A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR
Dear colleagues and co-conspirators,
The ACTION partnership has kicked off summer with deep advocacy around the Global Fund’s 7th Replenishment and the ongoing global COVID-19 response and future pandemic preparedness.
Focus Equality hosted an event on the Global Fund and pandemic preparedness with the Italian think tank and co-host of the 2021 T20, Istituto Affari Internazionali (IAI), and featured ACTION partner WACI Health on the panel. The event launched Focus Equality’s paper “Global Health and International Cooperation Addressing Current and Future Pandemics.” The report assesses the state of play in the fight against COVID-19 one year after the G20 World Health Summit and analyzes the impact of the pandemic on other epidemics such as malaria, TB, and HIV.
KANCO participated in the 2022 East Africa Health Expo and presented the case for the Global Fund’s 7th Replenishment to CSOs, government representatives from the East Africa Community, and other health institutions. In their exhibition booth, KANCO spoke with several high-level delegates about the Global Fund investment case and increased their awareness of the replenishment process.
The ACTION Partnership wants to ensure that the Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness, and Response hosted by the World Bank can efficiently support the country and regional capacity needed to react to the next crisis. A White Paper was released for feedback, and the current version raises serious concerns about the strategic value-add of the FIF, issues around inclusive governance and transparency, and its ability to complement existing global health institutions’ efforts. The partnership provided feedback on the FIF White Paper in a letter addressed to World Bank leadership.
At the RESULTS International Conference, I led a workshop titled Health Equity: Who Owns the Agenda? Over 100 participants engaged with one another to discuss the importance of allyship and elevating marginalized voices in global health. A special thank you to Dr. Yogesh Jain for joining us and sharing his personal experiences as a physician in India to demonstrate the fissure between the reality of those experiencing health disparities and those who hold power.
Looking ahead, ACTION partners are preparing for the International AIDS Conference, the Global Fund replenishment, and more.
In solidarity,
Vineeta
Vineeta Gupta, MD, JD, LL.M
Director, ACTION Secretariat
Advocacy Updates:
- ACTION partners have already proven instrumental in advocating for Germany to increase its Global Fund contribution, in stark contrast to the plan to decrease their contribution signaled by their draft budget. On May 20, Germany’s Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development announced on behalf of the German government a €1.2 billion commitment to the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment. This is a 20% increase on their last replenishment pledge of €1 billion. Shortly after, Luxembourg announced a €11.7 million pledge for the upcoming three-year period, a 30% increase in their contributions to the Global Fund from the previous replenishment cycle. There is more work to do, but these positive steps are important to galvanize the European Commission and other donors to pledge.
- The ACTION partnership worked to influence key global health institutions, from the Global Fund and Stop TB Partnership boards to the Gavi Policy and Programme Committee (PPC). The Global Fund held their 47th Board meeting on May 10–12 in Geneva, and the Stop TB Partnership (STBP) held its 35th Board meeting in Geneva the following week. The resource need is approximately $250 billion in investment for 2023–2030. RESULTS Educational Fund leadership attended both meetings. For the Gavi PPC meeting on May 18–19, the ACTION partnership provided feedback on the recommendations and decisions under consideration for the upcoming Board meeting in June, such as how Gavi can ensure any PPR mechanisms are designed to interact with other pandemic preparedness initiatives and innovations as well as the need for risk analysis on the potential impact Gavi’s PPR initiatives may have on routine immunization portfolio.
- RESULTS UK participated in the #EndEpidemics Joint Day of Action on May 18 where their grassroots advocates joined advocates from ONE and other NGOs to highlight the importance of the UK’s pledge for the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment. RESULTS UK advocates had in-depth meetings with 5 MPs, 24 MPs were reached by the end of the event, and mini booklets with quotes from each constituency were sent to every MP.
- KANCO is advocating with Kenyan lawmakers to increase domestic spending on, and political prioritization of, TB, HIV, and malaria interventions and the primary health systems that deliver them. Ahead of Kenya’s August general elections, the KANCO team and other Kenyan health CSOs launched the CSO political parties’ manifesto at a colorful event followed by a press conference. The manifestos will now be disseminated to political parties for signature.
- Advocates attended a campaign launch call hosted by Results Australia on the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment campaign and the role of grassroots advocates. Advocates were briefed on the need to advocate to end TB, the Global Fund’s role in ending TB, and Results Australia’s campaign objective of an AUD$450+ million pledge and were introduced to the 100 Days of Advocacy post-election parliamentary meetings as a tactic to work towards this goal.
- Results Australia produced a scorecard analyzing the 2022–23 Federal Budget with respect to their submissions made in January 2022. There were temporary yet positive outcomes for increased ODA packages supporting COVID recovery in the Pacific and Timor-Leste. For the COVAX Facility, there was an increased financial contribution and, for the first time, donation of vaccine doses. These were well below the amount requested in Results Australia’s Pre-Budget Submission, and they will continue discussions with government officials on the specifics of funding for multilateral funds such as Global Fund, GPEI, and Gavi and get the final numbers closer to advocates’ asks.
- On May 31, the Global Fund Advocates Network (GFAN) kicked off their annual meeting in Berlin, Germany. RESULTS Educational Fund joined as participants and presented on TB in relation to the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment, while other ACTION partners shared their in-country strategy to secure pledges.
- Results Canada launched their #FightForWhatCounts call-to-action campaign asking volunteers to engage parliamentarians in a stunt, write an op-ed, use their voice on social media, and sign a letter to the Prime Minister. Results Canada’s ask is to invest CAD$1.2 billion in the Global Fund ahead of the Seventh Replenishment to help communities recover from the devastating impacts that COVID-19 has had on these longstanding epidemics and strengthen systems for health to build a healthier, more equitable, pandemic-proofed world. There were at least three letters to the editor and one op-ed published, as well as several interactions with parliamentarians via their ongoing Week of Action.
- The World Bank launched a consultation process for the Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response through a White Paper. RESULTS Educational Fund and the ACTION Secretariat organized a partnership call to discuss the partnership’s stance, gathered feedback on the White Paper, and submitted a set of recommendations to the World Bank.
- Following a 5-member Parliamentary delegation from the UK in Washington, DC, hosted by the ACTION Secretariat and partner RESULTS UK, two parliamentarians published articles on the value-add and impact of the Global Financing Facility (GFF). STAT News published an article written by ACTION Secretariat Director Dr. Vineeta Gupta and Dr. Philippa Whitford, MP, “Investing in women, children, and nutrition is not optional. The world’s future depends on it,” which highlights the need for increased investments in RMNCAH and nutrition especially given the pandemic’s grave impacts on women and children. The Times also published an article by David Mundell, MP on a development strategy that works for women and children and how the UK can do more.
- Kenneth Prudencio, advocacy officer for ASAPSU, has been elected as the Alternate Representative for Youth on the Investors Group of the GFF. He attended the GFF Investors Group Meeting in France in early June. Congrats, Kenneth!
- In global solidarity, HDT has been ramping up to create awareness for the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment through social media. While the social media engagement aims to mobilize the masses to raise up their voices in support of the Global Fund, the engagement has gone further to reach out to decision makers through sign-on letters and other communiques.
- As the Secretariat for the GFF CSO Coordinating Group, HDT has been tasked with the capacity building of CSOs in advocacy and accountability. HDT conducted a training in which participants increased their understanding of the SMART approach to advocacy and its application, identified regional challenges that hinder improvement in RMNCAH, and finalized a draft of the regional advocacy roadmap. Participants emerged with improved skills in RMNCAH advocacy.
- ASAPSU collaborated with Speak Up Africa to organize a workshop to strengthen synergies between actors fighting malaria and neglected tropical diseases in the context of the Global Fund’s Seventh Replenishment and the Kigali Summit of the Commonwealth. Those attending included the Ministry of Health, Save the Children, and Members of Parliament.
- The European Parliament held a budget hearing on the implementation and financing of COVAX. GHA France prepared questions for members of European Parliament (MEPs) to raise during the discussion. Overall, the intervention was deemed a success, with many MEPs showing support for the COVAX mechanism and some stressing the need for the EU to continue to financially support the global response to the COVID crisis, which is not over yet. Moreover, GHA France appreciated MEPs calling out the lack of sufficient ODA budget to cover all needs.
- ACTION partners KANCO (Kenya), GHA France, and Results Canada signed onto a joint letter for the G7 German Presidency prepared by the Global Advocacy Taskforce. They urged the German Chancellor and G7 members to address the consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine that is impacting people and the planet. The letter includes specific asks in humanitarian support, human rights, food security, climate crisis, pandemic preparedness and response, and gender equality, and the signers recommend the German government hold a second G7 Leader’s Summit in the autumn of 2022, before the G20 and COP27, to focus specifically on these issues that are core to the G7’s on-going work.
- Results Canada recently joined the Humanitarian Policy Advocacy Working Group on Famine Prevention and Response (HPAG), a coalition of CSOs urging action on famine prevention and response. the working group and is supporting sector allies. This month, HPAG had a meeting with the office of the Honorable Harjit Sajjan, the Minister of International Development, to push hunger issues ahead of the G7, asking Canada to invest CAD$600 million in new funding to address the global hunger crisis. This additional funding would be a significant commitment towards meeting Canada’s fair share (5%) of the 2022 humanitarian appeal funding gaps for Food Security and Nutrition. On June 23, Prime Minister Trudeau announced CAD$250 million to address the global food crisis, including funding child malnutrition.
- RESULTS UK co-hosted a webinar in May on the status of immunization financing and the importance of accountability as the final installment of a three-part series. Webinar 1 looked at the disruptions caused by the pandemic and opportunities for wider routine immunization (RI) services as the world recovers and delivers COVID-19 vaccines. Webinar 2 focused on the integration of services and opportunities for the RI space. This final webinar looked at immunization financing and accountability. The webinar series found a broad and appreciative audience, including on the internal FCDO network.
- RESULTS UK prepared a briefing on nutrition for Lord Collins, co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Nutrition for Growth, in preparation for a speech in which he opened the Queen’s Speech debate on international affairs for the Opposition. Lord Collins used RUK’s briefing during his speech, calling for the UK’s N4G commitment of £1.5 billion to be disbursed without delay and for greater funding and attention to nutrition.
- The Global Malnutrition Prevention and Treatment Act, which RESULTS Educational Fund (REF) has long been pushing for in Congress, passed in the House (H.R.4963) in April. In preparation for a co-sponsorship push of the Senate bill (S.2956) during June Advocacy month, REF provided personalized coaching to grassroots advocates and organizational partners Together Women Rise, National Returned Peace Corps Volunteer affiliate groups, and National Board of Church & Society groups to take action on this legislation. Additionally, REF staff and grassroots advocates did outreach to Congressional offices to gain bipartisan support for a Senate Dear Colleague Letter calling for robust funding for Gavi. The letter closed with 35 signers, including 3 Republicans.
2nd Global COVID-19 Summit
The United States, Belize, Germany, Indonesia, and Senegal co-hosted the 2nd Global COVID-19 Summit on May 12. The event garnered new financial commitments totaling US$3.2 billion, including $715 million in new commitments toward a new Financial Intermediary Fund (FIF) for pandemic preparedness and global health security at the World Bank.
The EU pledged a total of €827 million: 1) €300 million support for vaccine delivery package, mostly through the COVAX Facility, the vaccine pillar of the ACT-A; 2) €100 million to the other pillars of the ACT-A (therapeutics, diagnostics, HSS); and 3) €427 million to the FIF, once set up. GHA France published its reaction, welcoming the EU’s pledge but calling on the Commission to scale-up its ACT-A contribution, particularly to support diagnostics and treatments. Funding will come from the €1.3 billion initially set aside to purchase COVID-19 vaccine doses meant for donation — a decision welcomed by GHA France, which has long advocated for the EU to redirect this funding from dose donations to the wider COVID-19 response.
Prime Minister Mario Draghi announced that Italy would donate an additional 31 million doses through COVAX and pledged €200 million ($216 million) via the ACT-Accelerator (mostly COVAX) and other global pandemic preparedness initiatives (mainly the FIF). ACTION partner in Italy, Focus Equality, will continue their advocacy to ensure this “Presidential engagement” is written into the budget by Parliament. PM Draghi stressed that it is essential to achieve a broad consensus on an inclusive facility, with the WHO at its center, to ensure its effective implementation and broad-based financing.
Results Canada has been advocating for increased resources for the fight to #EndCovidEverywhere by the Canadian government by engaging with Global Affairs Canada (GAC) and the office of the International Development Minister to focus on strengthening health systems, tests, and treatments. A consistent message in Results Canada’s advocacy has been for the government to contribute its “fair share,” and once again, the Canadian government came through. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an investment of CAD$732 million in ACT-A, including $220 million for COVAX.
News:
- The GFF and PAI announced a new partnership to strengthen civil society and youth engagement to accelerate progress in women, children, and adolescent health. Supported by a US$5 million GFF grant, PAI will further strengthen CSO impact by enhancing the alignment of CSO participation at both country and global levels, streamlining governance and management, and hosting the CSO Coordinating Group. PAI will provide strategic and technical advocacy assistance and grants to enhance CSOs’ capacity to engage in policy and funding decisions and ensure accountability by governments and partners.
- The UK FCDO International Development Strategy was published on May 16. The key takeaway is that the UK government is looking to move most ODA spending from multilateral to bilateral by 2025.
- A World Bank press release addressing the war in Ukraine and its impact on the global economy.
- On May 19, the G7 Development Ministers agreed to launch a Global Alliance for Food Security as a way to combat the hunger crisis that is threatening the world. The aim now is to recruit other partners for the alliance to “deliver a swift, effective, and sustainable joint response to the food crisis” triggered by the war in Ukraine.
Resources and Blogs:
- Investing in women, children, and nutrition is not optional. The world’s future depends on it by Dr. Vineeta Gupta and Dr. Philippa Whitford, MP.
- RESULTS UK’s new report Health Crisis: The Global Fund’s Impact on Ukraine sets out the impact of the Global Fund in Ukraine and includes recommendations for international advocacy purposes.
- S Ashish Bali and Joanne Carter (REF) wrote an op-ed stressing the importance of prioritizing ending TB in India and called for using the G20 Summit as an opportunity to mobilize global political commitment and funding for TB services.
- Addressing infectious diseases in fragile and crisis context: the role of the Global Fund by GHA France.
- EU pledge welcome at Covid Summit, but the needs are not yet fully met by GHA EU.
- President Biden’s Global COVID Summit fell short of critical funding commitments by RESULTS Educational Fund.
- How transition of development funding affects LGBTQI+ access to health by RESULTS UK.
- Stop TB Partnership: Words Matter language guide.
- Global Health and International Cooperation addressing Current and Future Pandemics, a new report from Focus Equality assessing the state of play in the fight against Covid-19 one year after the G20 World Health Summit.
Events and Opportunities:
- The ACTION Secretariat is hiring!
- July 29 – August 2: 24th International AIDS Conference
- August 27–28: 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD)
- October 16–18: World Health Summit (Berlin) and Polio Pledging Event. Learn more.
