1. Global Health Practitioner Conference
Silver Spring, 9 May 2014
Dr. Roma Solomon

2. Individuals and organizations
independent of the government

3. Civil society includes…
Activist groups
Civic groups
Clubs
(sports, social,
etc.)
CBOs & FBOs
Environmental groupsNGOs
PVOs
Policy institutions
Professional associations
Political parties
Social
enterprises
Trade unions
Non-Profit
Organisations (NPOs)
Academia
Charities
Cooperatives
Men’s /Women’s
groups
Consumers

4. How are we perceived??
Watch Dogs/Pet dogs?
Activists/Champions of rights?
Fault finders?

5. How do we perceive
ourselves?
• Backbenchers ?
• Loud campaigners / Belligerent activists?
• Champions of the underdog ?
• Hesitant Do-gooders ?
• Spies & fault finders?
• Anti government ?

6. Credible
Equal partners with a supporting attitude
Technically sound and armed with data
Action oriented
Innovators
What should be our perception?

7. Why should Civil Society be engaged?
Civil Society is usually understood as the social arena that
exists between the state and the individual or household *
Though it lacks the coercive or regulatory power of the state
and the economic power of the market, it provides the
social power or influence of ordinary
people.
This social power/capital is our USP
* WHO Discussion Paper Dec. 2001

8. Key features of civil society
organizations
• Articulating citizens' interests and demands
• Defending rights
• Providing goods and services directly.

9. Civil society & Government
Expectations from each other?
• Is only the government expected to be
accountable?
• Mutual respect for each others’
experience and potential to make
efforts, complementary
• Ability to see eye to eye and recognizing
each others’ limitations

10. CSOs provides excellent laboratories for
pioneering new methods and strategies in a
relatively efficacious and cost-effective manner.
They combine the spread and reach of
government with depth and flexibility - the
ideal method for achieving development
objectives.
Potential of civil society

11. Harnessing this Potential
An Example
The India Polio Programme

12. • Government – Prime implementers
• WHO - Technical support & surveillance
• Rotary International – Advocacy & Funding
• Unicef & CORE– Communication & Social mobilization
The Polio Partnership

13. What was the need to engage
civil society?
• Children were
being missed
• Rumours were
spreading
• Resistance was
building up

14. Understanding of community needs
• Communities were being
taken for granted
• Communication was
prescriptive
• Baggage of “We know what is
good for you” unloaded
• Timing as per vaccinators’
convenience
• It was NOT positioned as a
peoples program

15. • Community/leaders/institutions did not
believe in the program
• It was not a priority for families
• Suspicions about the vaccine
• Trust deficit between government &
community
Identification of Barriers

16. Overcoming these Barriers

17. Lessons we Learnt!

19. • The key - Equal
partnership!
• NO blame game
• Timely response – put
out smaller fires before
they spread
• Give facts

20. http://youtu.be/6wzatF6TiHI
Workers need to be
equipped with
knowledge and the
ability to transfer this
knowledge to others
Knowledge leads to
change in attitude
and behaviour

21. Capacities of front
line staff were built
to analyse resistance
and develop
‘Negotiation'
approaches
Shift from instructive to negotiation
approach

22. Identification
and engagement
of influencers –
children, priests,
local healers,
barbers, ration
shop owners,
film stars,
cricketers, etc

23. • Strategies were
tailor made for
various audiences
• Special initiatives
kept the program
exciting & alive for
implementers &
caregivers

24. Involvement of religious & other
community leaders
• Religious institutions
engaged to handle
communication with
specific groups
• Each query was heard
& responded to with
facts
• Burning issues were
tackled immediately

25. Religious scholars were able to counter negative
propaganda against immunization based on their
interpretation of the Quran and Hadees

26. Importance of Data
• Data collection and compilation
• Recording & documentation of successes and
failures.
All led to a strong MIS that supported planning
and implementation of effective activities

27. 27th
March 2014
Declaration of A Polio-Free India

28. Sharing lessons with other
CORE Group Polio Project countries
Nigeria, S. Sudan, Angola, Ethiopia
&
Horn of Africa
Support in communication strategies,
disease surveillance, IEC material, M&E
systems, mHealth, etc

29. Using the Polio Legacy to improve
Routine Immunisation
• Shoring up Routine Immunisation alongside
polio
• Microplanning
• Identifying High-risk groups and tracking
unimmunised children
• Capacity building of frontline workers

30. Recognition at last!!
Traditionally CSOs have provided services to the
underserved but are usually left out of policy
making and planning.
GAVI formed a CSO Constituency
Providing a seat on the Board not only gave
recognition but also paved the way to the
engagement of CSOs in other health
programmes

31. GAVI’s Strategic Goal 2
Strengthening health systems to deliver
immunisation
Under this goal, GAVI provided an umbrella
grant to the Steering Committee of the GAVI
CSO constituency.
CRS was nominated as the fund manager and
national level CSO platforms were formed in 23
countries for effective engagement in health
systems strengthening and immunisation.

32. WORKING
TOGETHER
WORKS!