Public Policy Update: News from Washington, D.C. November, 2011
Take Action: Tell Congress to Keep Global Health Funding Nov., 2, 2011 Urge the Senate to:
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Protect funding for global health and international affairs;
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Oppose amendments that further cut global health and international affairs programs; and
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Oppose amendments that foster harmful policies and hinder our ability to effectively implement programs.
On Thursday, November 3, the Senate is likely to begin consideration of the State & Foreign Operations bill, probably as part of a “mini-bus� package with other components of the FY2012 Budget. With the current Continuing Resolution set to expire on November 18 the Senate is under pressure to pass a bill to fund the government over the next fiscal year. The Senate State/Foreign Operations bill is $5 billion higher than the House number, including a $700 million higher mark for global health. We need to do all we can to protect this higher funding level for global health and international affairs. Call your Senator and urge them to protect funding for global and international affairs, and oppose all cutting amendments on the State, Foreign Operations bill during floor consideration and rejection of all harmful policy riders. Talking Points
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For less than 1% of our federal budget millions of lives are impacted each year. U.S. investments in global health have:
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Treated more than 3 million people living with HIV and prevent HIV transmission among millions more; Cut the number of malaria cases by more than 50% in 43 countries in the last 10 years; Contributed to immunizing more than 100 million children each year; Treated 10 million people with tuberculosis; Delivered more than 255 million treatments to approximately 60 million people for neglected tropical diseases; Increased the number of skilled birth attendants present during deliveries; and Supported research to develop and deliver new vaccines, drugs, and other critical health tools.
Further cuts to global health and international affairs programs would put lives at stake, threaten our diplomatic standing in the world, and put thousands of current and future American jobs in jeopardy. For every 5% cut to global health funding For every 10% cut to bilateral global health from FY 11: funding from FY 11 means:
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69,360 fewer HIV-positive women will receive prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) services which means 13,178 more infants infected with HIV annually and 4,393 more infant deaths (before the age of one) due to HIV-related causes 189,165 orphans and vulnerable children will lose food, education, and livelihood assistance 181,161 people will not receive treatment 876,642 fewer bed nets will be provided through the President’s Malaria Initiative 2 million fewer people will receive ACT treatment for malaria through the President’s Malaria Initiative 20,043 fewer people with TB will receive treatment 488,368 fewer pentavalent vaccines for children will be available through the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunizations which means 6,105 more deaths from preventable childhood diseases.
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Over 1 million (1,028,330) fewer children could receive low-cost antibiotics to treat pneumonia – the leading killer of kids under five 1.6 (1,623,165) million fewer children could receive oral rehydration salts that can help save many of the 1.2 million who die needlessly from diarrhea. More than 900,000 (910,158)children could not be immunized against measles, tetanus, and pertussis 3.7 million fewer women and couples receiving contraceptive services and supplies 1.2 million more unintended pregnancies 510,000 more unplanned births 3,200 more maternal deaths and over 14,000 more orphans Over 500,000 people would be at risk for blindness and the opportunity to actually eliminate a neglected tropical disease (ochocerciasis) in Latin America and the Caribbean by 2015 would be missed.
Global Health dollars support American jobs.
In 2005, global health activities generated $1.5 billion in Washington state and created or sustained more than 14,125 jobs. In 2007, the global health sector supported more than 7,000 jobs and $508 million in salaries and wages in North Carolina.
Public Policy Update: News from Washington, D.C. September, 2011
Senate Appropriations Committee Approves FY12 State/Foreign Operations Bill Sept., 21, 2011 The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2012 State/Foreign Operations Bill and Labor HHS Bill on September 21. Total 150 Account - $44.64 billion (below president's request of $50.79 billion but $5 billion over House levels). The following are the allocations for global health programs:
Maternal and Child Health - $595 million including $35 million for polio Family Planning, $700 million from all accounts including $40 million for contributions to UNFPA HIV/AIDS - $5.6 billion Global Fund - $750 million (another $300 million is in Labor HHS) Neglected Tropical Diseases - $89 million Malaria - $642 million Tuberculosis - $225 million
Additional global health funding levels through Labor HHS are not available at this time.
UN Commemorates One Year Anniversary of "Every Woman, Every Child" Sept., 20, 2011 On September 20, 2011, the United Nations and other attendees celebrated the one year anniversary of the Global Strategy for Women and Children's Health. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon reflected on the one year progress towards commitments made last year at this time at the U.N. at the launch of the Global Strategy. In addition, there were 100 new commitments made by non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, corporations, and country governments. Eleven countries in Africa committed to increasing their current health expenditures to 15% by 2015. Notable corporate commitments include the launch of Merck for Mothers, a 10 year $500 million maternal health initiative and Nestle's commitment to address gender equality and education. Nestle is the only food and beverage company to make a commitment to the Every Woman Every Child initiative. Corporations, the United States government through the U.S. Global Health Initiative and non-governmental organizations also committed to supporting 1 million front line workers. Finally, the Elders led by Bishop Desmond Tutu committed to working towards ending child marriage. In 2010 the Global Health Council committed to creating political will, mobilize communities to help educate and mobilize communities on women and children's health issues, increase the engagement with the private sector by identifying increased opportunities for public-private partnerships and organizing roundtable meetings and relevant initiatives to bring partners together. We also committed to prioritize and advocate for women and children's health. For more information on Every Woman Every Child go here.
Public Policy Update: News from Washington, D.C. August, 2011
97 Organizations Sign Letter to Congress Aug, 25, 2011 On August 25, 97 organizations sent a letter to the members of the U.S. Senate expressing concern about the House proposal to drastically slash international assistance funding including global health. Cuts to international development and health can hinder progress on improving people's lives around the world including elimination of HIV treatment for thousands of people living with HIV; denying critical vaccines for children including; prohibiting access to maternal care and family planning services; and much more. Please see letter in
bookshelf
June, 2011
GHC Weighs in on Budget and Appropriations Process for FY 12 June 22, 2011 Congress has begun to review the President's budget request for Fiscal Year 2012. The Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee reduced the overall funding for international development (which includes global health) by $11 billion from the President's overall request $50 billion. This means that the House allocation for funding for global health may be below the President's request. The Senate has not yet issued its allocation. The GHC facilitated a community letter to House and Senate appropriators asking for at minimum for the President's request for global health. Please see letter in
bookshelf
Public Policy Update: News from Washington, D.C. May, 2011
PEPFAR Releases Guidance for Prevention of HIV Among MSM On May 19, 2011, PEPFAR released a technical guidance on combination HIV prevention, focusing this first one on addressing prevention programs for men having sex with men. The guidance calls for a comprehensive package of integrated HIV prevention activities for MSM based on a consultation report on HIV/AIDS among MSM issued by WHO, UNDP, and UNAIDS identified five categories of HIV prevention activities that should be considered as core components of comprehensive HIV prevention programs for MSM. These are:
Community-based outreach; Distribution of condoms and condom-compatible lubricants; HIV counseling and testing; Active linkage to health care and antiretroviral treatment (ART); Targeted information, education and communication (IEC); and Sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention, screening and treatment
To view guidance | click here
Public Policy Update: News from Washington, D.C. April, 2011
United States Government Releases Guidance on Gender Equity in the Global Health Initiative April 28, 2011 Leadership on the U.S. Global Health Initiative (GHI) released this morning the GHI Supplemental Guidance on Women, Girls and Gender Equality Principle. This guidance seeks to address, through the GHI lens, the inequalities and disparities that disproportionately compromise the health of women and girls. The guidance imposes two requirements on GHI Plus Country Strategies. Additionally, the guidance outlines 10 key activities that GHI teams should implement through their programs. The first requirement delineated in the guidance requires each country team to conduct a gender analysis, including soliciting input from local civil society, donors and government counterparts. This analysis should assess the priority needs of women and girls at the community level in a way that can inform the design of GHI projects and activities. This includes identification of age-specific gender roles and norms that create inequalities and should address the structure issues that create unequal environments. The second condition requires each country team to provide a short narrative on the GHI strategy document describing how they intent to implement the principle of Women, Girls and Gender Equality. This narrative should highlight key gender issues exposed through the gender analysis and priority actions the country team plans to take in response to these needs. Full details on implementing this principle will also be incorporated into corresponding country plans such as the COP or MOP. The document also highlights 10 critical gender-related activities: 1. 2.
Ensure equitable access to essential health services at facility and community levels. Increase the meaningful participation of women and girls in the planning, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of health programs. 3. Monitor, prevent and respond to gender-based violence. 4. Empower adolescent and pre-adolescent girls by fostering and strengthening their social networks, educational opportunities and economic assets. 5. Engage men and boys as clients, supportive partners, and role models for gender equality. 6. Promote policies and laws that will improve gender equality and health status and/or increase access to health and social services. 7. Address social, economic, legal and cultural determinants of health through a multisectoral approach. 8. Utilize multiple community-based programmatic approaches to improve health for women and girls. 9. Build the capacity of individuals with a deliberate emphasis on women as health care providers, caregivers and decision makers throughout health systems. 10. Strengthen the capacity of institutions to improve health outcomes for women and girls and promote gender equality. Through this guidance the U.S. Government hopes to help partner countries improve health outcomes in an equal and equitable manner through focusing on women and girls within the health system and across other critical sectors. This guidance is intended to provide clarification on the first principle of the GHI, a “focus on women, girls and gender equality� by explicating the goals and programming options related to women, girls and gender equality while recognizing the critical linkages between this principle and the other GHI principles. Access the full document | Learn more about the Global Health Initiative By: Kimberly Sutton, Global Health Council
U.S. Congress Passes an FY 11 Spending Bill April 20, 2011 Both the House and the Senate have cleared a fiscal year 2011 continuing resolution that will fund the United States Government through the end of the fiscal year. The measure passed both the House and the Senate with a comfortable margin and President Obama signed the bill into law on April 15, 2011. In the House, Republicans did need Democratic votes to pass the measure, with 59 Republicans voting against it — in some cases because it didn’t include policy provisions they supported, and in other cases because they didn’t believe it cut spending enough. In the current text of the bill, global health funding from USAID and the Department of State totals for Global Health and Child Survival Accounts totals $7.845 billion. This amount is $66 million above FY 10 enacted levels; $851 million above the H.R. 1 proposed level; and $668 million below the FY 11 President’s request. The funding is broken out as follows:
USAID-GHCS: $2.5 billion. This amount is approximately $80 million above the FY10 enacted level; $351 million above the H.R. 1 proposed level; and $513 million below the FY11 President’s request.
State-GHCS: $5.345 billion. This amount is $14 million below the FY10 enacted level; $500 million above the H.R. 1 proposed level; and $155 million below the FY 11 President’s request.
Also within the bill, Family planning is funded at a total of $615 million; $88 million below the FY 10 enacted level; $175 million above H.R. 1; $100 million below the FY 11 President’s request. The bill does not include the "Mexico City Policy" language. This amount is broken out follows:
USAID, ESF and AEECA FP: $575 million
UNFPA: $40 million (equivalent to FY 2008 levels)
Because of the urgent nature and short time constraints of this negotiation, continuing resolution will not be subject to further explanation in through report language, as is typical. Therefore, it is not clear at this time the exact funding levels of sub-accounts within the broader global health and child survival accounts. More details will become clear over time as the President is required to report to Congress within 30 days of enactment of the bill how he plans to allocate the funds. Departments and agencies must also submit to the Appropriations Committees a detailed report on how appropriated funds will be spent. The executive branch and appropriators then negotiate and produce an agreement on country and program funding allocations. For more information:
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Find the House Appropriations Committee Press Release | here
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Find the Senate Committee on Appropriations Press Release: here and | here
53 Organizations Send Letter to President Obama on HIV/AIDS April 11, 2011 On April 11, 53 organizations engaged with global HIV/AIDS issues including the Global Health Council urged President Obama to attend the UN High Level Meeting on AIDS June 8-10 in New York. The attached letter also outlines key issues the United States should support in the deliberations leading up to the high level meeting | Please see letter in bookshelf
Public Policy Update: News from Washington, D.C. March, 2011
U.S. Global Health Initiative Announces Consultation Series with the Global Health Council March 22, 2011 Over the past several weeks, we have seen a number of new developments inside the U.S. Global Health Initiative (GHI). Following through on a directive of the Quadrennial Diplomacy and Development Review, the Department of State appointed Lois Quam as the new Executive Director of the GHI. As the face of GHI, Ms. Quam will take the GHI into several new areas of focus, including greater attention on targets (less on internal processes), greater support for country-level decisions, and a recognition that the GHI must continue and strengthen its engagement with civil society. Contributing to this process, the GHI announced on Monday, March 21, 2011 that it will hold a series of monthly consultations with the Global Health Council focused on critical components of the GHI. The next discussion will focus on the women- and girl-centered approach of the GHI. Recently, the GHI has released an updated strategy document to serve as a dynamic guiding framework for the initiative. Compared to the original consultation document released in early 2009, the strategy includes several modifications, both in language and substance, particularly related to the targets and goals (see here for a side-by-side of the two documents). The strategy document as well as country strategies for seven of the eight GHI Plus Countries (Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, and Nepal) are now available on the GHI’s new website. GHI’s contribution to the country strategies vary in terms of their focus (GHI has two to three strategic priorities for each country), and are said to reflect government priorities and needs. Overall, the GHI continues to focus strategically in many issue specific health areas, such as maternal and child health, neglected tropical diseases, and other infectious diseases, but the added value for many GHI Plus Countries – as seen through the strategy documents – is a greater investment in the specific health system challenges of each particular country.
Action Alert: Call on Congress to Oppose Cuts to International Programs March 14, 2011 Right now in Congress, the International Affairs Budget is facing massive cuts that will damage our national security, economy, and standing in the world. We need you to tell your members of Congress that you oppose deep cuts to programs funded by the International Affairs Budget. The House has already voted to cut development, health and diplomacy programs by nearly 20 percent. A cut of this level would have a devastating impact on Americas role in building a more stable, peaceful and prosperous world. If we act right now, we can prevent these dangerous cuts from going into effect. Drastic cuts to global health programs will result in:
5 million children and family members denied treatment and preventive intervention on malaria 3,500 mothers and more than 40,000 children under 5 (of which 16,000 are newborns) denied access to child survival interventions PEPFAR turning away 400,000 people who require treatment for HIV/AIDS More than 16 million people denied treatment for tropical diseases More than 40,000 children and family members denied TB treatment 18.8 million fewer polio vaccinations 26.3 million fewer measles vaccinations CALL YOUR HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVE | CONTACT YOUR SENATOR
Public Policy Update: News from Washington, D.C. February, 2011
White House Releases Fiscal Year 2012 President's Budget Request February 22, 2011 Global Health Funding Chart | On February 14, 2011 President Obama submitted the Fiscal 2012 (FY 12) budget request to Congress, outlining the administration's budget priorities including proposed funding for the International Affairs Account (150). According to the President, the FY 12 budget request focuses on an integrated approach to solving global problems through investments in civilian diplomatic and development in alignment with defense, while mutually reinforcing elements of President Obama’s National Security Strategy and the Presidential Policy Directive. The President’s Budget proposes $47 billion for the Department of State and USAID, excluding costs for Overseas Contingency Operations, a 1 percent increase from 2010. Funding for the Global Health Initiative (GHI) totaled $9.8 billion, including $8.7155 billion from the Department of State's Global Health and Child Survival Account (State-GHCS), and U.S. Agency for International Development Global Health and Child Survival Account (USAID-GHCS). Funding for GHI also includes over $1 billion from Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense, and other State & Foreign Operations accounts. The FY 12 President’s request for USAID-GHCS was $3.074 billion, representing a $60 million increase over the FY 11 request of $3.013 billion. The FY 12 request for State-GHCS was $5.642 billion, representing a $142 million increase over the FY 11 request of $5.5 billion. Within these larger accounts, specific global health funding is specified below:
USAID-GHCS Maternal and Child Health: $846 million (FY 11 Presidential request: $700 million) USAID-GHCS Nutrition: $150 million (FY 2011 Presidential request $200 million) Family Planning/Reproductive Health: $625.6 million to USAID-GHCS Family Planning/Reproductive Health and $47.5 million in contributions to the United Nations Population Fund through International Organizations and Programs (FY 11 Presidential request $590 million through USAID-GHCS Family Planning/Reproductive Health and $50 million in contributions to the United Nations Population Fund through International Organizations and Programs USAID-GHCS Malaria: $691 million (FY 11 President's request: $680 million) USAID-GHCS Tuberculosis: $236 million (FY 11 President's request was $230 million) USAID-GHCS Neglected Tropical Diseases: $100 million (FY 2011 President's request: $155 million) USAID Global AIDS Program: $350 million (FY 2011 President’s request: $350 million) State-GHCS: $5.642 billion including $1.0 billion in contributions to the Global Fund* (FY 11 President's Request: $5.5 billion)
Further action on FY 12 global health funding levels is not expected for approximately six weeks while the House and Senate Budget Committees draft their Committee Reports. In the meantime, Congress will act on FY 11 global health funding levels by March 4, 2011 when the current Continuing Resolution is set to expire. *Separate from this request, the Department of Health and Human Services National Institutes of Health budget includes an additional contribution of $300 million to the Global Fund for a total of $1.3 billion in U.S. contributions to the Global Fund.
FY12 Presidential Budget Request | view here. FY12 State and Foreign Operations Executive Budget Summary | view here. Global Health Council’s Press Release on the FY12 Budget Request | Please see letter in
bookshelf.
Public Policy Update: News from Washington, D.C. January, 2011
Action Alert: Call on Senate to Secure Global Health Funding January 27, 2011 On Jan. 25th the House of Representatives approved a resolution to reduce “non-security” spending to 2008 levels, which would reduce funding for the Global Health and Child Survival account by 15 percent. The federal budget is currently running on a Continuing Resolution that expires March 4, 2011. We support the Senate’s passage of an omnibus bill that provided slight increases to FY10 levels for the majority of global health accounts. The five-year freeze on domestic spending, or non-security discretionary spending, that President Obama announced in the State of the Union could roll back progress made in saving lives and improving health outcomes for all people. TAKE ACTION: Call your senators and urge them to vote against 2008 funding levels for global health in FY11. Find your senators here. Making smart investments
Support for global health is bipartisan Global health efforts are cost effective Short-term funding cuts will have long-term repercussions
Key facts
The International Affairs Budget makes up about 1.5 percent of the overall federal budget. The International Affairs account has provided funding that has enabled The United States to treat nearly 2 million people living with HIV and prevent the transmission among millions more; Reach 12 million people through malaria treatment programs; immunize more than 100 million children each year; and treat 10 million people with tuberculosis. Our national security depends on a fully funded International Affairs account that will reassure the world that the U.S. is committed to international development that addresses extreme poverty and instability, increases global economic prosperity and demonstrates our humanitarian values. Global health funding helps countries build stronger economic foundations and move from dependence on U.S. aid. U.S. leadership on global health provides opportunities for public diplomacy, moral leadership to secure a healthier safer world. p
Shah Lays Out New Development Enterprise Vision for USAID January 21, 2011 Following in the footsteps of Secretary of State Clinton, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah delivered a visionary speech on development at the Center for Global Development on January 19, 2011. In part to commemorate the agency’s 50th anniversary, Shah recalled both where USAID has been and laid out specifics for a new, enterprise model to take USAID into the future, focused on “delivering results and learning from success and failure.” As the agency pursues its goal to become a 21st century development agency, Shah stressed the significance of the USAID Forward reform agenda, including the formal announcement of anew evaluation policy, which will drive a set of improvements designed to strengthen the
agency’s internal capacity and alter the way USAID approaches development. A major component of Shah’s vision for USAID is shifting its approach to major development initiatives, such as Feed the Future and the Global Health Initiative (GHI). Specific to global health, Shah stated that USAID will focus its efforts to reflect the agency’s new model, investing in high-impact, high-return areas, such as disease prevention and child survival, with a specific focus on immunization and childhood nutrition during pregnancy and the first two years of life. USAID’s evaluation policy comes at a time when the agency is investing more in resource tracking, monitoring, and demonstrating results, particularly with Feed the Future and GHI. A newly launched foreign assistance dashboard was seen by many in the development community as a positive first step, but implementing the evaluation policy will begin to demonstrate more clearly performance and impact, two critical components of development practice that were often absent in previous USAID evaluations. By: Craig Moscetti, Global Health Council