Our 2026 National Advocacy Summit
We’re excited to share highlights from our 2026 National Advocacy Summit – the first held jointly with our sister campaign United to Beat Malaria.
Earlier this month, more than 100 champions from all across the country joined us in Washington for a packed two-day program and a full day of impactful advocacy on Capitol Hill.
Inspiring Speakers
Prior to their meetings on Capitol Hill, champions prepared with a full day of workshops and programming full of leading experts from government, global health institutions, and the private sector.
We were honored to be joined by Dr. Jerome Adams, who served in the Trump Administration as Surgeno General between 2016-2020. He spoke powerfully about how to break through the noise surrounding global health investment by speaking from the heart and backing it up with examples of impact that matter directly to congressional offices.
What followed was a whirlwind day of discussion, featuring insights from the CDC, UNICEF, Gavi, Friends of the Global Fight, the Gates Foundation, Novartis, Merck, and more. Special thanks to our friends at Weill Cornell Medicine, Children’s National Hospital, and AstraZeneca for their participation and support.
You have to bring the issue back to your family, your community. We love the big numbers, the reports, but your members of Congress cares about what’s going on in your community, in your town, on your street.
Dr. Jerome Adams, 20th U.S. Surgeon-General
On Tuesday, were delighted to welcome Senator John Curtis (R-UT), who received our Congressional Champion Award from two of our longtime Utah advocates, Lori Harding and Tracey Lamb. Senator Curtis has been a tireless advocate for UNICEF, Gavi, and malaria prevention. His remarks reiterated his commitment to saving lives, protecting families, and stopping preventable diseases, and he assured our advocates that Congress is listening and needs to hear their constituents’ voices.
Afterwards, champions took to the Hill inspired by our Senator Curtis and armed for meetings with messages tailored to this moment, including new state-specific research on the local benefits of U.S. global health investments. (More to come on where you’ll be able to find this information for all 50 states!).
Hitting the Hill
On Hill Day, champions from 38 states and all walks of life – students and professors, doctors and nurses, researchers and businesspeople, parents and grandparents – brought our shared message to legislators. More than 160 bipartisan offices, nearly one-third of Congress, heard from us in a single day. And many of these meetings were held directly with the members themselves.
Our message was clear. The strong funding for global health in the recently passed budget for FY26 is a welcome and significant show of bipartisan support. But programs will need continuity of funding into the next fiscal year. And they will need rigorous oversight by congressional champions from both parties to ensure funds are spent on time and reach their intended recipients.
We also urged offices to sign on to recently introduced and forthcoming resolutions affirming America’s commitment to eliminating malaria, ending polio, and supporting Gavi’s work to protect kids from preventable diseases. These bipartisan resolutions are powerful statements of congressional intent. As each as resolution is introduced in each chamber, our team and our advocates will continue urging offices to put their names to paper and their commitment in writing.
The Work Continues
Our first-ever joint National Advocacy Summit was a big success, and it’s all thanks to the generosity of our speakers and the time and hard work of our champions. Congress has heard our message, loud and clear. But will need every voice willing to speak out for life-saving global health and immunization programs. The work continues.
Brent Nagel
Brent Nagel is the Communications Officer for the Shot@Life campaign. Previously, he served as communications officer at the Social Progress Imperative, a global development nonprofit that publishes the Social Progress Index, a leading measure of wellbeing. Brent holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia, where he studied philosophy and Spanish literature, and a master’s in politics and international studies from the University of Cambridge.