USAID|DELIVER in partnership with Salud Mesoamérica 2015

In Lima, Peru, from June 17-20, 2013 the United States Agency for International  Development (USAID | DELIVER PROJECT) and the Salud Mesoamérica 2015 Initiative (SM2015) –implemented by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)–  brought together 23 officials from health ministries and civil society groups from ten Latin American countries.  The objective was to participate in the training ‘Strengthening Data Analysis, Communication and Advocacy Skills for Commodity Security in Latin America and the Caribbean’.
Participants from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico (Chiapas), Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and the Dominican Republic learned about health data analysis using several sources, methods and tools to advocate for prioritizing and protecting family planning services, as well as effective communication techniques.

During the work sessions, participants learned about key indicators for different elements of Commodity Security (CS) –in Spanish, ‘Disponibilidad Asegurada de Insumos y Anticonceptivos’, DAIA–. Similarly, they were exposed to basic advocacy methods and processes, as well as effective communication techniques to deliver key CS messages in an effective and convincing way to decision makers, in order to increase access to sexual and reproductive health medicines, including contraceptives, to all people that need them. During the communication session videos were shared of "Empty Handed" which was just launched in the Latin American Forum of Reproductive Health Supplies, as well as the Panama TEDx video where Emma Iriarte, Executive Director of the SM2015 Initiative presents the message about 1.000 days to save the life of a child.  These were excellent examples that showed key elements of effective communication techniques and advocacy messages on this topic.

After the presentation sessions, participants identified one major challenge they faced concerning permanent availability of contraceptives in their countries, and based on such challenge, each participant later identified a challenge that they could influence to overcome upon returning to their countries. The second outcome of the workshop was an individual presentation where participants would cover the following themes:  current situation shown with graphs and powerful data, a challenge identified based on this data, consequences of not taking priority steps to change it, recommendations to change current challenge, and a take away message summarized in “a call to action” closing remark.   

At the end of the workshop, participants expressed their appreciation for all the knowledge learned and showed genuine commitment to integrate their individual work plans into their country context and priorities.
The SM2015 Initiative (SM2015) is an innovative public-private partnership amongst the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), the Instituto Carlos Slim Health (ICSS), the Government of Spain, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the eight countries in the Mesoamerican region. SM2015 was created as a catalytic agent aligned with the Mesoamerica Project regional efforts, including the Mesoamerican Public Health System (SMSP) and the Council of Health Ministers (COMISCA).

For more information, please contact Anabella Sánchez, Regional Manager at USAID|DELIVER.