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Mapping Social Accountability in East South Africa:
Independent Research Collaboration with COPASAH
Independent Research Collaboration with COPASAH
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LUUL BALESTRA
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I am an independent researcher with a strong interest for participatory health governance, social accountability and community mobilisation for the right to health care. I came across COPASAH while researching the case of a grassroots women organisation Mahila Swasthya Adhikar Manch, or Women's Health Rights Forum, supported by the COPASAH member organisation SAHAYOG) and its struggle to obtain health system accountability through Community Based Monitoring (CBM). As I dug into that experience, I came to deeply appreciate the need for promoting a theoretical and practical debate on social accountability as a political project.
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With this in mind, I am now glad to be able to initiate a partnership with COPASAH with the goal to map the field of social accountability in health in the Eastern and Southern Africa region. The number and variety of experiences in the region is huge and a need was felt among COPASAH Steering Group to gain a greater understanding of its present and future directions, as well as of the actual and potential role of the network. The overarching goal, thus, is to expand COPASAH's understanding of the region - including what the main actors, trends, successes, and challenges are - and to provide it with a frame from which to strategically position itself, support practitioners in the field and promote social accountability for inclusive citizenship.
The mapping will be done by interviewing key actors in the field – already involved or not yet in COPASAH's activity so far - identified through snowballing methodology. I will primarily collect data and conduct face to face interviews during field visits to organisations active in part of the region, and secondarily via Skype. The visits and interviews will be carried out between June and September 2016. The output will be a report in co-authorship with COPASAH which will summarize the results of the mapping exercise and possibly include few case studies on the work of selected practitioners in the region.
In addition to this for a more structured part of the research, I would be very pleased to be contacted by any members or readers with an interest in sharing their experience and ideas on social accountability for health in the region. Those with an interest in getting involved can contact me via e-mail at luul.balestra@hotmail.com. I am looking forward to working on this project together collaboratively and contributing to the debate on social accountability for the right to health care.
The mapping will be done by interviewing key actors in the field – already involved or not yet in COPASAH's activity so far - identified through snowballing methodology. I will primarily collect data and conduct face to face interviews during field visits to organisations active in part of the region, and secondarily via Skype. The visits and interviews will be carried out between June and September 2016. The output will be a report in co-authorship with COPASAH which will summarize the results of the mapping exercise and possibly include few case studies on the work of selected practitioners in the region.
In addition to this for a more structured part of the research, I would be very pleased to be contacted by any members or readers with an interest in sharing their experience and ideas on social accountability for health in the region. Those with an interest in getting involved can contact me via e-mail at luul.balestra@hotmail.com. I am looking forward to working on this project together collaboratively and contributing to the debate on social accountability for the right to health care.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Luul Balestra is currently an independent researcher interested in social accountability for the right to health care. She has worked on community mobilisation for health and health care for years, focusing on various issues such as migrants' health, right to food and maternal health among others, and in contexts as different as Italy, Brazil, USA, Pakistan, India, South Sudan, Cameroon and the UK. In her latest role, she managed the community engagement portfolio of Healthwatch, an independent watch-dog for local health services in Central London. She holds a Master's degree in Health Community and Development from the London School of Economics.
Luul Balestra is currently an independent researcher interested in social accountability for the right to health care. She has worked on community mobilisation for health and health care for years, focusing on various issues such as migrants' health, right to food and maternal health among others, and in contexts as different as Italy, Brazil, USA, Pakistan, India, South Sudan, Cameroon and the UK. In her latest role, she managed the community engagement portfolio of Healthwatch, an independent watch-dog for local health services in Central London. She holds a Master's degree in Health Community and Development from the London School of Economics.
