Dear HIFA colleagues,
For the purpose of our discussion and our use of the term ‘civil society’, we have included "not just NGOs and faith-based organisations, but also community groups, patient associations, and professional associations (and more)”
Indeed, according to Wikipedia:
"Civil society organizations, also known as civic organizations, include among others:
academia
activist groups
charities
clubs (sports, social, etc.)
community foundations
community organizations
consumer organizations
cooperatives
foundations
non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
non-profit organizations (NPOs)
private voluntary organizations (PVOs)
professional associations
religious organizations
social enterprises
social movement organizations
statutory corporations
support groups
trade unions
voluntary associations"
Arguably, all of the above may have a role to inform health policymaking, depending on their individual remits. Some of them overlap; for example an organisation may be simultaneously one or more of the following: activist groups, charities, NGOs, non-profit organizations, private voluntary organizations, social enterprises, social movement organisations, and/or voluntary associations.
It is tempting to simplify the above list, for example to talk of:
1. NGOs and related
2. religious organisations
3. professional associations and clubs
4. academia
5. foundations
6. trade unions
For the purpose of our discussion on CSOs and health policymaking, my understanding is that the SUPPORT-SYSTEMS consortium is particularly interested in the role of NGOs and faith-based organisations, but also professional associations. I defer to the project principal investigators to comment on whether and how we would also include academia, foundations and trade unions.
Best wishes, Neil
Joint Coordinator, HIFA SUPPORT-SYSTEMS
https://www.hifa.org/projects/new-support-systems-how-can-decision-makin...
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HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is global coordinator of the HIFA global health movement (Healthcare Information For All - www.hifa.org ), a global community with more than 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting on six global forums in four languages in official relations with WHO. HIFA brings stakeholders together to accelerate progress towards universal access to reliable healthcare information.
Twitter: @hifa_org neil@hifa.org
