Message from Elisha

Working in global health can sometimes feel like a Sisyphean endeavor. Just as we achieve progress in one area, vulnerabilities arise elsewhere. Over the last several years, our community has been stretched and challenged more than ever, facing everything from a global pandemic to ill-conceived policies and diminished funding. But together, we have continued to fight for the necessary resources to improve global health and well-being for all.

In this season of gratitude, I want to take the opportunity to express how grateful I am for this community. Global Health Council (GHC) would not exist if not for all of you – the 130+ organizations that comprise our membership. We are far stronger, and far better able to address the challenges that come our way, as a group. 

When I look back at the past year, there so many reasons I am grateful for this community. Here are just a few of the things we have been able to achieve together:

• Creating and leveraging opportunities for civil society engagement with multilateral organizations. GHC is proud to represent you on the Pandemic Fund governing board, on the Steering Committee of the first ever World Health Organization Civil Society Commission, and in our alternate role as the Global North Civil Society Representative on the UHC2030 Steering Committee. We are also honored to lead a delegation to the World Health Assembly and to maximize our collective presence at key global convenings.
• Increasing collaborations with members from historically under represented constituencies to increase equity in global health in local, regional, and global spaces. After multiple in-person and virtual consultations over the past two years, we are now standing up the Health Equity Roundtable, which will serve as an important channel for this work.  
• Partnerships with organizations that are outside of, but which intersect with, global health. For example, we have made great progress, working with colleagues in Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene to increase access to safe WASH in health care facilities and to address the nexus of climate and global health. We also endorsed the Global WASH in Healthcare Facilities act, which was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. 
• Producing the 2023 Global Health Briefing Book. This year, with your continued support, we created new component to the Briefing Book — an online Progress Report tracking global health-related resolutions and legislation.
• Shifting the narrative around global health security. After significant inputs from many of you, we created a digital infographic to establish a definition of global health security that is holistic and centers human rights, equity, dignity, and thriving development.
• Advocating for robust U.S. funding for global health programs. The current funding climate is challenging, to say the least. But this community has been tireless in its commitment to fighting for necessary resources. 
• Our new members! We were so pleased to have 25 organizations join our ranks in the past year. We look forward to continuing to work with you on all of these efforts.

Our work is never easy. But I am so grateful for the community and comradery of this group and what we are able to accomplish. I fully anticipate that, as new challenges emerge, we will face them effectively. I truly believe that by working together, we can achieve global health and well-being for all.