FOR LEADERS OF NINE CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS
Monrovia, Liberia – Naymote Partners for Democratic Development has organized a five-day workshop for the leaders of nine civil society organizations involved in health advocacy. The training is a component of USAID’s civil society initiative, which aims to improve Liberians’ capacity to advocate for policy changes, their implementation, and better service delivery through multi-stakeholder coalitions that create feedback loops between the government, CSOs, and the general public.
According to Eddie Jarwolo, executive director of Naymote, the workshop will enhance the groups’ network, create a unified vision, and establish advocacy goals.
Dr. Francis Kateh, chief medical officer of Liberia, urged the CSOs to focus their advocacy on aiding in the rebranding of the nation’s health sector. He noted that health plays a pivotal role in human lives as such, the conduit for providing health has to be trusted, placing emphasis on a holistic approach from the accreditation of schools to the recruitment of students. Dr. Kateh added that monitoring and evaluating the various institutions, and making sure they are preparing the future healthcare providers with the requisite knowledge.
According to the health practitioner, standardization should never be compromised at any level. He continued that when future providers understand the task they have to bear, results may yield the cessation of life.
Dr. Kateh said advocacy is understanding the issue before pleading for it. Siting an example that Liberia’s health system is a mess, he noted that one needs to clearly state what aspect within the system that is not performing leading to the failure of the outcome. As such, the professional admitted by asking appropriate questions, one would easily find the weakest link, and the appropriate actions could be developed and fixed it.
