Encouraging people to smoke cheaper cigarettes is no advocacy at all
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NCD Alliance, an international network of civil society organizations, scientific and professional associations and academic and research institutions aiming to reduce the burden of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide, has identified HealthJustice Philippines as a Programme Partner under the NCD Advocacy Institute Seed Programme.
The NCD Advocacy Institute Seed Programme “promotes and supports national NCD coalition-building to establish the foundations for effective advocacy.” According to the NCD Alliance, it has “partnered with emerging NCD alliances and civil society organizations selected on the basis of their convening power, advocacy experience, project management skills, and potential for impact.”
HealthJustice, a Bloomberg Awardee for Global Tobacco Control, has legal expertise and years of experience in tobacco control and health promotion. It has been providing technical support to legislators, local government officials and various line agencies in drafting and refining bills, ordinances, circulars, policy papers, and other documents relating to the implementation of tobacco control laws and regulations. It “aims to bridge the gap between health and law and empower people to make healthy choices.”
“Health has always been the concern not just of governments, but of all. We cannot overemphasize the importance of civil society organizations in determining and implementing health policies. Being a Programme Partner under the NCD Advocacy Institute Seed Programme will help us further harness our experiences and network to assist in strengthening civil society organizations and developing a more inclusive approach towards health,” said Mary Ann Fernandez Mendoza, President of HealthJustice.
The NCD Alliance has thus far succeeded in bringing together over 2,000 non-government organizations to work towards an NCD-free world. In the UN High-level Meeting on NCDs in September 2011, it effectively campaigned for the adoption of a UN Political Declaration on NCD Prevention and Control. The Alliance was also instrumental in securing the commitments of several countries to meet the specific and time-bound targets in reducing NCDs. It envisions “a future where all people affected by or living with non-communicable diseases live full and healthy lives, free from stigma and discrimination, and preventable disability and death.”
Grantees under the NCD Advocacy Institute Seed Programme include Egyptian NCD Alliance (Egypt), Vision for Alternative Development (Ghana), People’s Health Foundation (Myanmar), Vietnam NCDs Prevention Alliance (Vietnam), and NCD Alliance Nigeria (Nigeria).
