Region: Africa

Year: 2016

Source: Contribution for manual

Author(s): PHM Tanzania

Summary: PHM Tanzania is a registered national NGO and was established shortly after the third People's Health Assembly (July 2012). PHM Tanzania is currently a convener of 50 local NGOs working to address health and human rights issues in Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar. The 50 members represent NGOs members, academicians, research institutions and community groups, health and human rights activists as well as individuals. PHM Tanzania welcomes new members every July in each year to join the movement. The case study focuses on various approaches and actions taken to get PHM Tanzania started and continue it's growth and capacity for relevant input to the health rights discourse in the country and also regionally/globally. Strategies include using social media, email, whatsapp to mobilise and train new activists; engaging the community to change thinking and behavior toward the right to health; using “informal media” like plays for education, advocacy, policy influence. The organisation is mainly engaged in popular education to hold health system to account, and is trying to build a culture of health as a field of civil society advocacy and intervention.

For more information on this experience, please write to Godfrey Philimon at [email protected].

Key practices: structure and organisation; advocacy, campaigns, communication; participation, community action; popular education