For the People, With the People: Joining Hands & Using Evidence to Advance Social Participation for Universal Health Coverage (UHC)

Social Participation for Health (SPH)—defined as empowering people, communities, and civil society, through inclusive participation in decision-making processes that affect health—has demonstrated positive impacts in health system reform and is seen as critical on the path to UHC. However, there remain gaps in our understanding of how best to implement SPH across diverse sociopolitical contexts, with attention to the inclusion of communities facing marginalisation. 

Focusing on Argentina, Kenya, Tunisia, and Vietnam, the Social Participation for Health Engagement, Research and Empowerment (SPHERE) consortium is advancing the evidence base on SPH through advocacy-research projects working to (1) document and distil implementation lessons from existing participatory mechanisms, and (2) integrate those lessons to deepen SPH (e.g., through evidence-informed capacity strengthening of relevant actors). SPHERE has also led a global evidence review to discern the nature and impact of strategies for enhancing the inclusiveness of SPH. Looking ahead to the expected adoption of the WHA77 resolution on social participation for universal health coverage, health, and well-being, we will highlight evidence-based guidance for implementing and sustaining meaningful, inclusive SPH, emphasising the critical role of civil society, researchers, and government in collaborating to uphold commitments to and inform the implementation of SPH.

To implement the requests within the resolution, we need solidarity and multi-stakeholder action at the subnational, national, and international levels. Governments and civil society must engage in intergenerational and multi-stakeholder dialogue to share insights and exchange learnings around SPH implementation. Civil society can monitor progress and hold governments accountable for their (in)action, in partnership with researchers employing innovative approaches to help inform, monitor, and evaluate SPH. The event will thus bring together and energise diverse stakeholders to co-implement commitments to SPH following WHA77.