Global Child Health

Transition Plan for a Leading Nation

Global Child Health

The last few decades have been marked by tremendous progress on global child health. Since 1990, the number of children dying before their fifth birthday has been cut by more than half. But COVID-19 has disrupted essential health care services for children and their families, including access to routine childhood immunizations. For the first time in decades, global child mortality is increasing. The administration should restore the United States global leadership role in global health and prioritize ending preventable child deaths.

Rejoin and reinstate funding for the World Health Organization (WHO). The administration should reverse the United States Government’s withdrawal from the WHO and reinstate financing to the agency to restore U.S. leadership on the world stage.

Reverse the Global Gag Rule (also known as the Mexico City Policy).  The administration should revoke the January 23, 2017 Presidential Memorandum Regarding the Mexico City Policy, State Department policy from May 9, 2017 “Protecting Life in Global Health Assistance”, and May 22, 2019 United States Agency for International Development (USAID) standard provision for grants and cooperative agreements to actively support the full range of health services provided by international programs funded by the U.S.

Remove the United States from the Geneva Consensus Declaration.  HHS should remove the United States government as a cosponsor of the October 22, 2020 declaration “Promoting Women’s Health and Strengthening the Family” which formalized a coalition united in opposition to the UN’s Universal Declaration on Human Rights and attempts to roll back established global consensus about the necessity of protecting LGBTQ rights and safeguarding sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and girls.

Commit to the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. The administration should participate in global collaboration efforts to accelerate the development, production, and equitable access to new COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics, and vaccines. This includes officially joining the vaccine pillars of the ACT Accelerator, the COVAX facility.

Re-establish the White House’s National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense. The directorate is needed to meet the need for organized, accountable leadership to prepare for and respond to future pandemic threats.