External Relations/Communication

To achieve our goal of closing the gaps and making the voices of the underserved heard while advocating for Universal Health Coverage (UHC), as enshrined in the United Nations Alma Ata Declaration of 1978, and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, we plan to enhance our communication activities. To improve the effectiveness of our communication strategies, strengthening our identity, and increasing our visibility. At the basic level, we must ensure that we increased awareness about GCVSI and its objectives to national, regional, and global partners. From a corporate, perspective we have developed our communication platforms to disseminate relevant documentation and ensure our communication is aligned with GCVSI strategies. We are aiming to improve the relevance, effectiveness, and reach of our health and social inclusion advocacy activities; and to articulate and promote GCVSI’s organizational direction.

We are using a mixture of social media, reports, consultation responses, and empirical findings in our advocacy activities.

Developing effective partnerships is key to the achievement of GCVSI’s mission. In adopting a systematic approach to this we plan to conduct a partnership mapping exercise across each of the strategic direction priority areas, following on from which we will:

1.      Produce a ‘mind map’ of existing and potential partners;

2.      Prioritize partnerships and relationships;

3.      Increase partnership with Institutes and Universities harnessing advantages from these entities, concerning organizational objectives and GCVSI Mission. It will be important to translate these partnership opportunities into more tangible activity and we aim to develop actions that relate to up to six identified priority partnerships. Such partnerships will include the IFA, Coady International Institute, and NCD Alliance and WHO. Some specific activities are:

a.      To manage the execution, maintenance, and reporting of GCVSI’s ‘official relations’ with the United Nations;

b.      To develop closer ties and relate common development opportunities with International development partners;

c.       To scope and develop partnerships about the UHC and SDGs; improving social determinants of health: poverty alleviation/zero hunger – capacity building – Empowerment – medication access, medication supply, and quality healthcare services including health promotion and education, and disease prevention strategies. We are already in the process of using social media to encourage communications about health and social inclusion, and Universal Health Coverage (UHC) promotion from GCVSI perspective and will continue to develop this facility, encouraging involvement of our members, Executive Board members and the general public; 

d.      Events are one of the main ways in which the GCVSI disseminates knowledge and promotes awareness of effective policies and good practice through GCVSI participation in conferences, outreaches, and other events.