Advocacy

Often neglected as a topic in university courses in public health, the role of advocacy can be important in achieving change in health policy. PublicHealth.Africa plans to explore the role of advocacy to achieve change, using the social capital of the alumni network and the invited policy and academic network members to develop actions and strategies. 

There is a literature to guide an evidence base in this area, and we wish to extend this to an African setting. Here is an example from Effective advocacy strategies for influencing government nutrition policy: a conceptual model https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-018-0716-y

Essential advocacy strategies

·         investing in relationships

·         gathering intelligence

·         developing a clear, unified solution, and

·         employing or developing the skills/traits of a policy entrepreneur.

advocacy