The Communication Initiative
Development action with informed and engaged societies
The Communication Initiative
After nearly 28 years, The Communication Initiative (The CI) Global is entering a new chapter. Following a period of transition, the global website has been transferred to the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) in South Africa, where it will be administered by the Social and Behaviour Change Communication Division. Wits' commitment to social change and justice makes it a trusted steward for The CI's legacy and future.
 
Co-founder Victoria Martin is pleased to see this work continue under Wits' leadership. Victoria knows that co-founder Warren Feek (1953–2024) would have felt deep pride in The CI Global's Africa-led direction.
 
We honour the team and partners who sustained The CI for decades. Meanwhile, La Iniciativa de Comunicación (CILA) continues independently at cila.comminitcila.com and is linked with The CI Global site.
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HEPS-Uganda

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HEPS-Uganda is a health consumer organisation advocating for health rights and responsibilities in Uganda. Initially, in 1999, HEPS focused solely on health policy advocacy. Subsequently, after conducting several advocacy activities on its own, the organisation started the Ugandan Coalition for Access to Essential Medicines in 2002. Members of the coalition include mainly national and international health civil society organisations (CSOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). The purpose of the coalition is to advocate for better healthcare through combined efforts.
Communication Strategies

HEPS-Uganda has 3 main programmes:

 

Health Policy Advocacy Programme

HEPS-Uganda is the coordinator of the Uganda Coalition for Access to Essential Medicines (UCAEM). This programme involves advocating for consumer-friendly healthcare laws and policies at all levels of government and donors through policy analysis and research, influencing policy formulation, and monitoring and evaluating its implementation. Activities include: dissemination of healthcare information to government, media, and other stakeholders; lobbying policy makers; holding press conferences and public dialogues; and releasing policy statements.

 

Community Outreach Programme

 This programme focuses on education with regard to health rights and responsibilities in rural communities in Uganda, with ultimate aim of empowering health consumers to demand for their health rights and exercise their health responsibilities. Activities include: dissemination of information on health rights and responsibilities, including rational use of medicines (RUM); and training community members to be peer trainers.

 

For community trainings, HEPS-Uganda uses customised community empowerment training materials including a facilitator’s guide (for HEPS-Uganda facilitators), a trainer's guide (for community leaders) and education materials. The trainer's guide and education materials have been translated into three local languages.

 

Health Complaints and Counselling Desk

According to HEPS-Uganda, the Complaints and Counselling Desk has kick-started a dialogue amongst key stakeholders in health service delivery and human rights bodies, local and central government policy makers, health providers, civil society, and communities - to improve the quality of health care in Uganda. Complaints and compliments are collected through stakeholders’ meetings, complaints boxes installed at health facilities, and questionnaires filled out by health consumers and observations. These complaints are analysed and reports are written which are then discussed with health facility management to agree on the needed improvements and/or redress.

Development Issues

Health, Rights.

Partners

Health Action International (HAI) Africa, ActionAid International Uganda, Voluntary Services Oversees (VSO) Uganda, Regional Network for Equity in Health in East and Southern Africa (EQUINET), Training and Research Support Center (TARSC), 9th EDF Civil Society Capacity Building Programme. Corporate sponsors of HEPS Uganda include: Accenture, Barclays, and IBM.

Sources

HEPS-Uganda website, March 17 2009.

Comments

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Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Thu, 10/07/2010 - 08:49 Permalink

As a Team Leader of CITIZEN EYE - UGANDA which advocates for better services,outcomes and trust through strengthening the accountability relationship between ugandan citizens and policy makers and service providers,we need to collaborate with HEPS to foster our undertaking.