Trachoma control programme in Kenya

National advocacy

Much of Sightsavers' advocacy work is based on influencing national priorities. Sightsavers is respected in the health and education fields in the countries where we operate and has had a great deal of success in, for example, establishing credible and influential National Eye Health Committees and in securing resources for eye health within health budgets.

For Sightsavers, advocacy is undertaken both through supporting partner organisations to advocate on their own or shared issues, and sometimes directly in the name of Sightsavers. This former element is particularly important given our commitment to partnership, and Sightsavers' role will often be to facilitate advocacy by partners rather than lead campaigns. We recognise the particular importance of supporting blind and disabled people's organisations and individuals with visual impairments to undertake advocacy, and of ensuring that their views are actively sought and included as Sightsavers' advocacy plans are developed.

Advocacy in countries where Sightsavers works
Changes in policy and practice needed to deliver eye care, social inclusion, and education at a national level can be prompted by shifts in international thinking. Lobbying at international level or in the UK is also given legitimacy by complementary work in the countries where we support programmes.

Advocacy activities in programme countries are undertaken by Sightsavers' staff or by partner organisations supported by Sightsavers.

Key examples of our advocacy successes include:

• A four-fold increase in the per-child financial allocation for disabled children in Kenya.
• Inclusive education being included within the new education policy in Pakistan.
• In South India our partner XRCVC (Xavier Resource Centre for Visually Challenged) succeeded in getting the Reserve Bank of India and Indian Banking Association to commit to making banking more accessible to people with visual impairments, meaning things like using a cheque book and operating cash machines and lockers will no longer be such a challenge.
• As a result of the advocacy work of the Disability Network in Ghana (of which Sightsavers is a part) the National Council on Persons with Disabilities has been established. However, the network needs to keep up the pressure to ensure that the council has the resources to make it functional and productive.
• In Malawi Sightsavers successfully lobbied the Ministry of Education, specifically the Chikwawa District Education Management Team, to appoint a Special Needs Officer at the education office in this district.
• We are still pushing for the appointment of three more itinerant teachers

In Senegal discussions about the need to train and recognise mid-level personnel for the delivery of eye care services have yielded excellent results. The Ministry of Health committed to sending five more people to be trained in cataract surgery training in July this year. This is the highest number of trainees ever sent in a year, a very encouraging trend, and a step towards being able to provide sustainable eye services to the people of Senegal.