This Week: House Appropriations Committee Passes Funding Bill for Global Health programs

This week, the House Appropriations Committee passed the FY20 funding bill for the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPs) which includes the Global Health Account.

We were relieved to see that, once again this year, Congress has overlooked the Trump Administration’s budget recommendations for global health, and they even increased funding for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria.

Though the current Administration had recommended a 29% cut in the Global Fund this year, the House voted an increase of $210M from the previous cycle, honoring our request and others to consider the modest increase to step up the fight against AIDS, TB, and malaria – with the goal of ending the epidemic status by 2030. This would be the first installment for the sixth three-year replenishment cycle at a strong level of funding to lead the world in the fight against these infectious diseases. (For more on this, see “Friends applauds House Appropriations Committee approval of increased funding for Global Fund’s 6th Replenishment”)

Yet, though we had continued to push for another increase this year for global nutrition in the global health account, the number remained flatlined at $145M. Our hope was for another modest increase, like last year, with a goal of reaching $175M this year.

Please take a moment to express disappointment in the funding level for nutrition, show appreciation for the report language and the increase in Global Fund funding, and communicate the critical importance of continuing to increase our investments in global health to your Representative (go to House.gov to find your Congressional Representative’s email address).

Below is a breakdown of the Global Health Account: