Unit Three: Plan and Undertake

advocacy on identified health issues

Instruction sheet
This learning unit is developed to provide the trainees the
necessary information regarding the following content
coverage and topics:
 Prepare advocacy plan to address health issues
 Consult community representatives health needs and
priorities
 Identify and consult influential community
representatives and health development armies to
disseminate IEC-BCC activities
 Planning, implementation and evaluation of advocacy
and community mobilization
 Organizing and providing continuous advocacy
services in partnership with stakeholders
 Using feedback for planning
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3.1. Preparing advocacy plan to address health issues

• Communication is a method by which

information travels from a source, such as a
mouth, to a receiver, such as an ear, and is
understood as intended.
• If the information is not understood, it has not
been communicated properly.
• Sources and receivers can be individuals or
groups.
• They do not need to be people either.
• When a dog barks and brings you its lead, you
understand that it wants to go for a walk.
• In that case, the source is the dog, and the
receiver is you.
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•Information can be a message or a
collection of facts.
•It might include, for instance,
statements of opinion,
instructions, questions, requests,
demands, ideas, declarations or
codes.

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3.1.1. Stages of Advocacy
• There are 8 stages which are important to
have good advocacy techniques. These are:
I. Define Your Goals
What needs changing?
Long term/short term?
What do we want to ask for? Does it require
change to: Legislation, Policy, Regulation,
Programs and Funding
II. Know Your Audience
Multi-layered: policy makers, media, key
constituencies, public
Different strategies for each target – research
Provincial and Territorial governments, health
authorities and general public
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III. Craft Your Message
Be clear on what we are asking for
Keep it simple and focused
Use positive language
Tailor message to audience- research
Appeal to audience‘s self-interest
Acknowledge environment/context- be pragmatic
Make the case
Need to look at the problem, the solution(s) and the
benefit(s)
Be consistent
Distribute clear concise position statements
Use evidence - facts carry more weight than
anecdotal evidence, Economic arguments are
important
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IV. Identify the Messenger
The target audience will determine the
messenger.
As we cultivate champions, they will also
become messengers
Media is best handled by a designated
person(s)
V. Identify Delivery Methods
Advocacy is relationship building
Tactics change by target audience
Tactics to reach general public, media,
government

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VI. Identify Resources and Gaps
Alliances, relationships, information, political
intelligence, capacity of staff, opportunities
Develop capacities which are lacking
Research, media, outreach
VII. Plan Next Steps
Priority area: Action, Target, Timelines,
Partners, Resources, Critical path or Next
Steps
Set out clear steps – including timelines
Be clear on who needs to do what and when
Communicate the plan with partners and Be
flexible
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
VIII. Evaluate Effectiveness
Regularly revisit each of the steps to make
sure the strategy is effective
Discard any tactics which are not working
and build on those that do
Re-evaluate as new opportunities and
challenges emerge
Communicate changes internally

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Remember…
Communications are key!
Build a coalition of voices
Planning is crucial
Positive messaging is important
Advocacy is about relationship
building

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 3.1.2. Advocacy tool and approaches

• In advocacy, each issue demands different

approaches and strategies, partners,
tactics, methods, resources, materials, and
so on.
• In embarking upon an advocacy campaign,
it is important to have the capacity to
consider all available options and to make
strategic choices amongst them.
• We call these options the "tools" of
advocacy.
• Skilled and informed use of these tools
results in greater advocacy impact.
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The most important of these tools
include:
• Information: Gathering, managing and
disseminating information lays the basis
for determining the direction of an
advocacy campaign. Research is one
way of gathering information.
• Research: Conducting research and
policy analysis uses the information
from various sources and develops it
into policy options which become the
key content of an advocacy campaign.
• Media: Various media are used to
communicate
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• Social mobilization: Mobilizing the broadest
possible support from a range of stakeholders,
including the public at large, is essential to
building the influence of the campaign.
• Lobbying: Convincing the decision-makers
who have the power to make the desired
change involves a set of special knowledge
and skills.
• Litigation: Sometimes, using the court
system to challenge a policy or law can
reinforce an advocacy campaign.
• Networks, alliances and coalitions:
Sharing of information and resources, and
strength in unity and commonality of purpose
are key to the success of advocacy work.
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• The choice of tools will vary, even in the
context of a single campaign.
• It will depend on:
The issue at hand, The strategic objectives,
The message to be communicated and The
stakeholders targeted.
• Advocacy is a complex task.
• Its objectives will not be achieved through the
use of only one tool or method, but rather will
require a carefully designed mixture of
approaches.
• Groups should be flexible throughout their
advocacy campaign so that if one tool does
not have the expected results, another can be
tried.
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 3.1.3. Principles of effective Advocacy

• Principles of advocacy are designed to

assess the current effectiveness of health
advocacy approaches, in particular whether
they are working well and whether they can
be improved; and strengthen current and
future health advocacy approaches to
promote safe, quality healthcare and health
systems.
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• Six core principles for effective health
advocacy are identified.
1. Community centered: The community is at the center of
interaction. community is one part of interaction
2. Opportunities: Stakeholders promote and support
opportunities for both individual and systemic advocacy.
Use several tools for advocacy to reach a wide audience
3. Recognition: Stakeholders recognize that advocacy is
lawful and that it can take many forms
4. Relationships: All those involved work together with
respect and recognize each other‘s roles and contribution
to the process. Have good relations with the private sector
and all the NGOs working in the area around
5. Response: Matters raised are acknowledged and
responded to
6. Resolution: The aim of all participants is to find a solution
which is acceptable by all community members. Have
good strategic planning and effective monitoring tools
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3.2. Consult community representatives health needs and priorities

• The identification of the health needs of the

community, resulting from the evaluation of
those health determinants, allowed the
identification of a diverse set of problems.
• A classification was developed to enable the
selection of the priority problem for
intervention.
• The prioritization phase include
Grouping of health needs according to their
level of similarity;
Classification of the grouped needs by the
community intervention team
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• The prioritization process is a key step in health
planning, enabling the identification of priority
problems to intervene in a given community at a
given time.
• There are no default formulas for selecting priority
issues.
• It is up to each community intervention team to
define its own process with different
methods/techniques that allow the identification of
and intervention in needs classified as priority by the
community.
• When choosing the health needs and during
prioritization, consulting community representatives
is good for planning and implementation phase.
• If community is represented by their representatives,
it will be good for the outcomes and its sustainability.
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3.3. Identifying and consulting influential
community representatives and health
development armies to disseminate IEC-BCC
activities
IEC is a process through which information is
disseminated to masses.
Information- Useful and representative data on
a related issue.
Education- The process of transferring and
embedding information.
Communication- A process through which two
or more people share transfer of information,
and which is complete only after compliance by
both the parties on whether the information and
education have been perceived in the same way
as transmitted.
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• Some of the commonly used tools for IEC
are Wall Writings, Wall paintings, Street
Plays,
• Exhibitions, Posters, Handbills, Pamphlets,
Meetings, Songs etc.
• BCC is a process through which the
information prevailing in the IEC process is
implemented in the behavior by the target
person, which brings in a sustainable
change for better in them.
• So IEC though interrelated terms are two
different process, where saying that IEC is
sub process component of the mother
process BCC.
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• In order to be effective in disseminating
IEC-BCC activities, it is very important to
identify and consult community
representatives who are influential and
respected.
• Health development armies are also
important structured modalities
important for IEC- BCC activities.

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3.4. Planning, Implementation and
evaluation of advocacy and
community mobilization
3.4.1.Planning,Implementation and
evaluation of advocacy
• You need well-planned activities to
achieve your advocacy goals and
objectives.
• You also need to identify and attract
resources (money, equipment,
volunteers, supplies and space) to
implement your advocacy campaigns
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These steps are:
A. Identifying a problem: In this step you must
think more specifically about what you aim to
do.
• You need to identify the problem that requires a
policy action.
B. Knowing your audience: This means you
should decide which audience to target through
advocacy, and you must carefully determine the
advocacy goals and objectives.
• At this stage, you are also identifying the policy
makers you are trying to influence to support
your issue.
• Examples include politicians, local officials and
ministry officials.
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C. Building support: Build alliances with other
groups, organizations and individuals who need to
become committed to support you in your
advocacy work on health issues.
• You should remember that the campaign will be
most effective when individuals and
organizations join together in networks in order
to increase the strength of your advocacy efforts.
D. Developing your message: An advocacy
message is a statement that may be tailored to
different audiences.
• These messages define the issue, state solutions,
and describe the actions that need to be taken.

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E. Identifying the channels of
communication:
• Identify the channels and the messages to be
delivered to the various target audiences
through radio, television, flyers, press
conferences, or during meetings.
F. Resource mobilization: This means you need
to identify and attract resources such as money,
equipment, volunteers, supplies and space in
order to carry out your advocacy campaign.
G. Advocacy activity: Once you have mobilized
all necessary resources, you will be in a position
to implement a set of planned activities,
sometimes called an action plan, to achieve your
advocacy objectives.
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H. Monitoring and evaluating the
activities: After you have already
implement your advocacy campaign
you need to monitor the process of an
activity and gather information about
how it is going, in order to measure
progress towards your advocacy goal.
• Then evaluate the data gathered about
the advocacy activities and analyze
them to support each step of your
advocacy campaign.

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3.4.2. Community mobilization
• Basic concept of community mobilization
Community refers to an area or a village with
families who are dependent on one another in their
day-to-day, thereby creating mutual advantages.
To mobilize means to organize or assemble power,
force, wealthy and other resources to increase a full
stage of development.
Community mobilization is an attempt to bring
both human and non-human resources together to
undertake developmental activities in order to achieve
sustainable development.
Community mobilization is a process through which
action is stimulated by a community itself, or by
others, that is planned, carried out, and evaluated by
a community, individuals, and groups.
It is an organization on a participatory and sustained
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basis to improve the health, hygiene and education
 What roles can the community play?

• As you know, our most valuable resource in the

community is our own people.
• They can make decisions about the development
and health care service of the surrounding.
• Cooperation among community people is
important to develop the community self-
sufficiency and self-reliance.
• The community has an important role to identify
and use available resources in the Kebele, and to
plan and act accordingly.
• Where there is a mechanism of local self-
government, important decisions are usually
made at the local level by the local people
themselves.
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• Development and health goals cannot be
achieved without effective participation of the
community.
• So community mobilization is concerned
about organizing the community and all the
resources available in the community to move
them towards achieving this health goal.
• Community mobilization is defined as a
process whereby a group of people have
transcended their differences to meet on
equal terms in order to facilitate a
participatory decision-making process.
• It is an initial and ongoing process central to
any community and social change effort that
seeks to build support and participation of
individuals, groups, and institutions to work
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• It can be viewed as a process which
begins a dialogue among members of
the community to determine who, what,
and how issues are decided, and also to
provide an opportunity for everyone to
participate in decisions that affect their
lives.
• It is a means to achieve reliable and
sustainable healthy lifestyles and
behavioral changes.

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 Benefit of community mobilization

• The most significant benefit is doing

something to help address an issue
impacting their community to save
valuable resources.
• By getting involved, community- and
faith-based organizations, health care
professionals, and policy makers will
jointly take actions that answer their
community's problem.

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 Community mobilization can:-
Infuse new energy into an issue through
community buy-in and support.
Expand the base of community support for an issue or
organization.
Help a community overcome denial of a health issue.
Promote local ownership and decision-making about a
health issue.
Limit competition and redundancy of services and
outreach efforts.
Create public presence and pressure to change laws,
polices, and practices — progress that could not be
made by just one individual or organization.
Bring new community volunteers together (because
of increased visibility).
Increase cross-sector collaboration and shared
resources.
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3.5. Organizing and providing continuous advocacy services in partnership with
stakeholders

• To undertake effective advocacy it is

important to identify those who are most
likely to be your allies, including those who
can be persuaded to become allies, or at
least facilitators to help you.
• You will also need to identify those who stand
in the way of you achieving your advocacy
goals.

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Benefits of stakeholder involvement in advocacy
services:
It can lead to informed decision-making, as
stakeholders often possess a wealth of
information, which can benefit advocacy
towards building an enabling environment for
evaluation.
Consultation in the early stages of advocacy
can alert to potential risks and can reduce the
likelihood of conflicts, which can harm the
implementation and success of advocacy.
Stakeholder involvement contributes to
transparency in undertaking advocacy as the
different stakeholders that are involved can
monitor it.
The involvement of stakeholders can possibly
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 3.6. Using feedback for planning

• Provision of feedback forms an integral part of

the learning process. Receipt of feedback
enriches the learning experience, and helps to
narrow the gap between actual and desired
performance.
• Effective feedback helps to reinforce good
practice, motivating the learner towards the
desired outcome.
• However, a common complaint from learners
is that the receipt of feedback is infrequent
and inadequate.
• Providing trainees with feedback lends them
the opportunity to benchmark their own
assessment against external appraisal, and
cultivates a reflective practice on behavior,
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• It is important for learners to recognize
the importance of external input on
their learning process, in order to be
able to apply the feedback received to
the development of self-assessment
skills through reflective practice.
• Failure to provide feedback may bring
upon an additional unwanted outcome.
• It can be misinterpreted as an implicit
approval of the learner‘s performance
and/or knowledge.

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THANK YOU!!

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