GHC Statement on Disappointing FY22 Omnibus Bill
WASHINGTON, DC (March 10, 2022) — Yesterday, the United States House of Representatives passed an omnibus funding bill for Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22), which includes only minor increases for global health and falls far short of meeting pressing needs. Critical COVID-19 supplemental relief funds, which were set to pass with the annual spending package, were stripped from the measure entirely. Global Health Council (GHC) is deeply disappointed that the funding level dramatically undercuts the U.S’s own pandemic response goals and puts broader global health progress at risk.
Previous emergency funding for the global COVID-19 response has been fully obligated. While the disease remains a global health emergency, there are now no further resources ready to address it. Inaction by Congress means vaccines cannot reach people who need them, and more lives will be lost. Furthermore, the ripple effects of the pandemic — felt across global health, development, and humanitarian programs — will continue to reverberate. Without additional resources, it will take us years to recover from these devastating impacts.
“Congress and the administration must step up to the plate,” said Elisha Dunn-Georgiou, President and CEO of GHC. “They have a window of opportunity to request and pass an FY23 budget that reflects urgent needs and demonstrates continued U.S. global health leadership.”
The U.S. has long played a critical role in fighting diseases, establishing effective programs, and developing health systems throughout the world. As the largest donor to global health programs, U.S. leadership is more critical now than ever. The past two years have been painful evidence of the need to usher in a new era of investments to transform the current system and ensure a safer, healthier, and more equitable future. That is why Congress and the administration must act now to make more funding available to fulfill these commitments and, most importantly, save lives.
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About Global Health Council
Global Health Council is the leading membership organization devoted to advancing global health priorities by uniting advocates, implementers, policymakers, and other stakeholders. Using the power of our community’s collective voice, we work across disease areas to drive sustainable funding and equitable policies that improve global health and well-being for all
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