I LOCAL ADVOCACY IN THE SAHEL STRATEGIC PLANNING AND RESOURCE MOBILISATION © Apsatou Bagaya for Action Against Hunger LOCAL ADVOCACY IN THE SAHEL LEARNING REVIEW 2019 1 LEARNING REVIEW 2019 STRATEGIC PLANNING AND RESOURCE MOBILISATION LOCAL ADVOCACY IN THE SAHEL Menna Seged CONTEXT ADVOCACY CENTRED ON level in order to advocate in favour of Abraha COMMUNITIES sustainable investment towards the Advocacy Officer Action Against Hunger has been continued delivery of services related West Africa present in the sub-region (Mali, Action Against Hunger uses a 5-step to food safety and nutrition by local Spain Mauritania, Niger) for fifteen years1, methodology to conduct an in-depth authorities. In 2019, thanks to our implementing multi-sectorial projects analysis of the socio-economic and advocacy work, 53 communes in the Amadou Bousso health situation of local communities. Advocacy that aim to reinforce resilience within Kayes region integrated nutritional Coordinator communities for the prevention and Together with town councils and security into their social, economic Mauritania treatment of malnutrition. other partners in the area, plans, and cultural development programmes policies and budgets are analysed (PDSEC). For example, the commune of Djaffra Traore The main challenge Action Against in order to identify underlying Gadougou built two maternity wards, Advocacy Hunger faces in the region is that of and recruited two obstetric nurses, Coordinator ensuring the continued delivery of deficits, as well as opportunities for while the commune of Sefeto-Nord Mali services related to food safety and sustainable investment in the delivery built a structure for the care of children of services related to food safety Lucile Hermant nutrition. To overcome it, our efforts admitted to the Unit of Recovery and Advocacy Officer are twofold. First, we ensure that and nutrition. This approach often Severe Ambulatory Nutritional Education Niger nutrition is systematically integrated involves strengthening the technical, (URENI) within the community health into communal development plans managerial and financial capacities centre. and budgets, and we support the of key decision-makers at the local This unprecedented success was implementation of a multi-sectorial level during workshops held in Mali, made possible thanks to the strong response at the decentralised Mauritania and Niger. mobilisation of all stakeholders in the level. Second, we support Analysis of process, such as municipalities, local social policies the formulation and IN MALI & budgets media, community and district health implementation of multi- Since 2017, Action Against Hunger centres, and administrative and technical stakeholder dialogue at the Joint has undertaken advocacy actions authorities, including mayors. Monitoring of socio-health commitments & financial regional level, and advocate in partnership with the National analyses for the inclusion of nutrition in Federation of Community Health budgets with parliamentarians. Associations at the national and local Financial Declaration of planning commitments 1 In Mali, in the Kayes region, these interventions started with Kita Cercle (2007) before reaching Kayes Cercle (2016) and Bafoulabé Cercle (2018). In Mauritania, Action Against Hunger is present in Guidimakha, Nouakchott, Hodh El Charghi and Gorgol. In Niger, interventions have been deployed in Tahoua, Maradi and Diffa since 2005. 2 LOCAL ADVOCACY IN THE SAHEL STRATEGIC PLANNING AND RESOURCE MOBILISATION LOCAL ADVOCACY COMPLEMENTS different levels of governance will then replicate THE DIFFICULTIES OF DECENTRALISATION NATIONAL EFFORTS it on other occasions. AND THE CHANGING POLITICAL LANDSCAPE In Niger, at the national level, Action Against INNOVATIVE SOURCES OF FINANCING Hunger worked with the Ministry of Public Health TO MOBILISE RESOURCES In Mauritania, despite several notable advances, to elaborate a roadmap for the resumption of strong partnerships with the network of women National Protocol for Integrated Management To compensate for the limited resources of parliamentarians and mayors’ associations; of Malnutrition (PCIMA) activities by the state. communes in Niger, a campaign of mobilisation commitments made by mayors following inter- This document provides for the implementation of good will was launched with town councils. communal workshops, significant challenges of coordinated recovery plans between the Representatives of diasporas, the private sector, remain. authorities and humanitarian actors. Within this as well as influential personalities were identified context, advocacy actions carried out at the to participate in mobilisation workshops. During Decentralisation in Mauritania was instituted in communal level led to, an increase in the number these workshops, the mayors presented the 1986 through the creation of municipalities that of activities related to nutrition and health health situation in their respective communes, were given certain competences, which had been included in the Annual Investment Plans (PIA). as well as current nutrition and health activities the abilities of the state until then. However, the Advocacy actions also led to an increase in the in need of funding. The various representatives impact of these reforms on communal structures share of domestic financing dedicated to these made commitments to help and collection is still limited. Indeed, the municipalities have activities. committees were set up. Since then, several not made any progress in terms of recovering infrastructure works have been carried out, revenue and mobilising external funding. Very For example, the municipality of Mayahi including the renovation of the IHC in the few municipalities submit requests for funding, contributed to connecting its Integrated Health commune of Tabotaki and the construction of rather, it is the partner that takes the place of Centre (IHC) to the water reservoir, while the treatment rooms in the commune of Tamaské. the municipality and offers funding. The plans municipality of Tchaké covered the costs of for communal development have often been water supply for its IHC. The health evacuation Faced with the reluctance of some local elected allowed to relapse, partly because of difficulties system particularly benefited from this increase officials to seek alternative sources of funding, being able to edit and revise the plan, with the in financing, reaching up to CFA 1,900,000 per an inter-municipal meeting was organised, during exception of those that have benefited from the municipality (€2,900). which the communes presented the challenges support of a partner. they faced in terms of recovering funds, The main challenge was that the majority of local monitoring, and carrying out activities, as well In addition to financial constraints, several elected officials did not master the methodology as the solutions they had put in place to remedy municipalities changed mayors during the last for developing and reviewing PIAs. Action them. Some communes were thus able to serve elections in 2018. Indeed, out of 18 communes Against Hunger therefore organised trainings in as models to others. where Action Against Hunger intervenes, 12 new planning and budgeting that were provided by mayors were elected. With each new elected the decentralised directorates of the Ministry of official, we have been forced to restart the five Planning. This peer-to-peer capacity building has step cycle and organise new trainings, thereby proven to be sustainable as local actors who have For more information contact: slowing the rate of progression in the area. concrete experience of cooperation between [email protected].