Current Issues and Actions
CCIH is working with its members, other Christians and people of faith, and the US Congress to gain support for increased US commitment and funding for international health services around the world.
Statement on Racial Justice
June 2020 | CCIH released a statement on Racial Justice. CCIH joins the global community in insisting that we respect all people regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, and orientation. We are compelled as followers of Christ Jesus to love all and treat all people with dignity. We condemn every occurrence of racial and ethnic division. This is a global plague that destroys families and communities. We all harbor biases, conscious or unconscious, against others that we must work to overcome. See the Statement
CCIH Joins non-profit community in support of COVID-19 Relief
The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic facing the country is having a profound impact on the economy and has greatly expanded the need for charitable organizations to provide additional services in an unprecedented manner. At the same time, the economic downturn will undoubtedly result in a contraction in contributions and other sources of revenue which are the lifeblood of many charitable organizations. CCIH signed a letter to provide support to America’s charitable nonprofits so the people they serve can receive life-saving mission services at a time when our efforts are needed like never before by the most vulnerable in our communities. See the Letter
Advocacy Resources and Stories
Future of Advocacy Briefing
In June 2020, the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health released the findings of extensive consultations with local leaders, funders, and advocacy experts, a literature review, and the 10-year experience of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Advance Family Planning (AFP) initiative to answer three questions:
1. Why do donors promote local ownership of health and development programs?
2. What factors increase the sustainability of local leadership and the advocacy agenda?
3. Which funding mechanisms most promote local ownership and sustainability?
Key points revealed by the initiative:
- Donors have long wanted to shift programs to local ownership. But the shift has been problematic. Programs are still largely donor-driven.
- Full local ownership is unlikely, but collaborative partnership of donors and local entities is a proven model that can both improve health and promote civil society.
- If donors expect sustained advocacy after their support ends, they need to support capacity building directly or through higher indirect cost allowances.
- Depending on their investment aims, donors can choose from four options for strengthening local capacity for partnership.
- A proposed model for strengthening local advocacy capacity worldwide envisions a global project, regional advocacy hubs, and networks of local NGOs.
CCIH Advocacy Teams Share Faith-based Work in Global Health
CCIH mobilizes Christian global health advocacy. On June 10th, 2019 CCIH hosted its annual Advocacy Day. This year, we had 10 CCIH members from Ghana, Lesotho, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda, Zaire, and Zimbabwe, as well as six CCIH members based in Maryland, Massachusetts, and Michigan. The teams met with 15 Congressional Offices (14 in the Senate and 1 in the House of Representatives). Read More
CCIH members promote Christian global health advocacy and share the value of U.S. foreign assistance and why advocating and speaking out for those without a voice is important to them as Christians.
REACH Act Resource: Fact Sheet from World Vision
The REACH EVERY MOTHER AND CHILD ACT (S. 1730, H.R. 4022) will bring solutions that work to the mothers and children with the greatest need. If passed, this legislation will set ambitious goals – helping achieve the U.S. commitment of ending preventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths by 2035. This fact sheet from World Vision explains the need for the Act, how it will help, and exactly what to ask your U.S. representative. CCIH and other faith-based partners have sent a letter of support for this bill to the U.S. Congress.
Issues & Actions
March, 2019
HIV/AIDS Programs at CDC and NIH
CCIH joined the Global AIDS Policy Partnership (GAPP) in signing on to a letter to the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies to request support for programs that advance the global HIV/AIDS response in the Fiscal Year 2020 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Programs Appropriations bill. GAPP is a coalition of advocacy, research and implementing organizations committed to ending AIDS for the next generation by expanding and improving global HIV/AIDS programming. The letter urges the subcommittee to include at least $128 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Global AIDS Program and support for strong, increased investment funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
See The LetterMarch, 2019
State Department and Related Agency Funding for 2020
CCIH joined the Global AIDS Policy Partnership (GAPP) in signing on to a letter to the U.S. House Appropriations Subcommittee for State and Foreign Operations. The letter requests that FY 2020 funding legislation for the State Department and related agencies protect funding levels for global health and development programs and at a minimum maintain the FY 2019 enacted levels. The group also urged expansion of funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to $5.5 billion and requested $1.56 billion for the U.S. contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund) and $350 million for the USAID HIV/AIDS program.
See The LetterOctober, 2018
Moral Imperative Statement
CCIH signed onto “Results for Children: The Moral Imperative’s Core Message for Action to Secure Well-being” presented at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s annual meeting in Indonesia, in October 2018. CCIH is a member of the Moral Imperative to End Extreme Poverty, which was first convened in 2015 to bring together religious and faith-based organizations and the World Bank Group into a broad forum to advance a faith-based action framework to end Extreme Poverty and Realize Sustainable Development Goals. The work of the Moral Imperative is organized around three pillars: Evidence, Advocacy and Collaboration, each with a Corresponding Working Group.
Other CCIH members who also participated and signed onto this call for the World Bank to focus on outcomes for early childhood include: Christian Health Association of Kenya, Christian Journal for Global Health, Episcopal Relief & Development, IMA World Health, and World Relief.
See The StatementSeptember, 2018
PEPFAR Extension Act
The President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has been introduced in the U.S. Congress for reauthorization. CCIH has joined other groups and signed on to a global health community letter in support of the legislation.
See The Letter