Global Health Action, post-webinar

I woke up and completely changed the layout of my blog this morning. Hope you like it!

But that’s not all… Thank you so much to the 42 participants on yesterday’s webinar, Use Your Outside Voice, about global health advocacy! I had a great time, and look forward to more actions.

If you missed it, you can check out a recording on the “Use Your Outside Voice Webinar” page of this website.


Here are two actions you can take right now:


First, for swift action on COVID-19, over 500 groups (including the Sunrise Movement) are asking Congress to support 5 principles for just COVID-19 relief and stimulus.

The five principles are:

1. Health is the top priority, for all people, with no exceptions.

2. Economic relief must be provided directly to the people.

3. Rescue workers and communities, not corporate executives.

4. Make a downpayment on a regenerative economy while preventing future crises.

5. Protect our democratic process while protecting each other.



If you agree, then visit https://thepeoplesbailout.org/ and use their customizable online tool to email your members of Congress!

Second, as we discussed on the webinar yesterday, supporting Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, is also important during this time.


What does the Vaccine Alliance have to do with COVID-19? There’s no coronavirus vaccine yet, but here are some great reasons why it’s worthwhile to write/call about Gavi:
  • It does, in fact, help with the COVID-19 pandemic: by building up health systems in developing countries, Gavi strengthens the infrastructure for combatting any disease. Also, when there finally is a vaccine for COVID-19, Gavi will distribute it!



  • Gavi saves lives: The simplest and most important reason — Gavi immunizes almost half the world’s children, having vaccinated 760 million people to date (which prevented 13 million deaths).

  • Gavi emphasizes self-sufficiency: Gavi’s goal is to help every country fund their own vaccine programs independently, and in the 20 years it has existed, 15 countries have transitioned off of Gavi support (including Cuba, Indonesia, and Mongolia).

  • Our country’s contribution is critical: As a public-private partnership, Gavi receives funding from many sources. United States leadership is still crucial because at the next pledging conference, the number we put forward will influence other world leaders as they commit resources for the next five years.

  • This is urgent: the next Gavi pledging conference is scheduled to be June 3-4 2020. So far, I haven’t heard if they will postpone or move online for COVID-19, but it’s safe to say that pledges are going to be determined in the next few months, so we can’t wait for COVID-19 to be “over” before re-focusing on Gavi.
I made this phone call on speakerphone yesterday (50:08 in the recording)

Once you check here to see if your Representative is already a cosponsor, (if they are, say thank-you!) call your Representative with this message:


“Hi, my name is _________ and I am a constituent. My ZIP code is _______. I would like Congresswoman/Congressman _________ to cosponsor H. Res. 861. This bipartisan resolution strengthens U.S. commitment to global immunization. Right now, we’re seeing the devastating effects pandemics can have, so I believe that cosponsoring this resolution is the right thing to do and it should happen as soon as you can. Thank you.”


For more opportunities to take global health action throughout the year, check out RESULTS (https://resultscanada.ca/ if you’re in Canada).

Also, stay tuned for the next Use Your Outside Voice webinar: based on comments from yesterday, we’re going to talk about climate change and election advocacy! Hopefully this will be in late April and we’ll get some cool guest speakers.


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