Advocacy

In a year marked by geopolitical uncertainty and shrinking support for global health investments, GHC remained steadfast in its advocacy for equitable, people-centered policies that advance health for all.

U.S. Global Health Leadership

Our efforts toward increased and robust global health funding in FY25 include:

  • Through the Budget & Appropriations Working Group, hosting in-person and virtual Hill Days with multiple congressional offices. We also created a leave-behind document highlighting the need and calls to action.
  • Submitting 274 global health appropriations requests across 63 offices between the House and Senate. The 22 Senate offices included seven Republicans and 15 Democrats. In the House, we met with 41 Representatives, including 20 Republicans and 21 Democrats. The majority of budget requests were for topline State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS)—including the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development—and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS)—including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.
  • Submitting programmatic requests for global health security; water, sanitation, and hygiene; health system strengthening; malaria; and WHO.
  • Submitting Outside Witness Testimony to House SFOPS, Senate SFOPS, and Senate LHHS.
  • Through the Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH) Working Group, hosting Hill Days, meeting with 27 House offices and 13 Senate offices. This working group also led a FY25 House MCH and Nutrition Community Sign on Letter and FY25 Senate MCH and Nutrition Community Sign on Letter, in addition to a FY25 Senate Dear Colleague letter.
  • Leading two community sign-on letters to House and Senate appropriators, opposing cuts to the House-proposed FY25 SFOPS and LHHS bills, garnering more than 60 signatures each.
  • Joining a small group meeting with House Appropriation Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro to discuss the FY25 SFOPS bill.
  • Endorsing the World Oral Health Day (Senate) and World AIDS Day (House and Senate) resolutions.

Multilateral Engagement

  • Providing input on the WHO 14th Global Programme of Work (GPW14), which was passed at the 77th World Health Assembly (WHA).
  • Providing inputs to the Social Participation Resolution, which was also passed at WHA77.
  • Through our position on the Steering Committee of the WHO Civil Society Commission, supporting the development and publication of a study on the involvement of civil society in drafting key resolutions and decisions adopted by WHA77. The study also provided recommendations on improving these engagements.
  • Leading the development and implementation of the Civil Society Commission’s first workplan and securing funding for 2024 from the WHO Secretariat.
  • Becoming an active UHC2030 Steering Committee Representative for Civil Society in the Global North. In this role, GHC was able to advocate for civil society on an important and highly influential platform. It also allowed us to provide significant input on UHC2030’s 2024–2025 workplan and strategy and ensure meaningful engagement of civil society and communities at all levels.
  • When Member States failed to approve the WHO Secretariat’s recommendation for CSOs that applied for official relations status with WHO, GHC led advocacy efforts calling for Member States to abide by the Framework of Engagement with Non-State Actors (FENSA). The CSOs in question were subsequently approved at WHA77.
  • Co-leading InterAction’s G7/20 Health Working Group to develop policy recommendations, with input from our Multilateral Engagement Working Group. GHC shared these recommendations with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Global Affairs as well as the U.S. G7/20 sherpa team.

Global Health Security

  • Hosting virtual and in-person FY25 Hill Days to educate congressional staff on the multiple U.S. agencies involved in global health security efforts, and multilateral initiatives, such as the Pandemic Fund, that also support collective health security.
  • Through the Global Health Security Working Group, providing feedback on the U.S. Global Health Security Strategy and attending consultations on strategies for the Global Health Diplomacy Bureau and the Health and Human Services Office of Global Affairs Strategies, all of which were in development.
  • Leading the development and outreach on the FY25 Global Health Security “Dear Colleague” letter, which garnered bipartisan support with 46 signatories.
  • GHC President and CEO Elisha Dunn-Georgiou continued a two-year term, serving as the primary Global North Civil Society Representative on the Pandemic Fund Governing Board. Elisha served on the board’s Resource Mobilization and Strategy committees helping to develop and implement a long-term replenishment strategy for the Pandemic Fund, including voting to approve the second round of funding for pandemic preparedness and response.

Health Equity

  • Developing and launching an election campaign with the Civil Society Engagement Mechanism (CSEM) of UHC2030 which included webinars, workshops, as well as in-person regional, national, and global events.
  • Announcing the second cohort of AIM grant recipients with a focus on pandemic preparedness. The five participants from the program were able to present the results of their grants programs at the 2024 Global Health Landscape Symposium.
  • Launching a Health Equity Working Group, consisting of 40 organizations from low- and middle-income countries. The group drafted an advocacy plan and messages to amplify the need for, and attention to health equity.
  • Leading the writing and publication of a EuroHealth Publication on Empowering Communities and Civil Society through Social Participation.
  • Publishing a blog on health inequities in conflict settings, which included key calls to action for governments that have been used in various advocacy platforms (such as the WHO Executive Board meeting and WHA). The blog is available here, using the password “HealthEquity.”