The key to success for the Health Systems Advocacy Partnership, which ran from 2016-2020, was developing leadership from within—equipping our in-country partners HEPS Uganda, MeTA Zambia and MeTA Kenya with the knowledge and tools they need to hold duty bearers to account. While conducting our research, HAI is therefore simultaneously strengthening the capacity of our in-country partners to advocate for improved access to SRH commodities. In addition to training data collectors as part of our research, we hold regular workshops and meetings to share our expertise in advocacy planning, implementation and evaluation. This enhances partners’ abilities to drive awareness about the need for improved access to SRH commodities in health systems, and garner support for policies and practices that improve access at national, regional and international levels.

Our partners will go on to provide other civil society organisations in their countries with similar training and expertise. Each partner has established a multi-stakeholder platform, which consists of a civil society secretariat and a number of representatives from the public, private and civil society sectors. By discussing the research evidence, which is critical for understanding the scope and causes of access barriers, as well as sector-specific challenges about the medicines supply chain, joint policy solutions are being developed aiming for improved access to, and the rational use of, SRH commodities.

Read about the work and highlights from the HSA Partnership, as well as key learnings gained over the five years of the partnership’s work with in-country partners, ministries and CSOs in the 2020 Digital Magazine created by the partnership.