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ACCESS

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United Nations General Assembly

Though the United Nations General Assembly is an annual event, 2023 was a particularly important year for GHC, with high-level meetings (HLMs) taking place on pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response (PPPR), universal health coverage (UHC), and tuberculosis (TB). GHC was very involved in the negotiations leading up to these meetings. Prior to the HLMs, GHC participated in the development of the Action Agenda for the UHC Movement led by UHC2030. These messages were shared with missions and eventually were cited in the UHC Political Declaration. GHC also played an active role while at the convening in New York:

  • In partnership with the United Nations Foundation and the Civil Society Engagement Mechanism (CSEM) of UHC2030, hosting a virtual UNGA78 101 briefing attended by 500 people
  • Moderating a plenary session, From UHC Commitment to Actions and Accountability, at the multi-stakeholder forum for the UHC HLM
  • Moderating an unofficial side session on non-communicable diseases, Enabling People Living with NCDs’ Right to Health through Universal Health Coverage, co-hosted by the Permanent Mission of Jamaica to the UN, WHO Office at UN Headquarters, NCD Alliance, and The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust
  • Moderating an unofficial side session hosted by CISDI, Finding a New Balance: Politics versus Reality in Achieving Universal Health Coverage
  • Co-hosting and co-moderating an in-person post-HLM civil society briefing and strategy session in collaboration with CSEM/UHC2030
  • Co-hosting, with the United Nations Foundation, a hybrid in-person/virtual post-UNGA debrief for civil society organizations in Washington, D.C.

World Health Assembly

Though WHO continued to limit the number of passes to non-state actors, GHC brought a delegation of six to the 76th World Health Assembly, where we:

  • Made four interventions
  • Hosted a networking event for the many CSOs that traveled to Geneva
  • Co-hosted a session on malaria intervention with the Global Health Technology Coalition
  • Co-hosted a session on health workers
  • Along with the A Shot in the Arm podcast, broadcasted a daily wrap-up program at the 76th World Health Assembly

Attendees, including GHC President and CEO Elisha Dunn-Georgiou, enjoying the GHC Happy Hour in Geneva on the margins of WHA76.

GHC Senior Manager of Advocacy and Engagement, Ansley Moore, and other attendees of GHC’s Happy Hour in Geneva.

In addition, throughout 2023, GHC:

  • Increased engagement in the G20 and G7
  • Created and leveraged opportunities for civil society engagement with multilateral organizations by serving:
    • On the Pandemic Fund Governing Board
    • On the steering committee of the first-ever World Health Organization Civil Society Commission
    • As the Global North Civil Society Alternate Representative on the UHC2030 Steering Committee
  • Opened submissions for the second round of Advocacy in Motion (AIM) grants, with a focus on pandemic preparedness
  • Expanded the number of GHC working groups to eight, including the new Equity and Health Systems Strengthening working groups
  • Hosted 10+ meetings for members with high-level Biden administration officials from USAID, CDC, State Department, and Health and Human Services