‘Access, Effectiveness, Results and Accountability’ Deepening Southern Engagement in Global Health 2nd Dialogue and Retreat of the Alliance of Southern Civil Society in Global Health Accra International Conference Center Opposite the Parliamentary Buildings Accra, Ghana 3rd – 9th March 2012 Where is the Action? The words are the same The voices sound concerned and sincere The baby cries, the mother dies But where is the action? Global discussions and meetings Regional perspectives and findings When will it change? The talk continues The baby cries, the mother dies, But where is the action? We must involve users, we must do more research It is complex, but we have the theory We must communicate the talk, and talk the walk Accumulating air miles from one meeting to the other The baby cries, the mother dies, where is the action? Action is difficult Action will challenge people, organization and systems It requires thinking out of the box, yet working within it The ball goes round, the buck gets passed and the talk goes on Who will bell the cat? The United Nations, governments, partners, global Initiatives, the end user Action needs courage to change things It requires sustained commitment and investments To make African health and development systems work Orvill Adams & Lola Dare (Brasilia, 30th July 2003) 2 Access, Effectiveness, Results and Accountability: Deepening Southern Engagement in Global Health 2nd Dialogue and Retreat of the Alliance of Southern Civil Society in Global Health 3rd – 9th March 2012 Coordinating Agency: Centre for Health Sciences Training, Research and Development (CHESTRAD) Convenors: Dr. Boluwatife Lola-Dare Chief Executive Officer, Centre for Health Sciences Training, Research and Development (CHESTRAD) Kwabena Osei-Danquah Director, Executive Board and External Relations Branch, UNFPA Facilitators: Kris Natarajan, Senior Technical Advisor to the CEO, CHESTRAD Seyi Ibidapo, Programme Consultant, CHESTRAD Rapporteurs: Angela Mazimba, Programme Officer, CHESTRAD Ada Nnamani, Personal Assistant to the Technical Advisor to the Honourable Minister of National Planning, Nigeria Capacity Enabling Sessions: Enabling Southern Civil Society Engagement in Global Health Advocacy and Dialogue Family Care International, United States of America Engaging the Global Media: Strategic Approaches for Southern Civil Society in Global Health The Financial Times, United Kingdom Facilitated Breakout Sessions: Access and Results Sightsavers International, United Kingdom Aid Effectiveness and Accountability Health and Rights Education Programme (HREP), Malawi Global Health Advocates, France Pre-Dialogue Meetings: Mutual Accountability: Scorecards in Health Post-Busan HLF4 on Aid Effectiveness IHP+ Results CS Engagement in Transformational Health Professional Education Department of Human Resources for Health, World Health Organization (WHO/OMS) Africa Regional CS Stakeholder Consultation on ICPD Beyond 2014 United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) 3 Country Sponsors: Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Nigerian National Assembly National Planning Commission Federal Ministry of Health National Primary HealthCare Development Agency Government of the Republic of Ghana National Development Planning Commission Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Ministry of Health With Support from: Family Care International GAVI Alliance International Health Partnership + Related Initiatives (IHP+) IHP+Results The Financial Times Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) ICPD Beyond 2014 Secretariat African Regional Office Country Office, Ghana The World Bank Department of Health, Nutrition and Population World Health Organization (WHO/OMS) Department of Human Resources for Health 4 Access, Effectiveness, Results and Accountability: Deepening Southern Engagement in Global Health 2nd Dialogue and Retreat of the Alliance of Southern Civil Society in Global Health 3rd – 9th March 2012 The 2010 Nairobi Meetings brought over 65 civil society organizations, networks and partners as well as lead agencies in global health together in an unprecedented Southern-led dialogue on global health. This 1st Dialogue and Retreat of Civil Society in Global Health in Nairobi considered the advances and initiatives in global health and identified key actions that are required to enable effective engagement of civil society in the Economic South in global health. This series of meetings also provided a platform for global agencies, initiatives and programmes – as well as Southern members or representatives on consultative fora and delegations – to review their role in global health at country, regional and global levels. The 2010 Nairobi Meetings identified many important actions. Key recommendations include the establishment of a platform for the engagement of Southern civil society (CS) in global health among other priority actions listed below: • The Southern CS network for health development should be created and maintained as a virtual platform for Southern civil society organizations (CSOs). • Adopt the structure developed by Southern CS in the IHP+, GAVI and GHWA for the compilation of a database of existing national health related CSOs and particularly those in close collaboration /engagement with GHIs be complied. • Country coalitions and multi-country networks CSOs need to be strengthened and engaged as members of the network to bring health and civil society NGOs together to address issues at the country level that are also relevant at the global level. • Southern CS network to work with southern delegations on boards, programmes, consultative fora and Board delegations to support their work and leadership positions with training in evidence informed advocacy and engagement as might be required to actively represent the south in their respective programs • Communications both among and between CSOs and GHIs (and other multilaterals/bilaterals) be improved through development of guidance notes on structural aspects of CSOs to ensure that the CSO mandate for engagement is clear. • Links be made with international agencies (such as WHO, UNDP, UNAIDS, etc.) for CSOs to play a strategic role in participating in committees that are engaged in health and community systems strengthening Since the 2010 Nairobi Meetings, CHESTRAD has worked with meeting participants as well as CS networks and delegations to establish and expand a database of Southern CSOs in global health. Over 300 CSOs are currently included in this database. CSOs on the list have benefited from information sharing with the major agencies and have provided input into key documents and processes through this mechanism. In addition, a SMS alert system has been established to support CSOs where internet access is limited and/or unreliable. Through this platform, CHESTRAD has also provided comprehensive support to CSOs in this database. Although much has been achieved, much is still required to strengthen the institutional capacities of Southern CS to be even more active partners within the global health dialogue and bring the very much required country context and perspectives that make development investments effective, and country ownership an actionable deliverable, in global and resource-constrained environments. 5 Accra 2012 Meetings It gives us pleasure to invite you to the 2nd Dialogue and Retreat of the Alliance of Southern Civil Society in Global Health , where the thematic focus will be “Access, Effectiveness, Results and Accountability: Deepening Southern Engagement in Global Health .” The Accra 2012 Meetings are jointly sponsored by the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Government of the Republic of Ghana with lead agency support by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) as a part of its consultation with civil society towards the 20 year review of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). It is also supported by global programmes and international agencies. It is hosted at a critical time with global and country demand for shared responsibility, country leadership, and the improved use of resources to achieve stated goals and results. It is also held within a rapidly globalizing economy and expanding democracy in countries of the economic south with greater involvement of democratic institutions including civil society and citizens. These 2012 meetings are hosted at a time when there are significant paradigm shifts in development assistance – results and effectiveness are deemed critical for success, and a new cooperative agenda for development was identified at the 4 th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness held in Busan, South Korea at the end of 2011. It also comes at a time when accountability, both for resources and for results, is increasingly a shared responsibility between national governments and development partners, with CSOs increasingly at the discussion table not only as partners demanding accountability but also as stakeholders from whom accountability is demanded. With country ownership and leadership is identified as the bedrock for success and sustainability, Southern CS engagement and strengthening could not be more important at this time in the global health agenda. ICPD Beyond 2014 In addition, seventeen years ago, 179 countries met in Cairo for the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). The outcome of the conference, the first time all of human life was addressed comprehensively, was a twenty-year