Event on Advocacy for Epidemic Preparedness Funding and Sustainability

On December 12, the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) and Resolve to Save Lives will cosponsor the launch of GHAI’s recently produced Budget Advocacy Toolkit for Epidemic Preparedness at an official side event at the Second International Conference on Public Health in Africa. The Budget Advocacy Toolkit for Epidemic Preparedness is a step-by-step learning resource based on our experience and lessons learned through advocacy for increased epidemic preparedness budgets in Senegal, Nigeria, and Ghana. A panel discussion and workshop will take place in Kigali from 12:00-2:00PM CAT.

Sufficient and sustained domestic funding is the foundation of a resilient and agile health system, but it is more the exception than the norm. Since 2018, GHAI’s Prevent Epidemics program, a partnership with Resolve to Save Lives, has worked with civil society and governments to increase public awareness and political will to build greater preparedness for epidemics, including domestic budget lines. Based on GHAI’s Budget Advocacy Framework for Increased and Sustained Epidemic Preparedness, the Prevent Epidemics program developed the Budget Advocacy Toolkit for Epidemic Preparedness to provide civil society a comprehensive and concrete approach to building support for sustainable investments in epidemic preparedness in their countries.

The Budget Advocacy Toolkit for Epidemic Preparedness is designed to guide advocacy efforts in countries to fund implementation of National Action Plans for Health Security (NAPHS) through a four-step process for effective budget advocacy: planning a campaign, conducting the campaign, strengthening budget accountability, and building budget sustainability. The Budget Advocacy Toolkit for Epidemic Preparedness is a detailed roadmap for domestic budget advocacy with instructive questions, worksheets, and country examples to guide the planning and implementation of an advocacy campaign to establish or increase epidemic preparedness financing.

The event’s panel discussion will focus on lessons learned and successful advocacy strategies to build public and political support for epidemic preparedness in Nigeria and Ghana. In Nigeria, for example, advocacy successfully supported a more than double budget increase to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control within three years. Furthermore, other government agencies implementing the NAPHS received new funding. Advocacy also led to the creation of new budget lines for epidemic preparedness and response in Kano and Lagos states.

Moderated by Emmanuel Alhassan, PhD, Nigeria Coordinator, Global Health Advocacy Incubator, featured speakers at the event include:

• Juliana Abude-Aribo, Executive Director, Legislative Initiative for Sustainable Development
• Kemisola Agbaoye, Director of Programs, Nigeria Health Watch
• Stephen Atasige, Ghana Coordinator, Global Health Advocacy Incubator
• Ann Danelski, Associate Director, Advocacy, Global Health Advocacy Incubator
• Abdullahi Hamza Hassan, Kano State Coordinator, Global Health Advocacy Incubator
• Christopher Lee, Director, Global Preparedness and Response, Resolve to Save Lives (Invited)
• Vandana Shah, Vice President for Health Systems Strengthening, Global Health Advocacy Incubator
• Abdulai Mohammed Tajudeen, Program Officer, SEND Ghana
•  Dr. Oyeladun Okunromade, Deputy Director, Surveillance, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control

The panel discussion will be followed by an interactive workshop, which will offer attendees an opportunity to walkthrough the Budget Advocacy Toolkit for Epidemic Preparedness and its worksheets. The event will take place in Auditorium 11 at the Kigali Conference Center in Rwanda.

Register for free at http://bit.ly/3hUTufG