By Sola Charles
Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) working in Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health and Nutrition (RMNCAH+N) gathered in Lagos for a two-day SMART Advocacy Capacity Building Workshop aimed at improving primary health care delivery and health outcomes across Nigeria.
The event held at the Amber Residence in GRA, Ikeja under the auspices of the Center for Communication and Social Impact (CCSI), in collaboration with EngenderHealth, the Lagos State Ministry of Health, and the Lagos State Primary Health Care Development Agency.
Dr.Kelvin Otumonye who represented the Director of Family Health and Nutrition, on behalf of the State Ministry of Health, emphasized the importance of unified efforts in addressing reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health (RMNCAH) challenges.
He called for deeper collaboration between CSOs and government agencies to improve health outcomes across Nigeria.
“We want you to understand our challenges so that you can work in a synergistic way, there should be no parallel programmes. We must build fantastic relationships between CSOs and the government.”
Key stakeholders from across the health sector engaged with strategic advocacy tools to drive policy change and community impact.
Participants were taken through foundational advocacy skills, beginning with an introduction to the SMART Advocacy framework, exploring the current RMNCAH and PHC landscape in Lagos State, identifying critical gaps and opportunities for intervention.
Through group exercises, they analyzed local health challenges and crafted SMART objectives—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals—to guide the advocacy efforts.
Stakeholder mapping sessions helped identify key allies and decision-makers essential to their campaigns even as facilitators emphasized the importance of coalition-building and evidence-based messaging to influence policy and resource allocation.
Group work focused on refining advocacy strategies as participants engaged in power mapping to profile decision-makers and understand their motivations. argeted messages were developed with selected messengers appropriately identified to be tasked with delivering the advocacy asks effectively.
Through role-playing exercises, the CSOs simulated real-world engagements with policymakers, while brainstorming sessions laid the groundwork for detailed advocacy work plans.
The training was a game-changer for grassroots organizations, empowering movement from awareness to action with clear, strategic goals with significant key takeaways on implementation planning and resource mobilization.
