Transcript Presentation by Jotham Musinguzi, MD, MPH Regional

Advocacy for the Health Workforce: A key
approach in expanding access to family
planning
International Conference on Family Planning
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, November 2013
Patrick Mugirwa, Programme Officer
Partners in Population and Development
Africa Regional Office (PPD ARO)
1
PPD ARO is part and parcel of the global
South-South collaboration in RH/FP, P&D
• Southern-led
• Southern -run
• Presence in 14
African member
countries
Four focus areas
1. Funding
and policy
advocacy
4. Good practice
transfer through
South-South
cooperation
2. Accountability
for SRHR
commitments
3. Networking
and strategic
partnerships
Some of the achievements….
• NEAPACOH priority
areas: family planning,
HRH, maternal health
and health financing
• Increased funding
for FP/RH
• Enabling policy
environment for FP/RH
• FP/RH high level
leadership in Africa
4
Advocacy at work: Example of Uganda’s funding for FP/RH
commodities – allocation versus expenditure
14
Billion UGX
12
10
?
8
6
4
2
0
2005/06 2006/07 2007/08 2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14
Allocated 1.56
1.48
1.46
1.50
1.40
5.40
7.50
8.00
12.50
?
Spent
0.576
0.34
0.09
7.20
7.50
8.00
12.50
Allocated
Spent
Projected
How PPD ARO has approached its
advocacy for FP/RH including Human
Resources for Health (HRH)
6
Advocacy approach that has worked
• Evidence: Essential but insufficient to cause
policy action
• Strategic partnerships around a common
objective
• Focused and targeted interventions guided by
Spitfire SMART Chart
• Local ownership and policy maker centric
Advocacy approach that has worked
• Shared workplan
• Credible messengers
• Building on existing
opportunities
• Regular meetings
• In country follow ups and
backstopping
Challenges
1. Policymakers have goals (e.g. social, financial,
electoral)
2. Policymakers often move at a different speed
because of different backgrounds (e.g. education,
profession, experiences and capacities)
3. High turn over of legislators due to term limits and
changes in elected representatives
9
Looking at the past: What have we learned?
1. Facilitating and working with policymakers is an investment worth
undertaking.
2. Investing in a critical mass of RH/FP champions yields results
3. Advocacy approach using Spitfire SMART Chart tools works
miracles
4. Working through strong partnerships and cross-sector
collaborations with national, regional and international
organisations presents us with a wide range of opportunities
5. Advocacy is not necessarily a long-term process but should be
backed by coherent short-term action plans that deliver shortterm goals and objectives.
Thank You.
11