Advocacy

The programmes for advocacy which are most frequently used in most of the countries under study employ seminars and other public forums, meetings and consultations, packaging and dissemination of information, and publication of a newsletter in order to obtain support from its target audiences. These are usually used in combination with one another. All require relatively less preparation than other types of programmes activities and do not entail as great an expense, but they have limited effectiveness.

Less used but found by users to be more interesting and effective among target audiences are the following programme activities: development of policy papers and advocacy materials, publication of studies or findings from research, training of ARH advocates, political lobbying, meetings for networking or the building of coalitions, briefing and training of media, and running special programmes on radio and television.

Another type of advocacy programme is the media campaign. It is not conducted often and is used in only a few countries because its costs can be prohibitive.

Most of these programmes are carried out by NGOs, some with government support or cooperation, and most with support from a funding agency. The most common funder is the United Nations Population Fund, followed by private donor agencies such as the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and locally based funding agencies.

In-country funders include the national and local governments, the private sector, and locally based NGOs and donor agencies.