Civil society organisations and global health initiatives Problems of legitimacy

Do Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) actually help global health?

Reda SadkiGlobal health

This summary analyzes two important articles examining the role of civil society organizations (CSOs) in global health: “Civil society organisations and global health initiatives: Problems of legitimacy” by Doyle and Patel (2008), and “Civil society in global health policymaking: a critical review” by Gómez (2018). While both articles challenge dominant assumptions about CSOs in global health, Doyle and Patel focus more on issues of legitimacy, representation and effects on democracy. Gómez focuses more on the lack of theoretical and empirical evidence for CSOs’ influence across all stages of the policy process.  Doyle and Patel (2008) challenge the assumption that CSOs automatically enhance representation and democracy in global health governance. Gómez (2018) similarly critiques the lack of evidence for CSOs’ assumed comparative advantage in health program delivery. Doyle and Patel conclude that failure by advocates to respond to the sceptical arguments put forward here may weaken the legitimacy of CSO involvement …

Towards reimagined technical assistance Thinking beyond the current policy options

Towards reimagined technical assistance: thinking beyond the current policy options

Reda SadkiGlobal health, Leadership

In the article “Towards reimagined technical assistance: the current policy options and opportunities for change”, Alexandra Nastase and her colleagues argues that technical assistance should be framed as a policy option for governments. It outlines different models of technical assistance: Governments may choose from this spectrum of roles for technical advisers in designing assistance programs based on the objectives, limitations, and tradeoffs involved with each approach: “The most common fallacy is to expect every type of technical assistance to lead to capacity development. We do not believe that is the case. Suppose governments choose to use externals to do the work and replace government functions. In that case, it is not realistic to expect that it will build a capability to do the work independently of consultants.” Furthermore, technical assistance should be designed through “meaningful and equal dialogue between governments and funders” to ensure it focuses on core issues and …