approved this process and an additional meeting is scheduled for June 15-17 for the INB Bureau to present the substantive elements. All relevant documents pertaining to the session can be found here.