Region: Global

NEW!! Universal Health Coverage Day toolkit – 10 things you can do to get involved and make a difference this UHC Day 2022.

Universal health coverage (UHC) means all people, everywhere, can get the quality health services they need without financial hardship.

Every 12th December, advocates worldwide mobilise on UHC Day to call for strong, equitable health systems that leave no one behind.

Our toolkit is available in French, Russian and English and includes 10 actions you can do around UHC Day. You don’t need to do all ten. Have a look, be inspired, and do the ones that would be most impactful in your context.

About the Toolkit

The Health for All Advocacy Toolkit provides national-level civil society organizations (CSOs) and health networks with the necessary resources to kick-start advocacy initiatives on universal health coverage (UHC). It offers advocates a central reference point—a ‘one-stop shop’ for key information and tools to advocate UHC, hold policy-makers accountable for their commitments, and build a broad social movement within civil society to support health for all.

The Toolkit is designed to be used by civil society advocates who are interested in learning more about what universal health coverage means; what commitments have been made to UHC at the global, regional, and country levels; and how they can incorporate UHC principles into their advocacy. The resources may also be useful for CSOs advocating on specific health issues or on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) beyond health, as the Toolkit provides information on how connecting to UHC advocacy can strengthen those efforts.

This Toolkit responds to the specific needs of civil society. In the lead up to the United Nations High-Level Meeting (HLM) on UHC in 2019, civil society and community representatives in countries around the world, convened by the Civil Society Engagement Mechanism for UHC2030 (CSEM), asked for more knowledge and information about UHC as well as about global level advocacy initiatives and platforms. The CSEM surveyed its members and other global health civil society networks to understand the specific kinds of information and resources that would be most useful in supporting their work on UHC. The survey received over 100 responses from 40 countries. Over 75% of respondents asked for practical tools and guidance for UHC advocacy.

The Health for All Toolkit was developed to respond to these needs and to provide one-stop access to existing resources and toolkits for UHC. The Toolkit was developed by the CSEM, with support from UHC2030, Equal International, and a reference group.

The Toolkit has three sections:

• Part 1: Introduction to Universal Health Coverage—provides an introduction to UHC, what it is, why health for all is vital, and how it can contribute to health as well as other SDGs. This section is particularly informative for those new to UHC as it outlines the key concepts and actors, and gives a timeline and milestones to date. It describes the key players at global and regional levels to enable advocates to ground their advocacy work in the broader UHC ecosystem. It is designed to equip users with technical knowledge around the essential UHC building blocks necessary for advocating UHC with various stakeholders.
• Part 2: Why civil society needs to engage in Universal Health Coverage—explores the critical role of civil society and communities in all stages of UHC design and implementation, and conveys civil society’s key advocacy calls to action. It includes case studies and vignettes that demonstrate the impact civil society has had and continues to have in decision-making for UHC, especially in ensuring health equity and holding leaders accountable.
• Part 3: How to participate—provides step-by-step guidance on advocating for UHC at the national level. This section walks the user through essential processes for creating an advocacy action plan, including defining the key challenges and bottlenecks and establishing where their country is on the road to UHC. This will help frame the activities and goals of the specific advocacy plan. The toolkit explains the process of mapping both advocacy targets and the stakeholders to collaborate with. Users will also learn how to develop key advocacy messages and incorporate them into ongoing advocacy work. This section provides practical tools and will help CSOs determine their budgets and measure their progress.

Acknowledgments

Rebekah Webb wrote this toolkit with contributions from Aishling Thurow, Amy Boldosser-Boesch, Carthi Mannikarottu, Eliana Monteforte, Oanh Khuất Thị Hải, and Masaki Inaba.

A special thanks to the UHC2030 Core Team at WHO and Equal International for their contributions to the development of this toolkit. We are grateful to the reference group for lending their expertise in support of this Toolkit: Evalin Karijo, Dumiso Gatsha, Georgina Caswell, Javier Hourcade Bellocq, Katie Husselby, Kirsten Zindel, Kurt Frieder, and Marielle Hart. We thank Results International and White Ribbon Alliance Kenya for sharing examples and learnings from successful advocacy campaigns.

Design: Kim Martin

Editorial review: Jane Coombes

GNP+ has been part of an innovative participatory action research project hosted by the Global Health Centre at the Graduate Institute in Geneva.

The objective of this program aims to promote digital health governance systems that prioritize human rights. We strive to involve young people in decision-making, as well as in the design and implementation of digital health technologies. This is achieved through participatory action research and advocacy efforts.

The Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) 2020 Annual Report. The annual report captures the performance and achievements of GNP+ and our partnership in 2020.

Read our impact report here.

All of the incredible things we have achieved as GNP+ in 2020 have been possible through the support and solidarity of our partners. And while the pandemic impacted us too, it has not stopped us. If anything, it has reignited our determination to fight injustice, as we continue to be inspired by the work of our communities.

See the Impact Report 2020 infographic

HLM Advocacy Brief now available – Keeping governments and stakeholders accountable for the outcomes of the HLM

The HLM process may have come to an end and the Political Declaration adopted, but for many of us, the work has just begun! Just as the Multi-Stakeholder Taskforce, the Love Alliance welcomes the critical commitments on transformative and measurable targets on programmes that are needed to end AIDS, specifically the 10-10-10 targets on societal enablers, calling for member states to end all inequalities faced by key populations by 2025. The Political Declaration however does not include wording on issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity, sexual reproductive health and rights, comprehensive sexuality education, decriminalisation and repealing punitive laws.

It is incredibly important that we keep governments and stakeholders accountable and take corrective action if they fall short of their commitments. Civil Society has a crucial role to play in this process. To support them, the Multi-Stakeholder Task Force has developed an Advocacy Brief, in which the whole process is explained, as well as the outcomes, and what can be done now as a follow-up. We must begin to develop and align advocacy strategies in our countries and communities, in order to make a difference and end AIDS by 2030. Onwards!

On behalf of the Love Alliance, seven organizations representing community organisations working with Aidsfonds and the Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+), and endorsed by the Communities Delegation, we submit the below priorities ahead of the Extraordinary Board Meeting on the Strategic Framework for the Global Fund’s Strategic Framework for 2023-2028. We build our comments on the paper that the Love Alliance submitted with the Communities delegation ahead of the 15th Strategy Committee in March 2021 called Mission Critical.

This guide was created to support civil society to engage and contribute more effectively during the 2021 High-Level Meeting on HIV and AIDS (HLM). Unlike other HLM processes the majority, if not all, of the HLM activities, will be virtual. This means that it is especially important for advocates to find solutions to build their capacity, strengthen their networks and engage in advocacy virtually. This guide includes some important engagement opportunities and places to start on this journey.

The 2021 high-level meeting will be the springboard for a decade of action to reduce inequalities and root out the social determinants that fuel the HIV epidemic.

Source: UNAIDS

Young, Wild, & Free is a Y+ Global programme bringing together networks of young people living with HIV to share best practices of engagement, support, and resilience of young key populations. Young, Wild, & Free highlighted three innovative youth networks doing amazing work in the HIV response – Teenergizer (Ukraine), Inti Muda (Indonesia), and Y+ Global – who then have been working with 8 grassroots networks (Positive Young Women Voices (Kenya), Y+ Kenya (Kenya), Positive Women’s network (South Africa), Y+ South Africa, Inti Muda (Indonesia), Gtown (Vietnam), Lighthouse (Vietnam), Teenergizer (Ukraine)) to implement one of their best practices. This guidebook was created so you too could learn their tricks and implement your own in your country!

A Guideline for the Involvement of People Living with HIV in the Global Fund To Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria’s Country Coordination Mechanism.

A survey by GNP+, ICW and Y+ Global found that networks of people living with HIV are using innovative ways to ensure their peers and their communities continue to have access to the critical services that they need. This report showcases their achievements.

59 networks of people living with HIV and community organisations from 37 countries took part in the survey throughout April and May 2020 and shared the challenges they are facing and the strategies they have put in place to support their communities.

The Global Network of People Living with HIV (GNP+) 2019 Annual Report. The annual report captures the performance and achievements of GNP+ and our partnership in 2019.

A series of materials that aims to improve the understanding of Positive Health, Dignity and Prevention. These booklets were written to support organisations to promote the meaningful engagement of people living with HIV in decisions that affect our lives.

Positive Health, Dignity and Prevention: What Does it Mean for Networks of People Living with HIV?

Positive Health, Dignity and Prevention: What Does It Mean for Me? 

This report highlights the key factors that facilitate retention in care for women living with HIV and calls for increased focus on rights and dignity in care. The report presents the findings of community-led research related to the viewpoints and experiences of women who were initiated on antiretroviral treatment during pregnancy or breastfeeding and explores their perspectives on factors that have enabled them to successfully adhere to their treatment and retain in care.

The research for this report was coordinated jointly by GNP+ and the International Community of Women living with HIV (ICW) in partnership with ICW Eastern Africa and ICW Malawi and the Network of Zambian People living with HIV/AIDS (NZP+). This research, carried out by and for women living with HIV was conducted in three countries, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia, all of which are early implementers of the lifelong ARV treatment program (Option B+). Focus group discussions were held with women living with HIV who utilized services along with key informant interviews with healthcare workers, government representatives, international NGOs and community groups.

The aim of this research project is to develop a set of best practices on how healthcare systems can retain women living with HIV into lifelong care now that pregnant women living with HIV are being offered lifelong treatment. The report outlines from their own perspectives what factors help women living with HIV adhere to lifelong treatment and care.