Findings from the implementation of the Community Engagement Advocacy Project (2024)
Sustaining robust community responses within health systems is imperative for achieving enduring progress especially during the current funding crisis landscape. The focus remains the same : to ensure that community work is not deprioritized. Global efforts towards the HIV response needs to recognize the current threat to evidence – based community data. ITPC in collaboration with the CAN continues to amplify the voices of communities by using data for change, while monitoring accessibility to quality HIV services in an impactful way.
Operating across 22 countries in the African continent in 2022 and 2023, the CAN’s application of community-led monitoring (CLM) to monitor Community Engagement (CE) findings and related follow-up actions served as a crucial baseline for enhancing CE levels, identifying gaps, and establishing new relationships with governments and partners. The application of CLM, using the Community Engagement Monitoring Tool 1.0 and 2.0 in 2022 and 2023 respectively, underscored the untapped and huge potential of meaningful CE and CLM in offering pathways for refining strategies to ensure robust community responses remains central to Differentiated Service Delivery (DSD).
Together with CAN partners, ITPC developed an advocacy reporting framework which was implemented between June – September 2024, which was populated by each organization to document the outputs, outcomes and follow-up steps for each advocacy priority implemented. The framework asked additional questions to further document various aspects of the project, such as unexpected outcomes, opportunities for additional resourcing and long-term advocacy priorities. The results of this advocacy frameworks were compiled and analysed to produce a full report, and case studies from Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Malawi, and Rwanda.
This project has created a platform for more structured use of CE data, and extending tailored advocacy grants over the medium to long-term would enable a more tangible impact on DSD services and health outcomes. The initiatives demonstrated how communities, when equipped with the right tools and resources, can actively contribute to DSD policy development, program implementation, and monitoring. It has amplified the voices of recipients of care, including marginalized groups, but also ensured that health services are more tailored to the diverse needs of populations by showcasing the value of community – generated data and the importance of community – led responses.
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