Featured GHC News & Events


Last Friday, November 30, more than 200 global health advocates convened at the 2018 Global Health Landscape Symposium (#GHLS18) in Washington, DC. Thanks to an attentive audience and supportive partners, including champion sponsors, Eli Lilly, Pfizer, and Sanofi, who made it a  truly reinvigorating day. Special keynote speakers joined us from near and far, including WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and U.S. Representative Ami Bera (D-CA-07). View initial highlights from our #GHLS18 Twitter moment. Throughout the day, participants navigated the global health landscape together, brainstormed next steps, and connected with peers. More key takeaways and action items from the Symposium will follow in the coming weeks. Thank you again to all who participated (including those online!), and we hope you will join us in 2019 to continue these conversations and progress. 

 

 

 
  Advocacy Update

Below is a summary of our full advocacy update.

• Last week the House Democratic Caucus nominated Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) to return as Speaker of the House. The final vote will take place before the full House in January.
• Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-TX) will assume the role of Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee. With Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) expected to be the Chairwoman, this marks a historic moment with two women helming this powerful committee.

The Global Health Community Celebrates World AIDS Day 2018
This month, the global health community celebrated World AIDS Day (December 1), with a variety of global and local campaigns, events, and activities. For instance, WHO marked the 30th anniversary of World AIDS Day with the theme “Know your status”. WHO first recommended HIV self-testing in December 2016, and today, more than 59 countries have policies on self-testing, with 28 of countries fully implementing the policies. Meanwhile, in Washington, DC, HIV/AIDS advocates paid a visit to Capitol Hill to thank lawmakers for their support, including their recent reauthorization of PEPFAR, and to spread awareness of the work that still needs to be done. According to WHO, nearly half of the people living with HIV still lack access to treatment and have unsuppressed infections. 

Ebola and War in the Democratic Republic of Congo: Avoiding Failure and Thinking Ahead
On November 29, the Journal of the American Medical Association  (JAMA) published recommendations to the U.S. government in regards to the ongoing Ebola crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The recommendations are the result of an expert consultation that was convened by the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law at Georgetown Law, and included 25 experts from GHC and members such as Nuclear Threat Initiative, PATH, CSIS, Kaiser Family Foundation, and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The epidemic has just become the second largest history with 426 suspected or confirmed cases and 242 deaths. With the response hampered by armed conflict in the region, it requires new political and strategic strategies. Read the full article and latest Ebola update by WHO.