Civil Society and the GAVI Alliance: Engagement and evolution

by Alan Hinman, Task Force for Global Health; Majeed Siddiqi, HealthNet TPO Afghanistan; and Amy Dietterich, IFRC While Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have long played critical roles in supporting immunization services at national and global levels, their role in the GAVI Alliance expanded just two years ago to better tap the knowledge and influence of CSOs around the world. Since that time, the GAVI Alliance CSO Constituency has grown to over 200 CSOs in both the global North and South. Today CSOs participate in all aspects of the Alliance including in the governance structure through a seat on the GAVI Board and representation on the Program and Policy Committee and the Governance Committee as well as in ongoing task teams. A growing role for civil society in the GAVI Alliance The development and release of the Civil Society Call to Action at the GAVI Hanoi Partners’ Forum in November 2009 marked the beginning of a major effort to organize and formalize civil society’s role as a partner in the GAVI Alliance. The Constituency Steering Committee was formed in early 2010 and the charter developed and approved later that year. In October 2010, the Steering Committee elected its first chair and vice-chair. A few months later, CSOs played a key role in the Alliance’s June 2011 Pledging Conference issuing a second call to action in support of the GAVI Alliance which garnered hundreds of institutional signatories. In addition, two CSO representatives spoke at the conference, alongside the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell. When the dust had settled, civil society had helped the Alliance to raise $4.3 billion in pledged support. Civil society engagement with the GAVI Alliance is an evolutionary process; our perspectives are increasingly sought by the Alliance and our contributions acknowledged. For the first time in the Alliance’s 11-year history, civil society is a lead implementing partner after obtaining a grant from the GAVI Secretariat to coordinate CSO involvement in health systems strengthening mechanisms in eight pilot countries. The CSO-led activities fall under the Alliance’s second strategic goal and supports in-country CSOs to work side by side with governments, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations Children’s fund. How the GAVI Alliance CSO Constituency works The Constituency functions through periodic in-person meetings and an email listserv ([email protected]) where ideas, information, and new developments are exchanged and debated on a daily basis. The Constituency is open to all civil society organizations that support GAVI’s mission of reaching every child with immunization. The Constituency is led by a 20-member steering committee comprising peer-elected representatives from more than 16 countries. The Steering Committee includes the civil society representative on the GAVI Board (currently Dr. Alan Hinman of the Task Force for Global Health), the board alternate (currently Dr. Joan Awunyo-Akaba of the Network for Ghana NGOs in Health), the CSO Steering Committee Chair (currently Dr. Majeed Siddiqi of HealthNet TPO, Afghanistan) and the vice-chair (currently Dr. Jacqueline Bell of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies [IFRC]). As the Constituency’s elected leadership body, the Steering Committee identifies Constituency priorities, provides direction on key initiatives, and takes the lead in synthesizing civil society input to GAVI Alliance governance policies and programs. The Steering Committee meets twice annually, immediately prior to GAVI Board meetings, to formulate Constituency positions on key Alliance governance issues. The Steering Committee and the broader Constituency are supported by a half-time Communications Focal Point, currently hosted by the IFRC in Geneva, Switzerland. In addition, the CSO delegation to the GAVI Board is supported by a half-time advisor (who also serves as the communications focal point). To learn more about the CSO Constituency, please visit their web page. About the authors: Dr. Alan Hinman is the Civil Society Representative on the GAVI Alliance Board. Dr. Majeed Siddiqi is the GAVI CSO Constituency Steering Committee Chair and Ms. Amy Dietterich is the GAVI CSO Constituency Communications Focal Point and Advisor to the Civil Society Board Representative. To comment, click reply.