Category Archive for 'congress'

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The Global Health Week of Action has begun!

By (Tuesday, May 3, 2011)

This week, you can invest a few minutes in something that will have tremendous impact in the years to come.

Congress will meet soon to decide on the budget for the coming year. Across the US, students, medical residents, nurses, doctors, and public health professionals are working together to send a clear message to Congress: protect funding for global health. Please join us! Click here for information about the 2011 Global Health Week of Action.

Funding for global health is a smart investment. If the Senate fails to sustain or increase global health funding in fiscal year 2012, this will have a devastating impact on health outcomes for years to come:

  • Interrupting the dosage of HIV drugs could allow the virus to develop resistance. If this happened for large numbers of patients currently taking medication, this could affect thousands of patients—and could result in their sexual partners becoming newly infected with resistant virus.
  • Reducing critical U.S. support for vaccinations will mean a sharp spike in children’s deaths from more than a dozen preventable illnesses—and the resurgence of polio, which is closer to eradication that at any other point in history.
  • Reducing U.S. bilateral assistance and support for the Global Fund will also damage efforts to stem the spread of tuberculosis, resulting in more multi-drug resistant TB cases and increasing the death toll among people living with HIV, for whom TB is the already the leading cause of death.
  • Undermining family planning programs compromises HIV prevention, while contributing to greater maternal mortality and threats to child health.
  • Cuts in U.S. support to vital health surveillance programs in developing countries could permit the outbreak of an epidemic like SARS or bird flu – which could cross national boundaries with little time to prepare.
  • Failing to meet our global health commitments could irreparably undermine the trust of other countries. In sub-Saharan Africa—where economic growth rates are much higher than in advanced economies, and where U.S. investment in health has paid considerable foreign policy dividends—these economies are future consumers of U.S. goods and services. Health support for these countries is not only the right thing to do; it makes good economic sense for the U.S.

Please join PHR in urging Congress to protect funding for global health.

Posted in: Action Alerts, advocacy, chapters, congress, Health, Take Action
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2011 Global Health Week of Action: May 1-7. Protect global health funding!

By (Thursday, Apr 21, 2011)

Global health spending represents less than 1% of the US federal budget. Source: Kaiser Family Foundation.

What’s the Global Health Week of Action?

During National Actions, students and residents across the US coordinate their advocacy efforts to increase their impact. Every spring, the Global Health Week of Action focuses on an urgent health issue that transcends national boundaries. Join us this May 1-7, 2011 to protect federal funding for crucial health programs and research. Interested in creating your own campaign? At the bottom of this post, there are links to new resources to customize your Global Health Week of Action.

The threat to essential global health programs and research

The struggle over the federal budget this year is far from over. As we’ve seen over the past few months, international affairs has been targeted for spending cuts – despite being less than 1% of the overall budget, and despite huge returns on investment (pdf). For background, see previous posts on January 28, February 15, and April 15.

Soon, your Senators and Representatives will decide on the federal budget for the coming year, FY2012. For this year’s annual PHR Global Health Week of Action (May 1-7, 2011), let’s make sure that Congress knows  that health professionals see that global health funding is critical – to protect the right to health, to advance international development and security, and to avoid needless suffering and death.

Recruit health leaders to join the campaign

PHR is launching an elite sign on letter that will be addressed to each member of the Senate and the House of Representatives, asking for their advocacy in Congress for a continued robust U.S. response to global health. This letter is a collaborative effort with IDSA’s Center for Global Health Policy, Partners in Health, the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR), Health GAP, and Physicians for Human Rights.

  Letter to Congress: Support global health funding

Please ask the leadership and health professionals at your schools and hospitals to agree to add their name to the letter above. Senators and representatives are interested in the opinions of thought-leaders, like your school’s deans and professors, the head of your hospital’s department, and doctors, nurses, and other health professionals. Recruiting these leaders to participate is an effective way to influence Congressional representatives.

Share this letter with leading health professionals on your campus or in your community. The more deans, professors, nurses, public health researchers and practitioners, and doctors who participate, the better. To sign onto the letter, please click here and enter your name, title, affiliation, and city. The deadline for signing on is Sunday, May 8th at 9 pm EST.

You might use this script when asking people to join the campaign:

Global health spending is in jeopardy for the FY 2012 federal budget. Cuts in global health support would have dramatic and long-term consequences, and would do almost nothing to balance the budget. I would like to invite you to join us in sending a letter to Congress.

Please consider adding your name to this letter, which is a collaborative effort with IDSA’s Center for Global Health Policy, Partners in Health, the Foundation for AIDS Research (amfAR) and Physicians for Human Rights (PHR).  PHR will present these letters to our state’s members of congress to demonstrate that leaders in health support lifesaving and cost-effective global health programs. Please help show our senators and representatives that health professionals who live and work in the state they represent value U.S. leadership in global health.

You might ask for a face-to-face meeting to request that they sign on to the letter. If they agree to meet, be well-informed and prepared to make your case. Here’s a series of posts on this issue in this blog. Laurie Garret’s now-classic “The Challenge of Global Health” (pdf) and this analysis of the sources and uses of global health funding offer useful context. Your target may also be persuaded by an email or a phone call. Either way, respect their time: being able to succinctly state your case is an important skill in advocacy.

When they agree to sign on, please add their information to this form.

If they’re enthusiastic, ask them to share the letter and the link to the form with other leaders.

PHR will compile the names of the leaders who you recruit to sign on to the letter.  We will deliver the letters to your members of Congress. If you’d like to join us, please let us know! You can track the status of US funding for key global health accounts to be sure your information is up-to-date.

Ready to do more? Other options for your Global Health Week of Action.

To educate your campus or community, refer to the PHR Student Chapter Toolkit for detailed information about how to plan and lead an advocacy campaign, host educational events, and more.

You may choose from these issues and use the PHR Toolkits to lead education and advocacy, or select another issue that you’re passionate about:


Posted in: Action Alerts, advocacy, aids, chapters, congress, Health, Take Action
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Action Alert: Call your Senator to urge sustained funding for health

By (Friday, Jan 28, 2011)

Federal funding for health is in jeopardy.

In the recent State of the Union address, President Obama announced a five-year freeze on domestic spending (aka non-security discretionary spending). On Jan. 25th, the House of Representatives approved a resolution to reduce non-security spending to 2008 levels.

We cannot balance the budget on the backs of the most vulnerable.

To avoid losing the progress that targeted spending has made in saving lives and improving health outcomes, the Senate should pass an omnibus bill that provides slight increases to FY10 levels for the majority of global health accounts. Last year’s efforts to pass an omnibus bill died in December when it became clear that 60 votes were not available to overcome a threatened Republican filibuster, the Washington Post reported. The federal budget is currently running on a Continuing Resolution that expires March 4, 2011. If the Senate fails to sustain or increase funding, this will have a direct impact on health outcomes in 2011 and the years to come.

An arbitrary freeze on spending is short-sighted and ineffective. The money saved will not adequately address the federal deficit. For example, foreign aid is a small fraction of the US budget. The International Affairs budget makes up about 1% of the overall federal budget, yet was able to fund the treatment of AIDS, TB, and malaria for millions of people. This investment is humanitarian, diplomatic, and economically sound, as it allows people to continue working and reduces the likelihood of transmission, and hence avoids increased health care costs.

A return to 2008 levels would dramatically reduce funding for the Global Health and Child Survival USAID Account (USAID-GHCS). January marked some milestones that offer a glimpse of the urgency of the need for continued investment in global health.  This month was the one year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti and the six month anniversary of the floods in Pakistan. Yesterday, the WHO Director General, Margaret Chan, commented that increased funding is necessary and asked,

“Will progress stall? Will powerful innovations, like the meningitis vaccine, like the vaccines for preventing diarrheal disease and pneumonia, like the new diagnostic test for tuberculosis, fall short of reaching their potential? Public health has been on a winning streak. But will we still have the resources to maintain, if not accelerate, these gains?“

Domestic health is also at risk. Most insiders anticipate a healthcare reform repeal vote in the Senate before long.

Please call your Senator to share your opinion. You can use this script:

I am a voter in your state. I urge you to sustain or expand funding for global and domestic health because it’s a smart investment. When it comes to health, short-term funding cuts will have long-term repercussions. We need to continue the work to make health care affordable and accessible, make prevention a priority, and ensure that women have access to the reproductive and other health care services they need. As a member of Physicians for Human Rights, I will be keeping an eye on how you vote on this issue.

You can find your senator here.

Please report your call here.

Posted in: Action Alerts, advocacy, aid agencies, aids, barack obama, congress, national program, Obama, obama administration, right to health, senate, Take Action, united states, WHO, women, world health organization
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TODAY: Global HEALTH Act National Call-in Day

By (Wednesday, May 12, 2010)

Today, as we celebrate International Nurses Day, the health workforce crisis remains one of the greatest hurdles to realizing the right to health for all in developing countries.

The Global HEALTH Act can help. The GHA, introduced in Congress by Representative Barbara Lee on March 24, would provide $2 billion over five years to increase the number of doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health workers in developing countries, and to improve primary health care for all. The bill not only authorizes new resources, it also calls for the creation of a US Global Health Strategy that will complement the goals of developing countries and ensure our aid money is effectively used to save the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

That is why PHR is uniting with more than 15 other US organizations to hold a national Call-in Day TODAY to support the Global HEALTH Act. Be part of the movement. Tell your Representative to support Global Health by co-sponsoring this bill.

It’s easy. Call the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your Representative’s office (if you don’t know who your Rep. is, find out). Then, make your case. Use the script below, and/or bring your own experiences into the call:

Hi, my name is XXX and I live in Town, State. I am calling to encourage Representative XXX to co-sponsor HR 4933, The Global HEALTH Act, which will help fix broken health systems in developing countries. The Global HEALTH Act calls for the development of a US Global Health Strategy to harmonize aid, and provides $2 billion over 5 years to help countries in Africa hire, train and retain more doctors, nurses and other health workers. The Global HEALTH Act will save lives: I hope Rep. XXX will consider co-sponsoring this bill today.

As of today, the global health community has secured nine co-sponsors: Reps. John Conyers (MI), Lynn Woolsey (CA), Raul Grijalva (AZ), Keith Ellison (MN), John Garamendi (CA), Fortney Pete Stark (CA), Diane Watson (CA), Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC). Help us secure more. Commemorate International Nurses Day by taking action. Join thousands around the country today who are making a difference. Call your Representative and encourage them to co-sponsor the Global HEALTH Act today.

UPDATE, May 17: The Global HEALTH Act has garnered six new co-sponsors: Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Sam Farr (CA), Maxine Waters (CA), Bobby Rush (IL) and James McGovern (MA).

(Cross-posted from PHR's Health Rights Advocate.)

Posted in: congress, Global HEALTH Act, Health, Health Rights Advocate, phrstudents, Take Action
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Representative Barbara Lee on the Global HEALTH Act

By (Tuesday, Apr 20, 2010)

You are not the only one encouraging your Congressperson to co-sponsor the Global HEALTH Act. Representative Barbara Lee sent a letter to all her Congressional colleagues last week, urging them to support the bill. Check out her letter below. It outlines the four ways that the Global HEALTH Act will assist with the development and implementation of Obama’s landmark Global Health Initiative. The Act will provide strategy, consistency and a greater emphasis on health workforce and health systems — all key to making foreign health policy that supports the right to health.

Her letter includes a list of organizations from across the globe that support the Global HEALTH Act — including PHR. Organizations are continually being added to this list, and we encourage you all to contact your Congressperson and urge them to co-sponsor this bill, which will revolutionize foreign health aid and save lives.

(Cross-posted from PHR's Health Rights Advocate.)

Posted in: congress, Global HEALTH Act, Health, Health Rights Advocate, Obama, pepfar, phrstudents, Take Action
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Global HEALTH Act Introduced In Congress: Read the Bill Now

By (Friday, Mar 26, 2010)

Yesterday, Representative Barbara Lee (D-CA) introduced the Global HEALTH Act (House Resolution 4933) in Congress. We are thrilled at this opportunity to transform America’s global health policy and provide billions more in aid to develop health systems in poor countries.

Take 10 minutes to read the bill (pdf)—there is a lot to learn:

  • What the HEALTH in Global HEALTH Act really stands for (This one I’ll give you: Global Health Expansion, Access to Labor, Transparency, and Harmonization Act of 2010).
  • The overall goal of the bill (This one you get too—the rest you have to look up: To establish a strategy to coordinate all health-related United States foreign assistance, to assist developing countries in improving delivery of health services, and to establish an initiative to assist developing countries in strengthening their indigenous health workforces).
  • The GHA’s vision for a new United States Global Health Strategy (page 2).
  • Which Millennium Development Goals the new Strategy would target (page 4).
  • The ration of health workers to population the Strategy will aim for (page 12).
  • How the Global Health Strategy will really work—what it will support, what it can do (page 8).
  • How the US Global Health Strategy will support National Health Strategies in developing countries (page 30).
  • How the new Global Health Workforce Initiative  fits in to the Global Health Strategy (page 39).
  • How many countries the GHWI will target (page 40).
  • The criteria for selecting these countries (page 40).
  • What the GHWI will do to support health workers in developing countries (page 43).
  • How much money the Global HEALTH Act will provide for all these critical global health capacity building programs (this one I have to tell you—$2 Billion over 5 years. Amazing. See the yearly breakdown on pages 64-65).

Read the bill, and get ready to take action. On April 7th, World Health Day, we’ll ask you to email your Congressperson and urge them to co-sponsor the Global HEALTH Act. And spread the word—this is a transformative bill, and you can make a difference.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.
(Cross-posted from PHR's Health Rights Advocate.)

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Important Components of the Global HEALTH Act

By (Wednesday, Mar 17, 2010)

We are just three weeks away from World Health Day (April 7) and the official launch of advocacy for the Global HEALTH Act of 2010. And we have now heard that Representative Barbara Lee will be introducing the bill in the coming days! Now more than ever we need you to be ready on April 7 to email or call your Congressperson urging him or her to co-sponsor this bill.

Since the beginning of March, though this blog you’ve learned about the purpose of the Global HEALTH Act , garnered some great facts about the health workforce crisis, seen one of the many ways in which health systems can be measured and watched four health workers at Mbagathi Hospital talk about the challenges they face on a daily basis.

Today’s post takes a closer look at some very important components of the Global HEALTH Act. But first, it is important to congratulate Representative Lee on the development of a bill that heralds a new way of working to strengthen and improve the health systems of developing countries, and the delivery of health services to the whole of the population in those countries. The bill calls on President Obama to develop a comprehensive US Global Health Strategy (the Strategy) that harmonizes and aligns all health-related US foreign assistance, and seeks to ensure that equity, non-discrimination, participation and accountability are embedded in the Strategy and, to the greatest extent possible, in the national health strategy of each country receiving direct assistance.

This is a comprehensive bill, and it is not possible to review it here completely. Hence we have selected a few specific examples for you of how the bill advances the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health:

Equity and non-discrimination: An objective of the Strategy is to ensure that there is access to quality health services for poor, vulnerable or marginalized populations. Equity and non-discrimination permeate the bill. These issues are to be principal considerations in the construction or rehabilitation of health facilities, in the distribution of health services and health workers, and in the provision and distribution of medical, pharmaceutical and laboratory supplies. The ability of women and youth to use health services without fear, violence, discrimination or other mistreatment is one of the many principles that the President is called upon to encourage countries to include in their national health strategies.

Participation: There is a concern with participation throughout the bill. First, the Strategy itself is to be developed in consultation with all manner of individuals, groups and organizationsfrom executive agencies administering US foreign assistance, to US embassies and country missions, to civil society and nongovernmental organizations in developing countries, to international organizationsand other donor nations. At the developing country level, the bill calls on the President to encourage countries receiving direct assistance to ensure meaningful participation in developing their national health strategies. This participation is to include the poor, vulnerable, or marginalized populations, as well as nongovernmental organizations, in program and budget decisions as well as in the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the country’s national health strategy. Hence, the bill makes a direct link between equity, non-discrimination, participation and accountability.

Accountability: The accountability process enables the government to identify what is working and what is not – to explain what it has been done and why – and to provide to individuals and communities the opportunity to understand how the government has discharged its obligations. Where mistakes have been made, accountability requires redress. It is a process that includes monitoring, mechanisms, remedies, and participation. The bill makes clear that the Strategy should have each of these components. The Strategy itself is to be monitored and evaluated for effectiveness. To allow this to take place, the Administration is to establish indicators to monitor the Strategy and provide annual reports to Congress. The bill authorizes the President to provide assistance to developing countries to improve the delivery of health services in those countries. The activities that have been authorized include direct support to civil society and nongovernmental organizations to monitor and evaluate their country’s health system. The President is also called upon to encourage countries to include in their national health strategies the development and implementation of sustainable legal frameworks that engage the whole of the population to monitor and enforce policies related to health. Ensuring there is a legal requirement to enable people to participate in monitoring and to enforce policies is essential for government accountability.

The bill’s consistent focus on equity, non-discrimination, participation and accountability indirectly promotes the incorporation of a human rights approach to health into the Strategy. If the Strategy is developed and implemented, it will provide – in time – the proof that adoption of this approach improves health outcomes and the processes to achieve those health outcomes. This bill is to be applauded. It is essential that it obtain a large number of co-sponsors to demonstrate significant support for this legislation, which will help move this bill towards final passage. This is not only for the benefit of the populations in the countries receiving direct assistance but also for the benefit of the US. This bill has the potential to do more for the credibility of the US in the arena of human rights and global health than anything that has gone before.

On April 7 BE READY to email your representative – PLEASE!

(Cross-posted from PHR's Health Rights Advocate.)

Posted in: congress, Health, Health Rights Advocate, Obama, phrstudents
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The New Opportunity to Ratify CEDAW: What You Can Do

By (Thursday, Nov 12, 2009)

The US’ Failure to Ratify CEDAW

Since it was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1979, the ratification of the Convention to End All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has come up repeatedly in the Senate and within various presidents’ administrations. Although it has gotten close, it has never been approved for ratification (which would require 2/3rds of the Senators’ votes). This year, we believe the conditions are ideal to give CEDAW the final push through.

In 2002 when CEDAW was last approved by the Foreign Relations Committee to go before the full Senate for a vote, its prospects for ratification were not particularly bright. Within the Senate, strong opposition existed from social conservative legislators, who claimed that CEDAW would undermine the family, force the United States to legalize prostitution, and unduly influence domestic debates over abortion (all common myths propagated by anti-CEDAW advocates). Ultimately, CEDAW was never even brought before the Senate for a full vote. The Bush administration was ambivalent as well. Although Secretary of State Colin Powell considered CEDAW generally favorable, Attorney General John Ashcroft was vehemently against it and used his legislative clout against ratification.

A New Time, A New Opportunity

Seven years later, things are looking a lot brighter. A large portion of the Foreign Relations Committee has established vocal support for the ratification of CEDAW. Senators Barbara Boxer, John Kerry and other members of the Foreign Relations Committee have specifically asserted that they will work hard to push CEDAW through to the Senate floor.

Furthermore, for the first time this year, any senator who puts a hold on a treaty (keeping it from being voted upon) must have her or his identity revealed. Beyond the Senate, President Barack Obama’s administration has been significantly more supportive of the U.S. ratifying CEDAW. President Obama, Vice President Biden and Secretary of State Clinton all explicitly backed CEDAW during their campaigns. Since the election, CEDAW has been placed on top three treaties to ratify list by the Obama administration.

What You Can Do to Help

Now is the time to push CEDAW through. For the first time, both the Senate and the administration are favorable to the United States ratifying CEDAW. But that doesn’t mean it will be easy. There is still significant opposition to CEDAW from activists and from within the government. We need to act now to capitalize on this opportunity and to overcome the opposition. YOU can be a major part of pushing CEDAW through.

Get involved by signing the sign-on on December 1st and organizing your school’s PHR chapter to publicize and get signatures from other students in your community. Another great way to fight for CEDAW is to set up an in-district meeting with your Senator’s office to let them know how important CEDAW is to the promotion of global health and to the fight against AIDS.

An in district meeting with your senator or a staff aide easier than it seems, and is one of the best ways to get your voice heard by your congressional representatives. Rest assured that your senator appreciates hearing from her/his constituents. If your school chapter wants to advocate to your Senator’s office, PHR is happy to help you in all aspects of your planning from assistance setting up meetings to providing talking points and regional advisors.

Please consider using your voice as a health professional-in-training to directly let your representatives know just how important CEDAW is! Contact me if you want to meet with your Senator’s office.

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National Call-In Day: Tell Obama to End the Syringe Exchange Ban

By (Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009)

During his campaign, President Obama promised to end the ban on federal funding for syringe exchange programs.

Call President Obama TODAY at (202) 456-1414 or (202) 456-1111 and tell him to keep his promise to save lives.

This summer, the House of Representatives took a historic step by removing the ban on federal funding for needle and syringe exchange programs (SEPs).  Now, the Senate must act, but they are not making this policy a priority.

Senators need to hear from President Obama that his Administration supports syringe exchange. Now is the time to urge President Obama to fulfill his campaign promise to end the ban and to urge the Senate to act.

SEPs promote health and human rights. More than a dozen scientific reviews of SEPs have shown that when implemented as part of a comprehensive HIV/AIDS prevention strategy, SEPs help reduce HIV transmissions without increasing drug use.

Indeed, SEPs do more than provide clean syringes and properly dispose of used ones; they link people into the health care system and drug treatment programs that save lives.

President Obama’s leadership is key to moving this issue forward in the Senate. His support could help save the lives of thousands of people. 20 years is too long—help us end the ban today!

Call The White House Comment Line TODAY at (202) 456-1414 or (202) 456-1111 and tell Obama to fulfill his promise and END THE BAN.

Phone Script:

Tell the operator where you are from and if you are a health professional and/or have any specific expertise relevant to needle exchange, AIDS, and/or harm reduction. It is okay if you don’t have specific expertise—Obama needs to hear from everyone, in every state, about this issue!

Ask the operator to tell President Obama:

  • The research is clear – syringe exchange programs work. The presence of syringe exchange programs in communities does not increase rates of drug use, nor does it lead to a rise in crime. What it does do: decrease transmission of HIV, Hepatitis C and other diseases.
  • Now is the time for the President to make good on his promise to support lifting the ban on federal funding for syringe exchange. We are calling on President Obama to let key congressional members know that the White House supports Chairman Obey in fully revoking the ban on federal funding for syringe exchange.
  • The President must also urge the Senate to refrain from adding any language or amendments to the Senate bill that would place undue restrictions on SEPs. The detrimental “1,000 Foot Rule” contained in the House bill may seem innocuous, but in reality it severely and unnecessarily limits the locations of SEPs. In some cases, the rule makes it impossible for urban communities to have needle exchange programs at all.
(Cross-posted from PHR's Health Rights Advocate.)

Posted in: aids, congress, General Human Rights, Health, Health Rights Advocate, house, needle exchange ban, Obama, senate, syringe exchange programs, Take Action, women
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