Africa Regional Workshop, Cape Town South Africa, 27 to 30 June 2016
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Africa Regional Workshop, Cape Town South Africa, 27 to 30 June 2016 Report Outline 1. Introduction, and objectives of the workshop 2. Background and Approach to the workshop 3. Selection criteria and Preparation prior to the workshop 4. Attending the National Health Assembly 5. Programme/Agenda development 6. Workshop proceedings • 27 June‐Overview of research, historical context of ill health‐ campaigning and advocacy 28 June‐Capacity building and field visit • June‐ Knowledge generation and dissemination and policy dialogue • June‐ Movement building and plan of action 7. Outcomes of the workshop and follow up plans 8. Acknowledgements Introduction and Objectives of the workshop People’s Health Movement (PHM) held an Africa Regional workshop/International People’s Health University which took place from the 27th to 30 June 2016 at the University of Western Cape (UWC), Cape Town, South Africa. It was attended by approximately 35 PHM members from South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Benin and Eritrea. The workshop was organised within the framework of the PHM / International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Research project on Civil Society Engagement for Health for All. Objectives for the workshop A four day regional workshop/IPHU took place in Cape Town South Africa at the University of Western Cape, School of Public Health. The objectives of the workshop included: • sharing the results of the action research on civil society engagement in the struggle for Health For All which took place in South Africa and DRC; • to learn more about the current forms/experiences of mobilisation for health in Africa; • to reflect together on challenges in movement building (e.g. fragmentation, alliances and networks, mobilisation, movements), and on the strategies to address them; • to discuss concrete action to protect health systems and promote social determinants of health (develop plans for countries and the region); • to strengthen national and regional solidarity, alliances and struggles, towards a greater role of civil society in shaping policy and society in the people's interest; and • to strengthen/build relationships within and across movements/countries. Background and Approach of the workshop The workshop was organised within the framework of the IDRC action Research project on Civil Society Engagement for Health for All focusing on sharing the results of research from South Africa and DRC which focused on five themes which are; Movement Building, Campaign and Advocacy, Capacity Building, Health governance through policy dialogue and Knowledge Generation and Dissemination. The same themes were used to guide shared country experiences and discussions to strengthen the health movement in Africa. The workshop was framed under the following themes as explained in the IDRC Research: Theme 1: Campaigning and advocacy‐A campaign is defined as sustained action, advocacy and activism around an issue/set of issues that have relevance while promoting HFA Campaigns may be around health systems (e.g. access to medicines, workforce reform, comprehensive primary health care, health care financing, etc.) or around the social determinants of health (e.g. food sovereignty, tobacco control, sanitation and water supply, air pollution, income inequality). They may be directed at the community generally (smoking, gender relations, health literacy) or particular institutions (corporate accountability, community accountability of health care providers, employers in relation to occupational health, etc.) or governments (health care financing, corporate regulation, trade and investment agreements, etc.). Theme 2: Movement Building‐Progress towards HFA is driven by: Community mobilisation / campaigning Network strengthening (local, vertical, intersectoral) Stronger social movement (shared analysis, objectives, identity) These drivers depend on infrastructure and process: country, regional (and global) coordination, community level activists participating in international activities (such as PHM’s global programs), community level activists making links with various networks with a more specialist focus (nutrition, health system, access to medicines, mining, etc) resources for interpreting and translation, relationship building (personal contact, lists, communication, conferences, visits, collaboration). Some strategies for movement building at the country level include: Latin America Regional Workshop • identifying local priorities and resources, • identifying and mobilising in areas and issues where there is need and potential for activism, • building a base in communities; involvement in community struggles and actions, • structured guides to movement building, • building capacity among activists, • outreach from more specialist networks and global projects (including PHM’s global programs), • Solidarity exchanges of activists between countries including experienced activists. Theme 3: Capacity Building‐Capacity building among health activists is a crucial part of building a global HFA movement. HFA will be promoted by building a stronger social movement for health and by enhancing the effectiveness of PHM programmes and activities. In the case of the PHM, (where relevant/possible) the IPHU contributes to strengthening PHM and allied health movements through participants acquiring new knowledge and skills, reimagining themselves as activists and building relationships. Other training experiences of PHM activists and/or activities organised by other CSOs contribute. Theme 4: Health governance through policy dialogue‐Long term, sustained and effective civil society engagement in the dynamics of global governance, including global health governance (GHG), is manifest in: • Improved decision making by intergovernmental bodies such as the WHO (or other intergovernmental and/or multilateral bodies such as the WTO) ; • A stronger policy voice exercised by progressive governments from the global South (democratisation of GHG) ; • Stronger accountability of national governments for their contribution to global health governance. Theme 5: Knowledge Generation and Dissemination‐Knowledge generation and dissemination by civil society contributes to movement building, strategies, actions and impact. The workshop engaged a variety of interactive learning methods as described below: Presentations: On each day, there were presentations which included the context of the region, theory, results of the action research, strategies, country experiences, etc, within health activism. See link to all the presentations: WORKSHOP PRESENTATIONS/PHOTOS/VIDEOS Field visits‐ a visit to meet with other activists groups (see description below). Group work and plenary discussions: Building on the introduction to each theme and presentations, participants were divided into different groups(mixed and sub‐regional) to discuss possible priorities and actions. Plenary discussions were used to consolidate the discussions after presentations from the research and introduction to the theme. Latin America Regional Workshop Group discussion Selection criteria and Preparation prior to the workshop In Mid‐May. a small team consisting of the secretariat and the regional representative met to discuss the possibility of a regional workshop. Based on logistics, funding, programme and a reflection of PHM activities in the region it was agreed to select a few countries. Most of the countries selected included activists that have shown a commitment to building the health movement over the past few years through PHM and non PHM led activities. The list was not exhaustive but also considered sub‐regional representation. Other countries would be considered in future processes. The selection of countries was completed at the beginning of June. The countries had a mixture of active and embryonic circles to allow for the exchange of experiences. Thirteen countries were included in the selection (Ghana, Benin, Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Gabon, Cameroon, Democratic Republic Congo(DRC), Benin, Togo and South Africa). An email was then sent out to countries to select participants from their country circle through a consultative process at country level. Several emails were sent to countries with a clear background to the workshop and included a call for two PHM activists from the country to be selected. However, due to several factors including visa processes, limited time, financial constraints, Cameroon, Togo and Gabon could not attend the workshop. Based on the themes of the IDRC research project, a country guide was developed and sent to countries. The guide explained the background of the IDRC research project, eachof the themes and included questions to guide participants to prepare presentations on country experiences to be shared during the four day workshop. It was available in both French and English. All communication was translated withthe Latin America Regional Workshop help of volunteers. South Africa and DRC also made available the IDRC reports and in each country selected presenters to share the findings of the research. Attending the South African National Health Assembly (NHA) Participants from the region attended the NHA organised by PHMSA and partner organisations as an opportunity to learn how PHMSA works with other partners to organise processes and campaigns. The NHA was organised by PHM, TAC and Section 27 and was attended by health activists from all the nine provinces within South Africa. Prior to the NHA,