Budget tracking and parliamentary action

Overview

The government is responsible for and accountable to the citizens of a country for the protection of human rights and provision of basic services such as health. Citizens therefore have the right to influence policy decisions about what, where and how public resources are spent. Advocacy efforts targeted at health budget tracking are critical for ensuring that governments and donors are providing the services demanded by the public and are accountable for the resources spent. At both the national and local levels, civil society organizations can play an important role in ensuring transparency and accountability in government and donor health spending. At the national level, organizations can get involved in defining priority areas and planning processes. At the local level, they can oversee and monitor expenditures, and use ground level findings to call for changes in budget allocations and planning priorities.