Strong and independent citizens’ groups play an instrumental role in ensuring that government, health care institutions, and health programs are held accountable to the communities they are designed to serve. The OSI Public Health Program works to ensure that civil society groups have the information, skills, and capacity to hold governments accountable for their actions. The Public Health Program’s Public Health Watch and Health Budget Monitoring and Advocacy Project promote civil society leadership and participation in shaping health policies that respect human rights and are scientifically sound.
National health budgets are telling indicators of the priority and commitment of a government’s response to human rights and health needs of marginalized populations. The Public Health Program launched its Health Budget Monitoring and Advocacy Project to support civil society organizations to conduct budget tracking and analyzing national and local resources for HIV/AIDS and other health issues.
The project works to promote transparency of public funding, increase access to key health information, strengthen participation of marginalized populations in health policy debates, and increase the effectiveness, equity, and impact of health expenditures. The Health Budget Monitoring and Advocacy Project is engaged in key Public Health Program issues, including mental health, harm reduction, Roma health, and palliative care.
The OSI Public Health Program established Public Health Watch to help ensure that governments live up to the powerful promises embodied in international health commitments. By involving and supporting civil society organizations in monitoring and evaluating governmental and international health policies, Public Health Watch seeks to promote greater public engagement in government efforts to fulfill international health commitments, and in turn to increase national ownership of the response to tuberculosis (TB), HIV/AIDS, and other diseases.
Public Health Watch partners with civil society organizations in key countries to monitor and report on governmental policies on TB and HIV/AIDS. The findings and recommendations are intended to complement and expand upon the official reports produced by governments, the World Health Organization, and the United Nations, and provide the basis for targeted advocacy efforts at the national and international levels.
Public Health Watch supports community-led approaches toward integrating TB and HIV policies and services at the country, regional, and community level. Public Health Watch believes that affected communities—including socially excluded populations—have a right to be full and equal partners in TB and HIV policy processes and that their unique perspectives will result in better and more equitable health outcomes.
Public Health Watch country assessment reports are prepared by independent researchers from the countries being monitored. As a first step, researchers convene a local advisory group to introduce the objectives of the project. The local advisory group includes key health experts and activists, including representatives of affected communities and groups, and advises the researcher on resources to be consulted, issues to be considered, and persons to be interviewed. Public Health Watch has conducted HIV/AIDS policy reports on Nicaragua, Vietnam, Ukraine, Senegal, and the United States, as well as TB policy reports on Bangladesh, Brazil, Nigeria, Tanzania and Thailand.
In addition to working with partner organizations and researchers worldwide, Public Health Watch maintains an international advisory group of public health experts.
