On 19-21 May, the NCD Alliance convened an in-person workshop on campaign planning for 23 representatives from 11 national NCD alliances, including four people living with NCDs (PLWNCDs).

The workshop focused on fostering a coordinated and comprehensive cross-sectoral approach to advocacy on issues of access and increasing knowledge of the process and opportunities to influence the United Nations High-Level Meeting on NCDs. The UN HLM is scheduled for 27 Sept. 2018. 

Because the World Health Assembly was taking place in Geneva at the same time, participants were able to get active in the Walk the Talk event on 20 May, attend the Civil Society Briefing alongside other advocates, and be present at NCDA’s reception.

Campaign planning building blocks

The training included modules on campaign planning building blocks as well as the meaningful involvement of PLWNCDs. Understanding the issue of access to healthcare for NCDs as a key to identifying structural bottlenecks was the topic of another module.

Guest speakers included Patricia Lambert of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Paula Johns of ACT+, and Nick Banatvala of the UN Interagency Task Force on the Prevention and Control of NCDs. Their involvement provided participants with the chance to learn valuable lessons from other countries and campaigns.

Next steps include participating alliances continuing to develop national advocacy campaigns, centred on making the most of the opportunity provided by the UN HLM.