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The Consortium of Universities for Global Health (CUGH), the world’s largest consortium of academic institutions addressing global health challenges just released “Global Health Votes” (GHV).  This national campaign is focused on mobilizing the hundreds of thousands of health workers and scientists across the United States to vote and ask them to encourage their fellow citizens to do the same. This campaign is also asking voters to approach their congresspersons to support four key initiatives that can strengthen the ability of every American to exercise their constitutional right to vote.

 Voting rights are under attack across the country. Voter suppression laws have been passed that disenfranchise citizens from voting. These efforts have made it harder for African-Americans and members of other minorities to vote. They also elevate the risk for people with pre-existing conditions to contract COVID-19 since physically going to a voting booth increases the risk of being exposed to the coronavirus.

Dr. Keith Martin, Executive Director of CUGH said, “the strength of a nation is measured by the health of its democracy and having effective public institutions that are accountable to its citizens. A transparent electoral system, where every citizen can exercise their right to vote, is a fundamental pillar of a healthy democracy. It is critically important in the upcoming November election, the most important election in our lifetime, that every citizen exercises their right to vote.”

CUGH’s campaign includes links on how citizens can vote and the four initiatives every Congressperson should support in defense of the nation’s democratic principles.

“People’s health is directly affected by the health of their nation’s democracy and the effectiveness of their public institutions. Poor governance produces poor health outcomes. COVID-19 is tragically showing us the impact of inept governance in the face of a public health crisis,” said Dr. Martin.

For more information, please contact Dr. Keith Martin, Executive Director, Consortium of Universities for Global Health, Washington, DC via executivedirector@cugh.org or (202) 974-6363.