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Withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO) threatens to undermine America’s health security, weaken our leadership in global health innovation, and jeopardize access to lifesaving tools that directly benefit Americans.   WHO plays a vital role in protecting the health of Americans by coordinating global efforts to fight infectious diseases and accelerate the development of new health technologies. For example, during the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak and the recent Marburg outbreak, WHO helped convene nations, scientists, and research funders to advance vaccines and treatments. Thanks to these efforts, the United States now stockpiles Ebola vaccines and therapies—proven effective through WHO-supported trials—that would safeguard American lives if an outbreak reached our shores.   WHO’s work also directly informs US public health efforts. Operating the world’s largest flu surveillance network, WHO tracks dominant flu strains globally, guiding the annual development of flu vaccines used by millions of Americans. WHO’s disease surveillance for polio, measles, and other global health threats similarly enables US officials to better protect our communities.   In addition to protecting public health, WHO helps drive innovation that supports American businesses and jobs. WHO partners with 70 US research centers across 18 states to support health research and innovation in the United States and globally. American companies benefit from these efforts: WHO recently prequalified a Hepatitis self-test made by OraSure Technologies in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and an innovative mpox diagnostic developed by Cepheid in Sunnyvale, California.  By opening pathways to reach other nations, WHO expands global markets for American-made products.  Withdrawing from WHO cuts the United States off from these benefits and diminishes our influence in global health. America’s leadership has been critical to WHO’s successes in advancing research, coordinating disease surveillance, and responding to global emergencies. By stepping back, we forfeit the opportunity to shape these efforts and protect American lives, businesses, and innovation.   Continued partnership with WHO is essential to safeguarding the health of Americans, preparing for future pandemics and health emergencies, and ensuring US leadership in global health innovation.  

The Global Health Technologies Coalition (GHTC) yesterday honored Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), and Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) for their leadership in championing global health research and development (R&D) at its 2024 Innovating for Impact Awards, an annual initiative celebrating US policymakers and partnerships catalyzing global health innovation. GHTC also recognized the partners that developed and are accelerating global access to the novel oral polio vaccine type 2 (nOPV2)—a next-generation oral polio vaccine that is accelerating global polio eradication efforts—for their efforts to advance this groundbreaking new product.Senator Booker, who is chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy, was honored with a Congressional Champion Award for his leadership in introducing the Supporting Innovative Global Health Technologies (SIGHT) Act to establish a new disease-agnostic R&D program at the US Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as his support of numerous other bills to bolster R&D for neglected diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and infectious disease monitoring. “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, in the same way that infectious disease anywhere is a threat to the justice, the safety, the peace, the health of all people everywhere,” Senator Booker said in accepting the award. GHTC also recognized Senator Collins, who is Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee and a member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, with a Congressional Champion Award for the pivotal role she has played in protecting and expanding funding for global health research at the National Institutes of Health and other key US agencies, as well as her support of critical bills to advance global health research, including the Reach Every Mother and Child Act to advance innovative tools to end preventable child and maternal deaths. “As a leader of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I’ve long supported strong funding for global health programs…We have proven that compassionate, targeted foreign aid, in conjunction with private philanthropy, can save lives and improve health for millions of people all around the world,” Senator Collins stated in prerecorded acceptance remarks. Additionally, Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan was celebrated with a Congressional Champion Award for her leadership in introducing the SIGHT Act to supercharge health innovation at USAID, as well as her co-sponsorship of other notable legislation to strengthen preparedness and response to health emergencies, including the Global Health Security and Global Pandemic Prevention and Biosecurity Acts. “Disease does not respect boundaries, and health emergencies are clearly continuing…so that’s the exact reason…that I’m supporting and introducing the Supporting Innovative Global Health Technologies Act,” Congresswoman Houlahan remarked in her acceptance speech. “It’s important that we work with our partners across government, across the nonprofit world, and of course, across the world of business…to make sure that we address issues such as disease,” she noted. Finally, GHTC presented the Partnership Award to Dr. John Konz, Global Head of Viral Diseases at PATH’s Center for Vaccine Innovation and Access,  who accepted the award on behalf of the many partners who contributed to the development and global rollout of nOPV2. This innovative vaccine has been engineered to be less likely than the original oral polio vaccine to cause vaccine-derived polio cases, and it protects against the type 2 strain of polio virus, which causes the majority of these cases. Though these cases are extremely rare, because the world has achieved such stunning success in reducing polio, these variant cases today outnumber wild polio cases, posing a significant barrier to eradication.nOPV2 was advanced from idea to impact thanks to a constellation of global partners. These include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation; Bio Farma; Cevaxin; the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Fighting Infectious Diseases in Emerging Countries; the US Food and Drug Administration; icddr,b;   Intravacc; the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine’s Medical Research Council Unit The Gambia; the United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency; UNICEF; the University of Antwerp; the University of California, San Francisco; the World Health Organization (WHO); and the Global Polio Eradication Initiative. In 2020, nOPV2 became the first-ever vaccine to be authorized for emergency use by WHO, and since then, more than a billion doses have been delivered to children in high-risk settings—bringing us closer to a polio-free world.“It’s been a privilege for PATH to lead and facilitate this project over the past nine years, and it’s an honor to accept this award on behalf of the people and the organizations that made this vaccine a reality,” said Dr. Konz. “It’s truly a story of 70 years of investments and innovation.”  “GHTC is thrilled to honor Senator Booker, Senator Collins, Congresswoman Houlahan, and the partners who advanced nOPV2 with our Innovating for Impact Awards,” said Dr. Kristie Mikus. “Strong political will and smart partnerships are key to delivering next-generation cures and vaccines to fight the world’s deadliest health threats. We’re delighted to recognize the outstanding work of our honorees who are making progress possible.”Now in its eighth year, the Innovating for Impact Awards celebrate US commitment to global health R&D and honor the multisector partnerships and policymakers helping to transform breakthrough scientific research into lifesaving technologies for unmet global health challenges. Learn more about the initiative and past honorees.View photos from the event on Flickr and Facebook.

The Global Health Technologies Coalition, FIND, Medicines for Malaria Venture, IAVI, PATH, and TB Alliance welcome the establishment of the G20 Global Coalition for Local and Regional Production, Innovation and Equitable Access.We are particularly supportive of the focus on innovation to develop the missing health tools needed by some of the world’s most neglected communities—including those facing historically neglected diseases, such as leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and dengue, as well as more common poverty-related diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria.We are encouraged by the Coalition’s focus on strengthening local and regional production to promote more equitable access to safe, affordable, quality, and effective health products and technologies. Shifting the center of gravity of innovation, manufacturing, and production to countries and regions that carry the greatest burden of disease will help reduce disparities and build resilience into health systems. Current outbreaks like mpox highlight the need for manufacturing capacity in all regions. G20 countries are uniquely situated to mobilize the necessary scientific and financial resources to make this Coalition a success and build upon knowledge, as well as match capabilities and needs across G20 countries and other invited countries and partners.We commend Brazil for its leadership, and we urge leaders to ensure civil society and community voices have a seat at the table. Our organizations stand ready to support the Coalition.

Page 1 of 4 Dear Leaders Schumer and McConnell, Speaker Johnson, and Leader Jeffries, On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we write to urge you to include a comprehensive reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act (PAHPA) in a legislative package before the end of the 118th Congressional Session. The Senate and House health committees have each passed reauthorization bills that make critical improvements to our nation’s health security programs, originally authorized in PAHPA. These programs at the Department of Health and Human Services, such as the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (now the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response) and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), will be called upon to prevent, prepare for, and respond to any national health security threats. These threats—whether they emerge from advances in biotechnology and artificial intelligence, naturally occurring outbreaks, major storms, deliberate attacks, or accidents—require an agile, authorized, responsive government infrastructure. The PAHPA framework, which was originally authorized 17 years ago, expired on September 30, 2023, requiring stopgap, temporary extensions in prior continuing resolutions. However, we urge you to pass a comprehensive PAHPA reauthorization package, one that includes key new provisions that strengthen US preparedness and response capabilities, before the end of the year. The last three PAHPA reauthorization packages shared major recurring themes: they all adjusted to the changing threat landscape, focused on challenges identified since the prior bill, and strengthened our nation’s health security with each reauthorization. A new reauthorization bill would continue to do that by strengthening existing programs and continuing to adapt and improve America’s health security infrastructure for new and future challenges. Failing to reauthorize PAHPA now would have serious effects on our country’s economic wellbeing, national security, and health given the rapidly changing threat landscape. For example, Congress would leave critical preparedness programs—like the Strategic National Stockpile, medical supply chain resilience, and hospital preparedness programs—without clear direction and oversight. November 13, 2024 The Honorable Charles Schumer Majority Leader US Senate S-221 Capitol Building Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Mike Johnson Speaker of the House US House of Representatives H-232 Capitol Building Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Mitch McConnell Minority Leader US Senate S-230 Capitol Building Washington, DC 20510 The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries Minority Leader US House of Representatives H-204 Capitol Building Washington, DC 20515 Page 2 of 4 We are hopeful that PAHPA will remain a strong bipartisan legislative framework, as it has always been. We stand ready to assist you however we can to help get this important law reauthorized this year. Thank you for your attention to this critical matter; please contact Joel Straus at joel.straus@jhu.edu with any questions. Sincerely (in alphabetical order), 1Day Sooner Acadian Companies Adjuvant Capital, LP AdvaMed Aequor Inc. American Academy of Pediatrics American Ambulance Association American Clinical Laboratory Association American College of Emergency Physicians American College of Physicians American College of Surgeons American Lung Association American Medical Manufacturers Association (AMMA) American Public Health Association American Society for Microbiology Antheia, Inc. Arizona Bioindustry Association, Inc. (AZBio) Association of American Medical Colleges Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs Association of Public Health Laboratories Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America ATCC Atea Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Bavarian Nordic Big Cities Health Coalition BIO Biocom California BioCT BioForward Wisconsin BioNJ BioUtah BluZoneBio LLC Bugworks California Life Sciences Cencora (formerly AmerisourceBergen) Civitas Networks for Health Codagenix Colorado BioScience Association Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Council of State Bioscience Associations Dentec Safety Specialists Elusys Therapeutics, Inc. Emergent BioSolutions Federation of American Hospitals FluGen Inc. Genentech, a member of the Roche Group Georgetown University Georgia Bio Gerontological Society of America Global Health Investment Corporation (GHIC) Global Health Technologies Coalition GSK Page 3 of 4 Hamilton Grace LLC Harvard Kennedy School, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs Health Industry Distributors Association Health Supply US Healthcare Distribution Alliance Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Helix, Inc. High Alert Institute, Inc. HIV Medicine Association IAVI Illinois Biotechnology Innovation Organization, iBIO Indiana Life Sciences Association Infectious Diseases Society of America Institute for Progress Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security Life Science Tennessee Life Sciences Pennsylvania Maryland Tech Council Mass General Brigham Massachusetts Biotechnology Council (MassBio) Maxter Healthcare Inc Medical Alley Medical Countermeasures Coalition Michigan Biosciences Industry Association (MichBio) Missouri Biotechnology Association Montana BioScience Alliance Mount Sinai Health System NC Life Sciences Organization Neuroene Therapeutics New Mexico Biotechnology & Biomedical Association New Orleans BioInnovation Center NewYorkBIO Ohio Life Sciences Oregon Bioscience Association Premier Inc. Public Health Accreditation Board READDI, Inc. Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd Research!America Roche Diagnostics SAB Biotherapeutics, Inc. Sanofi Scbio Scorpius Biomanufacturing Shionogi Inc. SIGA Technologies, Inc. SoCalBio Society for Public Health Education South Dakota Biotech Association SPOC Proteomics, Inc. Texas Healthcare & Bioscience Institute Tonix Pharmaceuticals, Inc Trinity Health TrippBio, Inc. Trust for America’s Health United Safety Technology Inc. University of Nebraska System Valneva USA Vaxxas Inc VIDA