Call on your government to listen to the voices of civil society in global health reform
Shrinking health financing and shifting geopolitics are driving a "reimagining" of global health and reform of the global health architecture. The WHO-hosted joint reform process is now underway, with the first monthly Member State consultation taking place last Friday, 26 June.
Following the 79th session of the World Health Assembly, we expressed our concern regarding Member States' decision to exclude civil society and people with lived experience from the Joint WHO Task Force that will oversee the reform process. However, we must ensure that civil society has a meaningful voice throughout this process.
Last week, all Member States received a circular letter requesting nominations for the Task Force by 15 July 2026. We therefore encourage you to reach out to your Member State representatives during this nomination period and advocate for the meaningful inclusion of people affected by health inequities, including people living with health conditions, and civil society organisations by:
- Ensuring that Member State nominees to the Joint Task Force champion the meaningful inclusion of communities directly affected by health inequities, including people living with health conditions and civil society organisations. Nominees should seek to involve these representatives in Task Force proceedings by inviting them to review key documents and provide written input on agenda items and decision points.
- Calling for the establishment of thematic or topical working groups with designated roles for people affected by health inequities, including people living with health conditions and representatives of civil society organisations, and creating effective communication channels with Member State delegations to ensure that these working groups can meaningfully contribute to the Task Force’s decision-making.
- Urging Member States to allocate sufficient, dedicated budgetary resources to facilitate the meaningful participation of community and civil society groups that would otherwise be unable to engage.
