Community Working Group on Health (CWGH) – Zimbabwe

Community  Working Group on Health  (CWGH)

Caroline  A Mubaira

Southern  Sun Hotel, Lusaka.   Zambia

7  December to 11 December  2009

Working  with Parliaments- CWGH  Experience

• The  CWGH is a network of Civic/Community Based  Organisations

• Formed  in 1998 to take up health issues  of common concern

• Aims to  be a leader in the achievement of  equity and accessibility in health through  empowered communities

• Builds  on the principles of community participation  in health 

• Motto  “ Health is your  Right and your Responsibility”

Parliamentary Portfolio  Committees

    The  CWGH has engaged the parliament through  the PPCH with the following outcomes; 

• •  
    • Increase  in resource allocation towards prevention &  control of diseasese

• • • General  increase in the health budget allocations

 

•  
  •  
    • Increased  space for Civil Society in budget monitoring 

 

•  
  •  
    • Improved  resource  utilisation for health

 

•  
  • Include  the Right to Health in the new Zimbabwe  constitution

 

•  
  • Building  the health system from the base –  up, with prevention, promotion- in schools,  media, homes

 

•  
  • Allocating  public resources to: 
    • Rebuild, strengthen and support environments and infrastructures for health
    • Fairly resource health systems
    • Invest in Non-financial incentives to return health workers

• Collecting  information 
  • Carried out Health basket research
  • Research on Primary Health Care state of services in communities
  • Write report with people
  • Write position paper to Parliament based on report from the people
  • Meeting with Parliament Portfolio Committee on Health (PPHC)
  • Field visit for Parliamentarians to meet with communities

•  
  • National  conference with
    • PPCH
    • PPC Finance
    • Ministry of Health and Child Welfare
    • Minister of Finance
    • Community Members
    • Other NGOs and CBOs

• Resolutions  adopted at the people’s conference
• Presented to chair of committee to table it Parliament.
• Ministry of Health announce had adopted our Primary Health Care strategy
  • It was people centered
  • Report covered many districts
  • Report was from the people

Advertisement