3rd CAAP Coordinating Partners’ Peer Learning Exchange

On 10 December 2024  PMNCH convened the third quarterly peer learning exchange among  the partners coordinating the implementation of the Collaborative Advocacy Action Plan (CAAP) initiative to facilitate cross-country reflections, learnings and experience sharing among CAAP coordinating partners.  

12 representatives from partner organization actively shared their valuable insights, recommendations and questions – resulting in a vibrant exchange and productive discussion. PMNCH Executive Director, Mr. Rajat Khosla, opened the meeting with a note of appreciation, including from the PMNCH Board, for the commitment and efforts of CAAP coordinating partners. He reiterated PMNCH’s support for the implementation of the developed action plans in 2025 to galvanize action for women’s, children’s and adolescent’s health (WCAH) by leveraging global, regional and national advocacy moments, and linked to the high level political advocacy efforts of the Global Leaders Network, being chaired by H.E. President Cyril Ramaphosa. 

The CAAP initiative is progressing well in the 10 prioritized countries, with partners sharing valuable insights on common and context-specific advocacy opportunities and challenges. They provided updates on their efforts, approaches for political and policy advocacy engagement, as well as practical considerations for sustaining digital advocacy hubs, partner capacitation, and developing multi-constituency platforms. 

Partners in Kenya and Ethiopia shared their diverse approaches to convene multi-constituency stakeholders. For example, in Kenya, HENNET convened its inaugural quarterly ‘Virtual Coffee Coordination’  to enhance coordination and collaboration and share best practices to advance RMNCAH. The virtual gathering brought together over 25 civil society and community-based organizations working sub-nationally across many of Kenya’s 47 counties. This novel approach enabled greater inclusion of often underrepresented organizations, and the virtual platform allowed for broader participation. Recommendations shared during the coffee informed the development of CAAP, which will ultimately be shared with Kenya’s Multi-Stakeholder Platform, of which HENNET is a standing CSO representative.   

In Ethiopia, CHAI under the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Health (FMOH) organized a CAAP development workshop on 24th September 2024. To ensure representation and inputs from diverse constituencies, CHAI leveraged the MSP functionality checklist to invite 80 partners ranging from UN agencies to youth led organizations. During this workshop, the focal point from the Honorable Minister’s office, articulated the Honorable Minister’s commitment to advancing implementation of existing national commitments for women’s, children’s and adolescent’s health.  The FMOH presented a scoping of national WCAH commitments and identified successes and challenges. In response to this presentation, partners identified 4 key advocacy goals and activities in relation to i) reducing teenage pregnancy, ii) increasing financing for family planning commodities, iii) strengthening allocation and use of commodities to reduce MMR and iv) strengthening adolescent and youth  friendly  health services. The FMOH’s engagement indicates its strong support for the CAAP initiative. This support will be crucial for ensuring follow-up actions on the identified advocacy goals through institutional accountability mechanisms.   

Partners from Nigeria and Malawi shared how they have utilized the CAAP process, including its principles and outputs, to leverage emerging advocacy opportunities and in the process implement the agreed activities. For example, in Nigeria, the Africa Health Budget Network helped facilitate the participation of key NGOs and youth-ked organizations in key health sector meetings including i) the joint annual health sector review convened by the Honorable Minister of Health ii) the National Council on Health meeting (during which the 5 year RMNCAH strategy was launched)  iii) the National Family Planning Conference  and iv) the Technical Working Group on Population and Development and iv) Meeting with donors alongside the recent GFF Investor’s Group meeting in Abuja. In doing so, AHBN is ensuring that key national processes are being influenced to advance the goals, particularly those related to health financing, outlined in the CAAP. In Malawi, the CAAP initiative has strengthened Amref Malawi’s collaboration with the Reproductive Health Directorate (RHD). Amref Malawi has been invited to presented to the senior leadership of the RHD  on the commitment dashboard and contribute to discussions on how the RHD can monitor the implementation of the commitments. 

Overall, partners were keen to exchange experiences around how to undertake joint advocacy engagements more effectively and efficiently, as well as strengthen multi-constituency collaboration to advance WCAH outcomes. Partners will meet again in early 2025 to deliberate on implementation of the CAAP goals and activities, in a coordinated and context responsive manner. 

PMNCH is truly appreciative of the sustained efforts of CAAP partners – these efforts are at the core of PMNCH’s ambition to drive change for people and communities. Strengthened collaboration among partners is now more critical than ever as we approach the 5-year mark towards the SDG 2030 deadline in the face of compounding crises. The CAAP initiative highlights, that, indeed, partners can achieve more when working together than alone.