Mobilizing  Advocates  from  Civil  Society  (MACS):  Advocacy  and  Accountability  for  Reproductive,  Maternal,  Newborn  &  Child  Health  

 Introduction  In  September  2010,  the  UN  Secretary-­‐General  launched  the  Global  Strategy  for  Women’s  and  Children’s  Health.  The  launch  of  the  Global  Strategy,  and  the  establishment  of  accountability  mechanisms  to  track  fulfillment  of  commitments  to  it,  marks  a  new  level  of  global  priority  for  reproductive,  maternal,  newborn  and  child  health  (RMNCH),  and  has  created  new  opportunities  to  accelerate  national  progress  toward  the  2015  MDG  deadline.      Civil  society  groups  can  play  a  critical  role  in  holding  governments  and  other  stakeholders  accountable  to  global,  as  well  as  regional  and  national,    commitments  by  demanding  that  policies  are  reformed,  funds  invested  and  tracked,  and  health  outcomes  measured  and  published.    Through  the  Mobilizing  Advocates  from  Civil  Society  (MACS)  project,  FCI  is  working  with  partner  organizations  and  networks  at  the  global  level  and  in  select  countries  (Burkina  Faso  and  Kenya)  to  strengthen  and  support  civil  society  groups’  capacity  to  monitor  commitments  to  RMNCH.    On  the  Global  Stage  At  the  global  level,  FCI  has  provided  a  critical  civil  society  perspective  on  the  accountability  processes  of  the  Commission  on  Information  and  Accountability  for  Women’s  and  Children’s  Health  (COIA),  highlighting  the  important,  yet  often  neglected  or  under-­‐prioritized,  role  that  civil  society  can  play  in  ensuring  accountability  and  monitoring  progress.  FCI  and  partner  CSOs  have  exchanged  information  on  accountability  mechanisms,  solicited  CSO  engagement  and  input,  and  advocated  for  greater  inclusion  of  CSO  in  RMNCH  accountability  frameworks.  Specifically,  FCI:    

• Worked  collaboratively  with  other  CSOs  at  the  global,  regional,  and  national  level  to  support  active  CSO  engagement  with  the  independent  Expert  Review  Group  (iERG).  FCI  has  facilitated  CSO  participation  in  reporting  to  the  iERG  on  progress  on  recommendations  related  to  the  Global  Strategy.  In  the  iERG’s  2014  report,  FCI  called  for  transparency  of  national  accountability  processes,  and  for  equal  involvement  of  civil  society  partners  in  all  CoIA  accountability  processes,  building  on  principles  of  equity  and  human  rights.    

• Participated  in  multi-­‐country  regional  accountability  workshops  in  2012  organized  by  the  World  Health  Organization  for  implementing  the  recommendations  of  the  COIA.  FCI  staff  helped  shape  the  Country  Accountability  Frameworks  (CAFs)  developed  at  the  regional  workshops,  and  has  worked  at  the  national  level  to  ensure  that  civil  society  perspectives  are  incorporated  in  national  CAFs.    

• Produced  a  range  of  advocacy  tools  (in  English  and  French)  to  strengthen  civil  society  efforts  to  monitor  and  advocate  for  fulfillment  of  commitments  to  the  Global  Strategy,  regional  RMNCH  frameworks,  and  the  MDG  4  and  5  targets.    

       

Mobilizing  Civil  Society  Advocates:  Advocacy  and  Accountability  for  RMNCH       October  2014  

 

   

At  the  country  level  FCI  is  working  closely  with  civil  society  partners  in  Burkina  Faso  and  Kenya  to  support  a  national  RMNCH  alliance  and  implement  a  targeted  RMNCH  advocacy  strategy;  key  activities  and  accomplishments  include:    • Building  the  skills  of  civil  society  groups  to  conduct  effective  advocacy  for  RMNCH,  and  to  

strengthen  their  engagement  in  national  discussions  in  support  of  governments’  commitments  to  RMNCH.      In  both  Burkina  Faso  and  Kenya,  FCI  provides  its  partners  with  training  in  the  areas  of  advocacy  and  budget  tracking  for  accountability,  as  well  as  ongoing,  customized,  and  expert  support  throughout  the  implementation  of  country  level  advocacy  activities.      

• Establishing  a  national  RMNCH  alliance  to  effectively  advocate  for  the  fulfillment  of  RMNCH  commitments:  

 In  Kenya,  a  network  of  national  civil  society  organizations  (the  Kenya  RMNCH  Advocacy  Network)  was  established  to  support  and  strengthen  civil  society  advocacy  for  accountability.  This  network  aims  to  share  information,  build  synergies  and  harmonize  advocacy  for  accountability  in  RMNCH  to  accelerate  progress  and  accountability  towards  the  MDGs  in  2015  and  beyond.    The  Kenya  RMNCH  Advocacy  Network  is  comprised  of  national,  provincial,  and  grassroots  civil  society  organizations.  The  RMNCH  Alliance  has  focused  on  two  overarching  and  inter-­‐related  issues  that  impact  accountability  for  RMNCH  commitments.    In  2012,  the  Kenyan  government  began  the  process  of  decentralizing  all  major  decision-­‐making  from  the  national  government  to  the  newly  formed  county  governments.    The  Alliance  has  provided  guidance  to  civil  society  advocates  on  policy  and  decision-­‐making  processes,  and  identified  avenues  and  entrees  for  advocacy  in  this  newly  devolved  system.      The  Alliance  is  working  to  track  (and  is  advocating  for  increased)  support  for  Human  Resources  for  Health  in  RMNCH  at  the  county-­‐level,  one  of  the  Kenyan  Government’s  commitments  to  the  Global  Strategy.  

 In  Burkina  Faso,  a  national  coalition  of  RMNCH  civil  society  organizations  (La  Coalition  des  organisations  de  la  société  civile  en  SMNI)  was  established  in  2012  to  advance  the  realization  of  national  RMNCH  commitments.  The  Coalition  identified  increasing  the  national  budget  for  RMNCH  as  its  primary  advocacy  objective.  Coalition  members  soon  learned  that  key  decision  makers  and  government  officials  were  unaware  of  their  country’s  commitments  to  the  global  strategy.  Furthermore,  the  national  health  budget  in  Burkina  Faso  is  not  transparent  and  essential  information  about  spending  of  public  funds  and  the  initiatives  that  it  prioritizes  are  unavailable.  In  support  of  this  objective,  the  Coalition  is  working  to  increasing  knowledge  among  parliamentarians  of  national  RMNCH  commitments;  increasing  transparency  of  the  RMNCH  budget  and  the  budgeting  process;  identifying  entry  points  for  influencing  the  budgeting  process;  and  advocating  for  Burkina  Faso’s  national  health  budget  to  be  disaggregated  and  published  for  the  public.  

 Civil  society  is  uniquely  positioned  to  ensure  that  governments  and  other  stakeholders  keep  their  promises.  Through  this  project,  FCI  is  working  to  ensure  that  civil  society  has  the  information,  skills,  and  communication  channels  needed  to  effectively  advocate  for  the  fulfillment  of  national  RMNCH  commitments.