Civil society organizations, or CSOs, are crucial partners in creating effective public health policies. That’s according to Rachel Morrison, senior adviser for the Caribbean at the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, an organization that partners with local civil society, governments, and other stakeholders to drive public health progress through policy change.
“CSOs have the ability to identify key stakeholders that are representative of local grassroots communities,” she said. This ability, she explained, allows CSOs to be a powerful voice for evidence-based policy recommendations.
GHAI works closely with CSOs to strengthen their capacity and ensure that the right people are represented in policymaking, said Morrison. Barbados’ National School Nutrition Policy, which aims to foster the development of healthy eating and activity behaviors, is a recent example of this, she said. When school administrators expressed concerns about their ability to monitor compliance with the new policy, CSO partners took the initiative. They developed a user-friendly monitoring app that not only tracked food sold in canteens but also included vendors operating near schools.
Watch the full video to learn more about how civil society organizations can catalyze locally led development, and Morrison’s best practices for incorporating CSO and local stakeholder input into public health policies.
Dig into Roots of Change, a series examining the push toward locally led development.
This piece is produced in partnership with Global Health Advocacy Incubator as part of our Roots of Change series. Click here to learn more.
About the author
Olivia Govik
Olivia is a Senior Editorial Associate and Reporter at Devex. Based in our Barcelona office, she mainly works with bringing partnerships content to life in different formats. She holds degrees in communications, political sciences, and international relations, and developed a passion for global development while studying and working in different parts of the world. Prior to joining Devex, she worked in Brussels on communications related to European Union-funded development projects.
