Social participation relates to the empowerment of people, communities, and civil society to participate in – and thereby influence – decision-making processes for health. It is the cornerstone of equitable, inclusive, transparent, and responsive health systems that leave no one behind. This inclusive approach not only promotes healthier behaviors and practices but also fosters community resilience, reduces health inequalities, and builds trust in healthcare systems.
Background
Since the launch of the “Voice, agency, empowerment – handbook on social participation for universal health coverage” in 2021, there has been a noticeable increase in political commitment among Member States to promote social participation in health decision-making. This commitment extends to regional levels, seen in references to social participation in WHO Regional Committee Meetings and resolutions, and through initiatives like the European Youth4Health Network established by WHO Europe. There have been parallel efforts to improve the engagement of civil society and youth in the workings of WHO through the WHO Youth Council and the Civil Society Commission.
During a dialogue on social participation and accountability in 2021, Dr. Tedros highlighted the importance of social participation in promoting health for all:
“As we build forward better and prepare for future emergencies, we need to empower community ownership, enhance participatory governance, rebuild trust in public health, and strengthen global solidarity. This is true not only for emergencies but in every area of health, and especially in making progress towards universal health coverage.”
At the 76th WHA side event in May 2023, several Member States announced their intention to pursue a resolution on institutionalizing social participation at the WHA in 2024. A series of multi-stakeholder consultations were held to inform a Technical Paper, which summarizes priority actions for Member States as they seek to institutionalize social participation for health.
Social participation was also included in the 2023 Political Declaration on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in which world leaders renewed their commitment to accelerate progress towards achieving UHC and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
The governments of Thailand and Slovenia – in collaboration with Brazil, France, Norway and Tunisia – then started pursuing a resolution for WHA77 on Social participation for universal health coverage, health and well-being. Learn more with the Advocacy Brief.
WHA Resolution on social participation
At the Seventy-seventh World Health Assembly, Member States endorsed the resolution on Social participation for universal health coverage, health and well-being to implement, strengthen and sustain regular and meaningful participation of civil society and communities in decision-making processes for health. This resolution recognizes the importance of regular and meaningful social participation to ensure the accountability and legitimacy of health systems strengthening and universal health coverage efforts anchored in a primary health care approach.
In adopting it, Member States have committed to:
- Strengthening public sector capacities for the design and implementation of meaningful social participation;
- Enabling equitable, diverse and inclusive participation, with a particular focus on promoting the voices of those in vulnerable and/or marginalized situations;
- Ensuring that social participation influences transparent decision-making for health across the policy cycle, at all levels of the system;
- Implementing and sustaining regular and transparent social participation using a range of mechanisms supported by public policy and legislation;
- Allocating adequate and sustainable public sector resources in support of effective social participation;
- Facilitating capacity strengthening for civil society to enable diverse, equitable, transparent and inclusive social participation; and
- Supporting related research, and piloting projects/programmes and their monitoring and evaluation to promote the implementation of social participation.
Let’s all use the resolution on social participation for universal health coverage, health and well-being – and the political momentum stemming from its adoption – to push for immediate action and accountability, so that everyone’s voice is heard and we can truly ensure “nothing about us, without us”.
Read the official announcement of the adoption of the resolution made by the WHO here and the statement from UHC2030 co-chairs here.
Civil society toolkit in the lead up to WHA77
To ensure the resolution was successfully adopted at the last 77th WHA, civil society played an an important role in building the political support needed to ensure that social participation for health remains priorities for decision makers at all levels.
The CSEM and SPHERE developed a toolkit to support civil society to urging Ministers of Health to:
- Co-sign the draft resolution on social participation and endorse it at WHA77.
- Attend the high-level ministerial side event on social participation this Tuesday 28th May, led by Norway, Slovenia, Thailand, The Civil Society Engagement Mechanism for UHC2030 (CSEM), European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, UHC2030, UHC Partnership.
- Support the implementation of the resolution, which could include convening a multistakeholder dialogue to discuss the status of social participation in the country, the recommendations listed in the resolution, and what specific actions the government should take to advance implementation of the resolution in the short-medium and longer term, before and/or after WHA77.
As the resolution is now adopted, we invite our colleagues to keep using this toolkit to call for implementation of the resolution (point 3).
Download the Civil Society Toolkit
Use the toolkit below to urge Ministers of Health to show collective leadership and support for implementing, strengthening, and sustaining meaningful social participation in health-related decisions.
Main Resources
Are we listening? Acting on commitments to social participation for universal health coverage
The CSEM has been working closely with SPHERE* to support civil society actions in the lead up to the 77th WHA taking place between 27 May – 1 June 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland.
*SPHERE (Social Participation for Health: Engagement, Research, and Empowerment) is a global consortium of civil society, health and academic organizations that is:
- Documenting country experiences in promoting social participation for health;
- Collaborating with communities and civil society to promote country-specific implementation models and evaluate their impact;
- Drawing lessons from country-specific implementation models to advance the wider UHC2030 agenda for all countries.
Learn more on SPHERE’s website.