February Newsletter

A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR

Dear Colleagues,

I hope your 2022 is off to a great start. It certainly has been a busy few weeks here at ACTION as partners continue to follow-up on commitments made at the N4G Summit in December, collaborate with coalitions and allies like the Global Fund and CEPI, and continue to push for vaccine equity around the world. Partner RESULTS UK did not let up the pressure on the UK government to make a financial pledge to global nutrition programs after it failed to make a pledge at the Nutrition for Growth Summit in December, and that work finally showed results when the UK government announced its £1.5 billion pledge. While the work to increase financial commitments and hold leaders accountable continues, this is still an important reminder that this advocacy work is truly making an impact.

In light of the social inequities that have been spotlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been increased discourse around health equity. Our partner Results Canada recently launched a new health equity page giving an overview of their priority issues. The push to move the needle forward on health equity to ensure access to healthcare is a cornerstone of the partnership’s work. See my latest blog in Devex to read more on the global health agenda. 

We have been excited to see the power of partnership and collaboration as exemplified by our partners KANCO in Kenya and Results Canada during their Pandemic Proof the World event. They’ve held meetings this week with staff and Kenyan and Canadian Parliamentarians to discuss ending the epidemics and the impact that the Global Fund has had in doing so. Several partners, including Health Promotion Tanzania, continue to engage around the GFF while elevating the voices of civil society.

ACTION relies heavily on its volunteer advocates who dedicate their time to making the world a better place. That network of advocates is growing, with Results Australia launching their 2022 fellowship program. This is an opportunity for the next generation of leaders to learn leadership and advocacy skills to foster positive change.

This Black History Month, I urge us all to reflect on the way our roles as advocates, allies, and people play into structural power dynamics and what we can do to weave anti-oppression and anti-racism into our lives, both at home and at work. This is an important and ongoing practice if we truly want to dismantle colonial systems of oppression and achieve health equity.

In solidarity,

Vineeta

Vineeta Gupta, MD, JD, LL.M
Director, ACTION Secretariat

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Advocacy Updates:

• Check out Results Canada new issue page on health equity! This is a space to give a comprehensive and concise overview of their advocacy work as it relates to #HealthEquity.
• In January, ACTION partners mobilized to amplify messaging on the Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust pledge of US$300 million to the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, or CEPI. The pledges come ahead of a global replenishment conference in March to support CEPI’s visionary five-year plan to better prepare for, prevent, and equitably respond to future epidemics and pandemics. Results Australia sent a Pre-Budget Submission to the Treasury recommending the Government invests AUD$20 million per year in CEPI over a five-year period, and with the End COVID For All coalition, sent an Open Letter signed by influential leaders in health, international development, and business to the Prime Minister and other key Ministers, which included the CEPI ask. Various ACTION partners attended the CEPI CSO Dialogue meeting. ACTION Secretariat Director Dr. Vineeta Gupta was referred to multiple times on equity and the LMIC engagement, role, and participation by the speaker giving civil society perspectives. ACTION partners are playing a key role in the CEPI replenishment moment in March, and the leadership provided by the partners is much appreciated by CEPI and BMGF. 
• The ACTION Secretariat wrapped up internal analysis with a consultant to gain insight on ECD investments within the World Bank’s IDA portfolio. It builds on prior work from 2017 and will be used to re-invigorate relationships with the Bank’s Early Years team. In late-December 2021, the Bank team finally shared some preliminary data on ECD investments and an internal Bank methodology document. Overall, we found that while ECD spending is up, more must be done to ensure that the Bank publishes their own investment data, so we can hold them accountable and make the case for increased investments in ECD in IDA20, which will start in the upcoming fiscal year in July. This will be a priority for us in our World Bank advocacy moving forward.  
• ACTION participated in a Gates CSO coordinating call on the GFF Resource Mobilization Campaign in January, and partners provided updates across several markets, including Canada, Japan, Australia, and the U.S. The GFF Secretariat shared that the final resource mobilization event will now take place in April 2022 at the World Bank Spring meetings.  
• HDT in Tanzania is collaborating with civil society to make evidence-based recommendations for domestic TB financing to better fund the AIDS Trust Fund and create the required legal and social basis around it.
• Results Canada is working with Canadian-based CSOs to rally behind a shared ask to see a CAD$1.5 B increase in the International Assistance Envelope in Budget 2022 as part of RC’s #TheWorldWeNeed campaign, which is focused on the direct response to #EndCovidEverywhere, recovering from devastating secondary impacts to #StopTheDeadlyDivide, and preparing for future pandemics to ensure we are #PandemicProof.
• Results Canada is now convening ACT-A advocates in Canada for a monthly call with ACT-A agencies. The purpose of the call is to create space for dialogue, information sharing, and coordination. Ideally these calls afford an opportunity for CSOs to ask questions of ACT-A hub partners and to better understand the technicalities of how the ACT-A is an opportunity. A positive outcome of this meeting was that CEPI was invited by ONE in Canada to participate in a parliamentary briefing they are hosting on Feb 10th. This means CEPI will have exposure in the Canadian market beyond the work of Results Canada.
• GHA has co-drafted a letter to European and African heads of state, ahead of the EU-AU Summit focused on tackling inequalities in accessing COVID-19 tools, as well as other health interventions. The letter was drafted as a conclusion to a PAN-led call with African CSOs and aims to raise African voices.
• ACTION partners are helping to mobilize resources for the COVAX Facility, which is calling for an additional global investment of US$5.2 billion. Our partners in Australia recently submitted a pre-budget recommendation for the Australian Government to contribute AUD$250 million and 20 million vaccine doses to COVAX. In the U.S., RESULTS Educational Fund is calling on Congress to include US$17 billion in supplemental funding for global vaccine access when they pass the final FY2022 spending bills; this $17 billion is to contribute to the ACT-A investment case plus an additional $40 billion needed to reach ACT-A’s targeted population of 3.6 billion people.
• ACTION partners are ramping up efforts to support the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) resource mobilization campaign to fund the financing gaps for both 2022 (created by donors withdrawing their support in 2021) and for the 2023–2026 strategic plan. ACTION partner RESULTS UK kicked of their “Finishing the fight to end polio” campaign with grassroots advocates writing to the Foreign Secretary informing her of GPEI’s vital role in immunization and global health security efforts and urging the government to spend £100 million a year for the remaining period of 2020–23 in line with UK’s existing pledge. Partner Results Australia have called on the Australian government in their pre-budget submission to included AUD$25 million for GPEI.
• Results Australia launched a Fellowship program in 2022, which is modeled after the U.S. program, and they are the second ACTION partner to do so. Results Canada launched their Fellowship program in 2021 and found it wildly successful.
• Results Australia met with the Chief of Staff of the Australian TB Caucus Co-Chair, Sharon Claydon MP, to discuss opportunities for TB advocacy in early 2022, primarily focusing on World TB Day, including the potential options for parliamentary events.
• Results Australia attended a TB event following an invitation as a CSO stakeholder by the event organizer, the Global TB Caucus. This event brought together parliamentarians, government officials, and CSOs to synergize G20 and G7 presidencies for a stronger TB focus and was co-hosted by the Global Fund and the G20 Health and Development Partnership. The event had a Q+A session to accompany key discussions regarding TB and the possible impacts the G20 and G7 can have on progress to end TB. Australian TB Caucus Co-Chair the Hon Warren Entsch MP delivered closing remarks and praised the work of CSOs.
• Members of the TB Vaccine Advocacy Roadmap Working Group discussed advocacy plans ahead of the Global Forum on TB Vaccine along with the recent TAG TB funding report and preliminary plans for World TB Day.
• KANCO is leading CSOs in Kenya in the development of the second Kenya Citizens Health Manifesto under the 2010 Constitution. In the last quarter, KANCOs Campaign’s Manager engaged key stakeholders and influential persons in mobilizing support for the documents, setting the stage, and identifying key persons in the political parties to engage.
• WACI Health hosted a GFAN Africa Meeting, convening 60 participants from the Africa region to plan their engagement in the 7th Replenishment that will take place in July 2022 in the U.S. GFAN Preparatory meetings will focus in Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, DRC, Senegal, and India. The participants developed 7 Key asks for the Investment case which include: boldness and ambition; people-centered approaches; work towards a sustainable; clarity on pandemic preparedness; protect the rights of key and vulnerable populations; heightened focus on private sector and foundations; and attaining the 2030 Agenda.
• KANCO held a Planning meeting with the Public Policy and CSO Engagement at Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance on COVAX replenishment support. The focus was KANCO -GAVI collaboration to support the “Break COVID now campaign.”

News:  

• The World Bank Civil Society Policy Forum (CSPF) Working Group, launched a call for proposals for a virtual CSPF to take place over the course of the weeks (April 4-April 15, 2022) directly preceding the Spring Meetings on April 22 – April 24, 2022. The call for proposals will close on February at 9:00 am ET. To attend the CSPF, we invite civil society to register for the Spring Meetings as soon as registrations open.
• AU member states will endorse the theme of nutrition for 2022 during the 35^th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly and civil society advocates are excited to engage the AU to make sure this translates to real, concrete action taken by member states.
• Joint op-ed signed by civil society leaders, including ACTION partner GHA France, calling on presidential candidates in the 2022 election to commit to increased international solidarity. Lettre ouverte aux candidat·e·s : « Les crises n’ont pas de frontières ! » (translation : “Open letter to candidate/s : ‘Crises don’t have borders’” [or “crises without borders”]).
• Action Against Hunter and Devex have published a new report, “Zeroing in on Ending Hunger,” analyzing results of surveying and in-depth interviews of local and international food security and nutrition experts to build a multi-dimensional picture of the global development community’s current perspectives on existing challenges and gather insights on how Zero Hunger might still be achieved.
• Researchers at Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development have developed a patent-free COVID vaccine, and it is already being manufactured in India (250 million doses so far) and will start soon in Indonesia, Botswana, and Bangladesh. In addition to being patent-free, which means the IP is open-source, it’s developed using decades-old technology, so for example, it only requires simple refrigeration. Video.
• In a letter to the White House, House and Senate Democrats call for $17 billion in supplemental funding for global vaccination efforts. ACTION partner RESULTS Educational Fund is working with U.S. coalition partners CARE, Partners in Health, and others to set up congressional meetings with key members of Congress before the February 18 deadline to advocate on the need for $17 billion in supplemental funding. Speaking of global vaccination funding, Gavi is warning they may have to stop taking dose donations for COVAX because they don’t have the resources to distribute them. When asked how much money COVAX had left for rollout, Gavi CEO Seth Berkley replied: “None.”

Resources and Blogs:  

• “Avoiding the colonization of health equity” by Secretariat Director Dr. Vineeta Gupta in Devex
• Parliament debates how to ensure equitable access to vaccines by Harry Bignell of RESULTS UK
• A new year for nutrition by Katy McMahon of Results UK
• The World Bank Vaccine Deployment Tracker helps identify countries in urgent need of financial and operational support for scaling-up vaccine deployment, and helps monitor, track and resolve bottlenecks on the ground.
• Partners Ending Poverty with RESULTS, a deep dive on global nutrition and ways that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted strides to end malnutrition
• “No White Saviors – From Allies to Co-Conspirators,” a webinar that explored advocacy that embraces solidarity with others through the lens of anti-oppression and equity
• A New Year for Nutrition by Mathilde Chiesa of RESULTS UK

Events and Opportunities:

• February TBD: Global Fund Preconference
• Feb 5: RESULTS Educational Fund National Webinar with Dorothy Brown and Rosemary Mburu
• February 5–6: AU Summit  
• February 16–17: EU/AU Summit 
• February 18–20: Munich Security Conference  
• Feb 22–24: 6th Global Forum on TB Vaccines 
• March 7–8: CEPI International Replenishment Summit to End Pandemics 
• March 8: International Women’s Day 
• Mach 21–25: Global Fund 18th Committee meetings 
• March 24: World TB Day