[afro-nets] Global Health council loses conference funding

[Leela McCullough <leela@healthnet.org>]

Global Health council loses conference funding
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BUSH YANKS FUNDING FROM NONPROFIT

Wilder's Global Health Council Loses $360,000
By John P. Gregg

Valley News Staff Writer

The Bush administration yesterday said it is withdrawing more
than US$ 360,000 in funding for the Global Health Council's an-
nual conference in Washington, claiming the June forum would
have mixed federal money with lobbying activity.

But the last-minute decision also comes after conservatives com-
plained that the ?Youth & Health, Generation on the Edge? con-
ference is slanted toward abortion rights and other reproductive
health issues and also linked to MoveOn.org, which is seeking to
oust President Bush from the White House.

Nils Daulaire, the president and chief executive officer of the
Wilder-based council, said federal money was not going to be
used improperly during a planned ?advocacy day,? but was careful
not to criticize the White House.

?It's a very tricky and delicate situation. All I can say is
that we have been through a very careful review of our activi-
ties,? Daulaire said. ?We do not use federal funds for any re-
stricted activities.?

Daulaire also said MoveOn.org would not be a sponsor or partici-
pant in the final program.

?It's a technical and education conference, not a political ad-
vocacy conference,? Daulaire said.

The $1 million, four-day conference includes sessions that range
from MTV's global HIV/AIDS campaign to substance abuse to
?strategies to prevent unsafe abortion and its consequences.?
The Global Health Council was to receive $170,000 from the Cen-
ters for Disease Control and the federal Health Resources and
Services Administration. The non-profit group also planned to
direct about $190,000 from a five-year, $5 million grant it re-
ceives from the U.S. Agency for International Development toward
the conference.

But both the Department of Health and Human Services and USAID
said they were withdrawing the federal money for the conference
because of concerns over the planned ?advocacy day,? which could
send many of the 2,000 anticipated conference participants to
Capitol Hill, a relatively common feature in Washington-based
conventions.

?In working with them to devise a budget, they were unable to
delineate for us, breaking it out, how our money was going to be
spent and not commingled with lobbying activity,? said Bill
Pierce, an HHS spokesman.

And Jeff Grieco, a USAID spokesman, said the conference was mov-
ing from technical information to ?now being a platform for ex-
pressing highly partisan political views.? Grieco noted that a
reference to MoveOn.org had appeared on an earlier program.

Although speakers include Doortje Braeken, a senior advisor for
International Planned Parenthood, which supports abortion
rights, and Thorya Ahmed Obaid, the executive director of the
United Nation's Population Fund, Daulaire said proponents of ab-
stinence and a member of the President's Advisory Committee on
HIV/AIDS are also participating in the conference.

?There is great balance,? said Daulaire.

?We've carried on this conference for 31 years. It really is the
central meeting place for global health practitioners. It has
never been politicized and never will be. ? There are many
things that the professional community has divergent views on,
and we believe the best way to deal with this is to have a free
and open exchange.?

U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., a longtime ally of Daulaire's,
is slated to present the 2004 Jonathan Mann Award for Health and
Human Rights, named for a prominent AIDS global health pioneer,
at the conference. Leahy aides said the Bush administration ap-
peared to be catering to social conservatives.

?This was a manufactured issue, handled opportunistically by the
White House to satisfy some in their political base,? said Leahy
spokesman David Carle.

The Washington Times, a conservative paper, last Friday editori-
alized against the federal funding for the conference after 12
Republican members of Congress wrote a letter questioning the
program, especially the advocacy day.

But Tim Rieser, Leahy's top aide on the Senate Appropriations
foreign operations subcommittee, said the conference was world-
renowned.

?It is probably the biggest and most respected gathering of pub-
lic health professionals in the world,? said Rieser, a former
Norwich resident.

?This conference is remarkable for its diversity, for the cali-
ber of people who attend, and for the quality of discourse. All
points of view are expressed.?

Rieser said the conference also raises such topics as AIDS, fam-
ily planning, the use of condoms, and other reproductive health
issues.

?These are not easy issues to talk about, but they are abso-
lutely critical to effective public health. To the Global Health
Council's credit, they confront these issues. They talk about
them,? he said.

Daulaire said ?of course I'm disappointed? to have lost the fed-
eral funding, but said the conference ?will go on.?

He said he hoped to embark on some ?quick fund raising? to mus-
ter about $100,000 to pay for airfare and other expenses for
about 50 public health professionals from lesser-developed coun-
tries who were going to present papers at the conference.

Daulaire, who had written an opinion piece in January question-
ing the depth of Bush's commitment to fighting AIDS around the
world, also was headed to Capitol Hill yesterday afternoon to
give a bipartisan briefing on malaria in Africa.

?We're not going to get pigeonholed by this issue,? Daulaire
said of the conference contretemps.

?We want to make sure we can continue to work on our agenda.?

Last fall the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gave the Global
Health Council a five-year, $10 million grant to build American
support for public health programs around the world.

At the conference, Bill Gates Sr., the father of the Microsoft
founder, is to present the annual Gates Award for Global Health,
which includes a $1 million prize.

--

The article, "Annual Conference To Go On As Planned", can be
viewed at:
http://www.globalhealth.org/news/article/4449

Press Release
Contact: Lynnette Johnson Williams, Global Health Council
Tel.: +1-202-327-5003 or
mailto:ljohnsonwilliams@globalhealth.org

26 April 2004

Global Health Council Responds to Questions about Conference;
Conference to go on as Planned

Dr. Nils Daulaire, president and CEO of the Global Health Coun-
cil, issued the following statement today in response to ques-
tions about funding and content at the Council?s annual confer-
ence, "Youth and Health: Generation on the Edge," scheduled for
June 1-4, 2004:

"The Global Health Council conference has been held annually in
Washington for the last 31 years. It is a forum for the Coun-
cil?s members and other global health professionals to update
themselves on the most recent advances in this vital area. The
conference is not now, nor has it ever been, a political gather-
ing. It is, however, a technical conference that reviews the
challenges and most recent advances in delivering life saving
technologies and services to the world?s neediest people - and
the communication of those challenges and advances to policymak-
ers and the public. Conference keynote speakers have included
three Nobel Peace Prize recipients: Mother Teresa, Former Presi-
dent Jimmy Carter and United Nations Secretary General Kofi An-
nan. Daulaire noted that the annual conference will proceed as
it has for the last 30 years."

"Conference participants include a wide array of individuals,
universities, technical organizations, NGOs, faith-based organi-
zations, private sector companies, government and international
agencies. While they approach some issues from different per-
spectives and experiences, participants have always shared a
common commitment to the open and respectful dialogue required
to advance global health."

"In addition to its continuing focus on child health, women?s
health, AIDS, other infectious diseases and emerging threats
such as SARS, this year?s conference will address the important
issue of youth and health. These sessions will review the tech-
nical experience of participants addressing public health inter-
ventions and practices that are culturally sensitive and have
been tried and proven in the field. Inevitably, some of the sub-
ject matter of global health - and youth health in particular -
can be controversial. As a matter of principle, whenever and
wherever there have been differences of views on a particular
subject area, our conference organizers have made every effort
to insure that a full range of technical viewpoints are in-
cluded. This year is no exception to that principle."

"Unfortunately, some media coverage has selectively listed just
a few of the dozens of organizations presenting and participat-
ing in this conference, and made inaccurate and misleading por-
trayals of its purpose. A review of our conference program pro-
vides a more accurate view of the wide spectrum of groups who
assure the usual balance of views and experiences that our con-
ference participants represent."

"The Global Health Council?s annual conference has been financed
though participant registration fees supplemented with grant
support from both the public and private sectors. Federal funds
are not used to support any restricted lobbying activities."

"The U.S. government plays a vital role in global health, even
greater today with the historic passage of the President?s Emer-
gency Plan for HIV and AIDS. For three decades, part of that
role has been to assure participation of practitioners in ex-
changing knowledge and experience at the Council?s annual con-
ference. We are certainly disappointed that the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services has disapproved funding for this
year?s conference. HHS has been an important and valuable part-
ner in our work for many years and we look forward to working
with them to clarify the concerns they have raised."

"Finally, the "Youth and Health: Generation on the Edge" inter-
national conference will go on as planned, and we invite all to
join us to experience firsthand the important work of our par-
ticipants, presenters and sponsors."


--
Leela McCullough, Ed.D.
Director of Information Services
SATELLIFE
30 California Street, Watertown, MA 02472, USA
Tel: +1-617-926-9400
Fax: +1-617-926-1212
mailto:leela@usa.healthnet.org
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