Women-focused civil society organizations and routine immunization networks across seven states in Nigeria, have undergone intensive two-day training on participation of women-focused CSOs in accountability for RI and RI Budget tracking. Organized by the National Council of Women Societies (NCWS), with the support of the development Research and Projects Centre (dRPC), under the PACFaH@Scale or PAS Project the women groups were exposed to strategies that will ensure their voices are captured in all RI advocacy platforms in Nigeria.

Purpose

The two-day workshop and consultative meeting were designed as part of strategies to empower Women’s groups working in the area of RI to understand, participate in and amplify their voices for improved RI funding, policies, and budgeting. The event was also meant to document the extent to which women’s voices have been captured in RI advocacy, identify what works, and spotlight the challenges in RI advocacy at the national and state levels. In addition, the event intended to review the effectiveness of the CSO consultative platforms and framework at the national level in PAS states. The groups were given the opportunity to share their experiences participating in the RI scorecard development, and highlighting the responsibilities of their organizations in ensuring accountability in the RI sector.

Participants

At the workshop, there were two participants each from seven PAS-focal states – Taraba, Kano, Kaduna, Niger, Lagos, Anambra, and Enugu.  These participants were from the NCWS Medical Women’s’ Association of Nigeria (MWAN), Socioeconomic Research and Development Centre (SERDEC), Child Health Advocacy Initiative (CHAI), DAMISA-NCWS, and Centre for Health and social Economic Development (CHASED). 

Presentations

The Technical Adviser to the Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Dr. Afolabi Adejumo, presented an overview of the RI component in the budget process in Nigeria and extensively put the participants through techniques in RI budget tracking for CSOs. Dr. Garba Barkunawa, the Deputy Project Manager, NERICC at the National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) presented on routine immunization activities status in Nigeria.

Next Steps

The seven womens’ organizations agreed on the following follow-up activities after the workshop

•  Advocacy visit to the Executive Director, NPHCDA, to disseminate the results of the CSOs consultation including vital lessons from the scorecard development process for  RI Performances.
• Conduct a one-day dialogue with all stakeholders who participated in the GAVI transition plan development in 2018
• Develop feedback mechanism on advocacy visits conducted
• Plan to acquire knowledge of healthcare insurance by CSOs.