Dear Sabrina, Thank you very much for your introduction message.
"As a starting point, I wanted to share UICC’s Cervical Cancer Advocacy Handbook [ https://www.uicc.org/resources/cervical-cancer-advocacy-handbook ] which may be relevant to some of the issues we will explore through this discussion. It was developed to support civil society organisations and advocacy coalitions in advancing cervical cancer prevention, screening and treatment, with practical guidance on coalition building, advocacy strategies and messaging."
Thank you, I have looked briefly at this publication. A summary of the contents:
'Section 1: highlights the importance of building coalitions, exploring the key partners and competencies needed within the coalition, and as part of a broader alliance, to inform
advocacy strategies and mobilise action.
'Section 2: focuses on key planning steps for developing a national advocacy strategy. It outlines the WHO Global Strategy targets, a tool for assessing the national socio-political context, and guidance on choosing effective advocacy approaches. It also features successful advocacy efforts by CSOs and emphasises the importance of including the voices of people with lived experience.
'Section 3: provides guidance on how to develop advocacy messaging, together with an illustrative example of a successful advocacy campaign urging government action for cervical cancer elimination. It also signposts additional resources to support monitoring, evaluation & learning'
The handbook complements the UICC Advocacy Toolkit:
https://www.uicc.org/sites/main/files/atoms/files/UICC_CAP_Toolkit_Advoc...
In addition to the Handbook and Toolkit, I imagine that many advocates and advocacy groups could benefit from the support and experience of others, whether locally, nationally or globally. With this in mind, is there a global discussion forum on cervical cancer, similar to HIFA?
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org