1. Public Health Associations experience of influencing national public health policy and practice Stephen Knight, Waasila Jassat & Laetitia Rispel 13 th World Congress on Public Health Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 23 April 2012 1

2. Background to Survey Public Health Association of South Africa (PHASA) – In operation for 12 years – Successes include Holding annual conference Relatively financially viable Regular newsletter and webpage (http://www.phasa.org.za)http://www.phasa.org.za Active executive & paid secretariat Extensive debate in last four years on influencing public health policy nationally – Lacked resources or capacity to do so effectively – Key strategic goals WFPHA Conference 2

3. Methods Studied finding of 2011 WFPHA survey Questionnaire prepared – Input from CPHA – Closed ended questions – Only in English and French Internet based Executed by WFPHA secretariat who requested members to complete questionnaire Reminders sent 3

4. Results 20 responses – 18 English; 2 French – 17 associations ; 3 non-members 4

5. Response In existence for 0 – 10 yrs 8 11 - 40 yrs 9 > 40 yrs3 Membership numbers < 100 7 100 – 9997 1000 – 49994 5000+2 employed staff & office space70% 5

6. 6 Organisational development Organised a conference14 Skills building workshops11 Seminars / symposia 14 Involved in public health days4 Newsletter13 Electronic newsletter10 Webpage12

7. 7 Organisational development

8. 8 Main sources of revenue

9. Use of partnerships / networks / coalitions – Special interest groups7 – Non-governmental organisation17 – Other professional organisations16 – Other (youth groups, civil society orgs) Partnerships 9

10. Policy on engaging govt7 Training/ manuals on policy influence3 Dedicated policy staff6 Who decides on policy? – Executive members – volunteer time Policy engagement 10

11. Other (letter writing campaigns, journal, implementation research, demonstration projects, parliamentary committees, through coalitions) Policy engagement 11

16. Policy Issues engaged in Other (tobacco control, alcohol, nutrition, injury prevention, HIV, NCD prevention and control, gun control, safe injection, development assistance framework, health information through census) 16

18. Recommendations for policy influence Organisational development – Working groups focused on specific public health issues – Develop advocacy skills – Maintain an independent, politically non-partisan stance/position Research and Knowledge sharing – Ensure evidence-informed positions on issues – Connect academics to policy making – Facilitate and support public health research – Understand who your audience is and how to communicate with them 18

19. Limitations Time constraints – Short period for response – No time for piloting – Lack of Portuguese translation – Could not delve into qualitative aspects of the “art of influence” Poor response to questionnaire 19

20. Conclusions Few PHAs actively involved in policy engagement with governments Need to develop skills, policy and practice in this field Need to share experiences Addressing resource availability for policy influence 20

21. Acknowledgements Ulrich Laaser Jim Chauvin Laetitia Bourquin Marta Lomazzi 21