Webinar Recording: What Does It Mean to Prioritize Social Accountability in SBC Programming to Address Equity and Social Determinants of Health in FP/RH?

"[T]he goal of social accountability is to develop collaborative relationships to improve quality of service provision and ultimately stimulating engagement of citizens and responsiveness of public and private authorities and institutions." - Télesphore Kaboré

Family planning (FP) is susceptible to inequities that hinder access to information, services, and methods for women, men, and other gender-diverse people across socioeconomic statuses. Addressing social determinants of health (SDOH) is a widely recognised approach to achieving health equity. This Breakthrough ACTION webinar, the third in a series, focuses on social accountability as a process that can be leveraged across social and behaviour change (SBC) programming to address equity and SDOH to shape and influence FP and reproductive health (RH) outcomes.

Offered in English with simultaneous interpretation into French, the webinar begins with a welcome by Danette Wilkins, Program Officer, Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs (CCP), followed by an issue overview by Télesphore Kaboré, Lead Advisor, Community Health, Breakthrough ACTION, Save the Children. After presenting participants with basic terminology, he discusses how social accountability approaches can address both inequities in the quality of service delivery and power dynamics between different actors, including health facility staff and community members. For example, these approaches support citizens' participation in dialogue with service providers and other officials. They can work through existing platforms, such as local community oversight committees, participatory planning and budgeting in subnational units, national advocacy efforts, and legal accountability frameworks. Social accountability interventions like these are expected to lead to changes in how community members and providers engage in demand and supply of services (health and other sectors). Mr. Kaboré shares some research results indicating the impacts of these strategies (see also the Relevant Links section, below).

Next, Rachel Taylor, Senior Advisor, Global Health and Health Systems Strengthening, Save the Children, leads a panel discussion featuring these African voices:

• Alice Monyo, Director of Programs, Sikika-Quality Health Service for All, Tanzania
• Helen Mwale, International Consultant, Malawi
• Peter Waiswa, Associate Professor, Makerere University School of Public Health and Karolinska Institutet, Leader, Makerere University Centre of Excellence for Maternal Newborn and Child Health, Uganda
• Thumbiko Msiska, Technical Director, CARE International, Malawi

The discussion covers: in what situations the panelists think social accountability approaches are most useful and why, how social accountability approaches are related to equity and to what effect, how social approaches have been used in the past, in what areas of health and development, and with what effects. The conversation also examines challenges and gaps in social accountability processes such as measurement.

Relevant links:

• The English version of the webinar is available by clicking above. Click here to watch it in French.
• Click here for the webinar slides (English, PDF, 18 pages).
• The following resources were referenced in the webinar (along with those at Related Summaries, below):
  • "Social Accountability", on the Primary Health Care Performance Initiative (PHCPI) website
  • "Measuring Social Accountability and Health Outcomes", on the Health Evaluation and Applied Research Development (HEARD) project website
  • "Social Accountability: Overview of Approaches and Case Studies" [PDF], by the International Rescue Committee
  • "Do Social Accountability Approaches Work? A Review of the Literature from Selected Low- and Middle-Income Countries in the WHO South-East Asia Region", in Health Policy and Planning
  • "Two Promising Social Accountability Approaches to Improve Health in Malawi: Community Score Cards, and National Health Budget Consultation, Analysis and Advocacy" [PDF], Maternal and Child Survival Program
• Click here to access the recording of the first webinar in this series: "Why Do We Need to Elevate the "S" in SBC to Improve Family Planning/Reproductive Health Outcomes?"
• Click here to access the recording of the second webinar in this series: "How Can SBC Programming Address Equity and Social Determinants of Health Considerations in FP/RH?"