GOAL 13, CLIMATE CHANGE.
Attah Benson,
speaking on behalf of the NGOs Major Groups on Goal 13, Climate Change.
AREAS OF ADVOCACY
Advocacy is one of our strategies to raise levels of familiarity with an issue and promote health and access to quality health care and public health services at the individual and community levels. When trying to gain political commitment, policy support, social acceptance, and systems support for a particular public health goal or program, a combination of individual and social actions may be used to try to effect change. This is one way of understanding Health Advocacy.
The adoption of a health advocacy model can focus on an educational dimension when it identifies emerging public health issues that require action. It encompasses gathering information on existing practices related to public health, related legislation monitoring, and providing feedback on how specific regulations impact local groups and communities. It may also help guide health policy reforms.
Often, health advocacy is carried out using mass and multi-media, direct political lobbying, and community mobilization. It may materialize within an institution or through public health associations, patients’ organizations, the private sector, and NGOs. All health professionals have a major responsibility to act as advocates for public health at all levels of society.
In developing countries, improving access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) as standalone efforts or in partnership with other development challenges such as health and education can stimulate development, build economies, and reduce poverty. Although the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target for safe drinking water was met five years ahead of schedule, data indicates the number of people using safe water supplies is overestimated. Despite the success with water, 2.4 billion people still lacked access to sanitation in 2015, making the sanitation target the most off-track of all the MDGs. We understand this at CERI and we are working with the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will attempt to eliminate these concerns, with the ambition to achieve universal access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene.