SUPPORT-SYSTEMS (77) Q5 How can we support CSO participation in health policy processes? (5)

8 June, 2022

I thank Unni for the questions addressed to my earlier reflections on the Project themes in the Forum.

[ https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/support-systems-71-q5-how-can-we-suppor... ]

As I continue to argue, the concept of the Civil Society itself requires a deeper analysis, based primarily on stratification of the people in pluralist societies and more importantly, within their different alignments with decision making power.

As I see the questions, the focus seems to be on the uniqueness of CSO evidence (that otherwise might not be available or considered) and

promising practices of CSO participation (in Policy making) along with their effective utilization as evidence of lending support to systems.

In a general sense, my earlier post about Equity (and Digital Health) addresses them all. The article on the "Syndemic of Inequities", I shared with everyone through the Forum, attempts to explain the context in detail.

(a) As I mention in the article, even if segregated , the ethnocultural communities and their diverse members engaged in civic projects for quality improvement (QI) within the healthcare systems, can and do provide evidence on making the system more inclusive and strong as a democratic institution.

(b) The "drivers" - in such cases - refer to acknowledgement - by policy makers - of limitations of the traditional systems which create the segregation while the "barriers" would refer to absence of any such considerations.

(c) Thus, from the perspectives of the minority communities, "promising practices" would include deliberate policies to not only design innovative mechanisms for access, as mentioned in the OECD Report (that Unni refers to) - but also making sure the access leads to substantive and sustainable participation of all members of the society

(d) I believe, through the very transformation of the system - as based on contexts mentioned in (a), (b), and (c) above and focused particularly on promotion of universal healthcare coverage with its availability and affordability at all levels, would help in effective utilization of CSO experience and insights as supporting measures for strengthening the healthcare system.

Esha Ray Chaudhuri

Canada

HIFA profile: Esha Ray Chaudhuri is an Equity Analyst, in Canada. Professional interests: Equity Issues in Health and Health Care with particular focus on interface of Local and Global contexts. She is a member of two HIFA working groups: HIFA SUPPORT-SYSTEMS - How can decision-making processes for health systems strengthening and universal health coverage be made more inclusive, responsive and accountable? and the WHO-HIFA Catalyst Group on Learning for quality health services. https://www.hifa.org/support/members/esha-ray

https://www.hifa.org/projects/new-support-systems-how-can-decision-makin...

https://www.hifa.org/projects/learning-quality-health-services Email address: ed.consult3 AT gmail.com