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June 2021


** Message from the Director
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Dear Colleagues,

Although the devastating surge of COVID-19 infections in India ([link removed]) seems to be stabilizing, the enormous short- and long-term challenges continue to cause suffering as coronavirus cases continue to rise elsewhere ([link removed]) , including in Malaysia, the Philippines, Brazil, and Colombia. We have seen increased advocacy for countries to unite to support health and vaccine equity and calls for global solidarity between high-income countries and low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Robust, global collaboration to support LMICs’ ability to respond to and get ahead of the pandemic is not only the right thing to do, but is in the best interest of every nation. The United States, for example, can and should do more in India and globally ([link removed]) .

ACTION partners are pushing governments and donors to invest in stronger, more equitable health systems in order to promptly respond to and prevent future pandemics. On May 18, ACTION hosted “COVID SOS: India to the World ([link removed]) ,” a webinar in which experts from India, Africa, and the U.S. discussed the magnitude of devastation in India and the need for the global community to unite to bolster the response to COVID-19.

ACTION and Italian think tank Istituto Affari Internazionali ([link removed]) (IAI) co-hosted a high-level, closed-door virtual meeting to examine the G20’s role in fighting malnutrition, which has been exacerbated by the pandemic. On May 21, after months of ACTION partners’ work to influence the Global Health Summit outcomes, G20 members renewed their commitment via the Rome Declaration to accelerate progress in global health, including pandemic preparedness and prevention structures. We were disappointed (though not surprised) that stronger language supporting the TRIPS waiver was not included.

This month, ACTION partners celebrated a successful kick-off of the Global Financing Facility’s resource mobilization campaign to #ReclaimTheGains on the health of women, children, and adolescents made before the pandemic. Donors and partners raised more than US$200 million, including a CAD$100 million commitment from Canada, which ACTION partner Results Canada helped secure ([link removed]) .

Follow us online at @ACTION_tweets ([link removed]) and @guptavineeta ([link removed]) and share your thoughts.

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Vineeta Gupta, MD, JD, LL.M
Director, ACTION Secretariat
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** "Inner Applause"
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** Advocacy Moments to Remember
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Chris Dendys, executive director of Results Canada, recalls mentoring and coaching six young advocates from Lebanon, Benin, Jamaica, Mali, South Africa, and Wikwemikoong (unceded territory in Northern Ontario) to speak truth to power.

Results Canada was working with a small group of CSOs pushing the G7 to advance a G7 declaration in support of the rights and health of adolescent girls.

“That’s when it happened. Irmine from Burkina Faso smiled at me as she put her hand to her heart and tapped it lightly, acknowledging her ‘inner applause’. And then Hannah did the same, followed by Aissata, Alnastazia, Reine, and Motshedisi.”

Without a doubt, they helped secure passage of the Whistler Declaration that day.

More ([link removed]) .


** Advocacy Updates
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ACTION partner Results Canada ([link removed]) and local civil society are appreciative of the Canadian government’s leadership in the Global Financing Facility’s (GFF) replenishment campaign — both as co-host and for their CAD$100 million pledge announced at the launch of the #ReclaimTheGains fundraising campaign on May 7. Donors and partners pledged more than US$200 million to kickstart the resource mobilization campaign; this is a great first step towards raising $1.2 billion in additional resources for GFF by December. More ([link removed]) .

ACTION partners will continue to support the GFF Resource Mobilization Campaign, joining a group of leaders in the GFF 2021 Resource Mobilization Leadership Group and the GFF CSO Resource Mobilization Working Group. RESULTS Educational Fund, Results Canada, WACI Health, and the ACTION Secretariat will provide updates on advocacy and strategize across ACTION partner countries, and WACI Health is working to leverage the GFF We Want Campaign into these efforts. More ([link removed]) .

In April, HDT ([link removed]) conducted a high-level meeting with the Tanzania government’s PoRALG – Health to discuss the GFF's contribution to primary healthcare and infrastructure development, revealing that the GFF has increased access to RMNCAH services.

ACTION worked to influence the outcomes of the Global Health Summit co-hosted by Italy and the European Commission on May 21. Partners Focus Equality (Italy) and Global Health Advocates France ([link removed]) (France and the EU) were pleased to hear their governments make significant pledges to the COVID-19 response. Italy pledged €300 million for COVAX ([link removed]) and 15 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, France pledged another €500 million to ACT-A ([link removed]) and 30 million vaccine doses, and the EU aims to donate at least 100 million doses to LMICs by the end of 2021. The Summit culminated in the Rome Declaration ([link removed]) in which leaders of the G20 committed to act to accelerate progress on global health.

Throughout April and May, civil society in the UK has been pushing back against the devastating cuts to ODA. ACTION partner RESULTS UK ([link removed]) coordinated a cross-party letter ([link removed]) from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on vaccines to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and APPG members followed up with questions in Parliament ([link removed]) . RESULTS UK also worked with nutrition champion and co-chair of the APPG on N4G, Lord Collins ([link removed]) , to push this in the House of Lords from the nutrition angle, challenging the government to give more information about the effect of the aid cuts on nutrition. More ([link removed]) .

On May 20, ACTION, led by our partner Focus Equality in Italy, co-hosted a high-level, closed-door webinar organized in cooperation with IAI, an Italian think tank and co-host of the Think 20, one of the G20 Engagement Groups. The workshop featured remarks from ACTION partners KANCO ([link removed]) , GHA France, and RESULTS Educational Fund ([link removed]) , and ACTION Secretariat Director facilitated an examination of urgent actions needed by the G20. More ([link removed]) .

ACTION participated in the 45th Global Fund Board meeting on May 11–12. The Board met virtually and discussed how the Global Fund can continue supporting efforts to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HIV, TB, and malaria programs and strengthen systems while supporting countries to respond to COVID-19 and prepare for future pandemics. More ([link removed]) .

KANCO, Results Australia ([link removed]) , Results Canada, and RESULTS UK joined civil society in signing a join letter to PM Boris Johnson as host country of the G7, calling for action on current and future oxygen crises, as part of the broader COVID-19 advocacy. More ([link removed]) .


** Spotlight
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** Meet our partner: Health Promotion Tanzania (HDT)
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Health Promotion Tanzania (HDT) is a local NGO working at the community level to advocate for policy, budget, and system changes to meet unmet needs for family planning and prevent maternal and neonatal death. More ([link removed]) .

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** Meet our team member: Sizwe Nombasa Gxuluwe
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Meet Sizwe Nombasa Gxuluwe, WACI Health’s campaign manager. Born and raised in her beloved country of South Africa, Nombasa’s love for Africanism and passion for expanding human rights drives her advocacy work at WACI Health. More ([link removed]) .
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News
May 3–5: The Asian Development Bank announced at its Annual Virtual Meetings ([link removed]) that it would facilitate the provision of funds to support vaccine production through the US$9 billion Asia-Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX) approved last December ([link removed]) .

Throughout May: U.S. President Joe Biden backed calls for waiving intellectual property rights ([link removed]) for COVID-19 vaccines (the TRIPS waiver), and French President Emmanuel Macron came out in support ([link removed]) soon after (see GHA France’s press release in response ([link removed]) ). At the Global Health Summit, China’s President Xi Jinping announced his support ([link removed]) as well and pledged to transfer vaccine-related technology from Chinese companies to other developing countries.

June 2: Japan hosted Gavi's COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC) Summit ([link removed]) to accelerate access to 1.8 billion COVID-19 vaccine doses for lower-income economies. Dozens of countries pledged nearly US$2.4 billion ([link removed]) to the Gavi COVAX AMC, including a doubling of Canada’s initial contribution ([link removed]) and an additional AUS$50 million from Australia.

Resources and Blogs
On May 7, ACTION Secretariat Director and India COVID SOS ([link removed]) team member Dr. Vineeta Gupta shares with Good Day LA her perspective on the urgent crisis in India. More ([link removed]) .

Catch GHA France’s Marcin Rodzinka on the May 21 episode of The Burning Case: “Vaccine apartheid: How rich countries are denying access to vaccines to the rest of the world.” More ([link removed]) .

“The United States can and should do more in India,” written by ACTION Secretariat Director, Dr. Vineeta Gupta, and Drs. Aakriti Pandita and Kavita Patel. More ([link removed]) .

Improving Vaccine Uptake, a new report by the APPG on Vaccines for All. (RESULTS UK acts as the secretariat of the group and assisted in the compiling of the report.) More ([link removed]) .

“Why Canada Must Support a Temporary Waiver of IP during the COVID-19 Crisis,” a call-to-action by Results Canada and Partners in Health Canada. More ([link removed]) .

“Clinical trials – the role of volunteers in developing safe and effective vaccines,” by Results Australia’s Mark Rice. More ([link removed]) .

The CSO GFF Hub expanded their Country Profiles and the Knowledge Exchange ([link removed]) , giving the broader context for civil society engagement at the country-level. More ([link removed]) .

GHA France’s 4th edition of their newsletter #EssentiELLES. More ([link removed]) .

Events and Opportunities
We’re hiring at the ACTION Secretariat! Check out ACTION’s job board to see our open full-time and consultant positions.

* Nutrition Capacity Building Consultant ([link removed])
* More full-time and consulting positions ([link removed])

June 8: Civil Society Roundtable on PHC in Kenya, co-organized by WACI Health and local partners. More ([link removed]) .

June 10: “Delivering on the promise of a polio-free world.” Join GPEI for the launch of their 2022–2026 strategy. More ([link removed]) .

June 11–13: The G7 Summit in Cornwall, UK. More ([link removed]) . You can join the #WaveOfHope campaign ([link removed]) to send a message to the G7.

June 12–13: RESULTS International Conference (virtual), featuring former heads of state for Australia and Tanzania, ACTION partners, and grassroots advocates young and old — as well as poets, musicians, and academics. More ([link removed]) .

June 16: Day of the African Child. More ([link removed]) .

June 22: “The impact of COVID-19 on global education” with Alice Albright, champion for global education and CEO of the Global Partnership for Education (webinar as part of Results Canada’s Annual General Meeting). Register ([link removed]) .

June 22–24: 1er Congrès International d’ASAPSU (en Abidjan et en ligne) // ASAPSU’s 1st International Congress (in Abidjan and online). More ([link removed]) .

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