In 2013 the Better Care Network (BCN) initiated a regional inter-agency initiative in Eastern and Southern Africa to build and share knowledge, advocate for care reform and technically sound policy and practices to strengthen families and provide appropriate alternative care in the region.
As a result of a consultative mapping, this regional learning was planned to bring together organizations involved in family strengthening and alternative care to provide a forum to share information, build collaboration and prioritise needs in three interlinked thematic areas:
i) building and sharing evidence,
ii) strengthening technical capacity and
iii) improving joint advocacy efforts in Eastern and Southern Africa.
The two day meeting was designed to have a mixed approach of presentations, plenary discussions and group work. There were 36 participants in total representing stakeholders involved in family strengthening and alternative care across Eastern and Southern Africa.
Over the course of two days a combination of panel presentations, plenary discussion and group work provided the opportunity for organisation representatives to share information and lessons learnt about current activities, gaps and/or challenges in each thematic area. The priorities identified to inform future planning included the following:
- Building and sharing evidence
- Capacity Strengthening
- Advocacy
An evaluation of the meeting found that participants felt that the objectives of the meeting were met, it was well planned and organized, and the participatory process enabled all participants to engage. A mixed approach of panel discussions and group work was appreciated and worked well. The next steps will be building this collaborative network and developing a plan of action on how the care reform agenda can move forward.
