Strengthening advocacy and political dialogue in Senegal
24 September 2007
Alliance Nationale Contre le SIDA (ANCS), the Alliance’s linking organisation in Senegal, held a training workshop from 29 August to 1 September in Saly Portudal called ‘Advocacy and political dialogue for a better HIV response environment’. The overall objective of the workshop was to strengthen the capacity of civil society to lobby for greater involvement in the HIV and AIDS response by creating a better political, legal, institutional and financial environment.
The four-day workshop, led by Dr. Abdelkader Bacha from the Alliance secretariat’s policy department, provided an opportunity to bring participants up to date on issues such as the three ones principles, the greater involvement of people living with HIV, the Global Fund, the Observatoire de la réponse au VIH/SIDA, AIDS funding, and universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support.
In addition, thanks to Initiative Privée et Communautaire Contre le VIH/SIDA (IPC), the Alliance’s linking organisation in Burkina Faso, Burkina Faso and Senegal were able to share their respective experiences of civil society involvement in the HIV response.
Group work and plenary sessions held throughout the workshop enabled participants to improve their understanding of relevant advocacy techniques. By the end of the workshop, various civil society actors had sketched out an advocacy action plan on universal access and established the steps to meet it. The workshop’s specific objectives were:
- to provide knowledge and basic tools for HIV advocacy techniques
- to understand the current international, regional and national response environment, including trends, key actors, the role of civil society, and an outline of the main mechanisms and frameworks for action
- to draft, using participatory techniques, the broad outlines of a civil society action plan aimed at influencing the national political landscape for a better HIV response environment
- to assess the HIV response environment and reach a consensus on action frameworks for encouraging change.
Workshop participants included members of ANCS’s governing body and ANCS’s partners, including the Alliance, the Conseil National de Lutte contre le SIDA (National AIDS Programme) and the Global Fund. Members of the following partner organisations also attended: Africa Consultants International, Alliance des religieux, Conseil des organisations de lutte contre le Sida au Sénégal, Family Health International, Hope for African Children Initiative, Observatoire de la réponse au VIH, Réseau Islam/Sida/Santé/Education, and Réseau national de personnes vivant avec le VIH/SIDA, as well as journalist networks.
