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The 13th edition of the Annual NGO Directors Summer Retreat, hosted by the National Association of Non-Governmental Organisations, took place from November 22nd to 24th, 2023, at the Elephant Hills Hotel in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. This annual gathering serves as a platform for sharing experiences, engaging in collective reflection, and devising innovative strategies aimed at cultivating a vibrant civil society conducive to inclusive development in Zimbabwe.
Building upon the momentum generated in the previous year's retreat, held in 2022, NANGO has been steadfast in its efforts to enhance the skills and capacities of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs). These efforts have been directed towards empowering CSOs to articulate and advocate for alternative solutions through strategic narrative shifts.
This year's retreat placed a significant emphasis on the crafting and shaping of new narratives that underscore the indispensable role of civil society in addressing the needs and concerns of the people. Moreover, it delved into strategies aimed at countering narratives designed to undermine CSOs, vilify their communities, and constrict civic space.
For further insights, we invite you to download the attached Action Agenda document.
Community-Led Response (CLR) is a technique initiated and implemented by local Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) and other civil society groups,
networks of Key Populations (KP), People Living With HIV (PLHIV), and other affected groups, or other community entities that gather quantitative and qualitative data about HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, Malaria, and the Covid-19. Community-led responses are therefore actions and strategies that seek to improve the health and human rights of their constituencies, that are specifically informed and. implemented by and for communities themselves and the
organisations, groups, and networks that represent them. The technique's focus remains on getting input from recipients of HIV services, Tuberculosis and Malaria in a routine and systematic manner that will translate into action and change.
Globally, there is a clarion call for countries to adopt CLR in a bid to come up with people-centred approaches to HIV response and other disease components including Tuberculosis, Malaria, and Covid-19. For instance, there have been some running campaigns on Communities making a difference in the response and this has gained traction over time in building community systems for quality healthcare service provision. Therefore, if a country comes up with robust mechanisms for CLR, it would translate into community empowerment and communities can play a critical role in terms of health service delivery through monitoring, documenting experiences, contributing through advocacy work, and provision of perceptions on how certain challenges around health care services can be addressed. More importantly, this will help in bridging the gap between communities and facilities.
In Zimbabwe, some shifts continue to gravitate towards the implementation of the CLR technique especially in organisations under the NANGO Health sector through Community-Led Monitoring (CLM) projects, Community Systems Strengthening (CSS), and investments in community structures through community cadres, peer educators, community ART refill groups and school clubs, etc.
To read more, download the attached document.
Elephant-Hills-Action-Agenda-Document-2023-3.pdf