EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
PMNCH's primary function is advocacy — amplifying political attention, mobilising resources, and holding stakeholders accountable for women's, children's, and adolescents' health commitments. The partnership deploys advocacy through structured campaigns, knowledge products, and political engagement at global, regional, and national levels. PMNCH's advocacy is distinctive in its multi-stakeholder character: campaigns carry the combined voice of governments, UN agencies, civil society, the private sector, and youth organisations, giving them broader legitimacy than single-agency advocacy.
Key PMNCH advocacy tools include: the biennial Partners' Forum (PMNCH's flagship convening event), political engagement with heads of state and finance ministers, the "Call to Action" campaigns timed around major UN events (General Assembly, World Health Assembly), investment case publications, and social media and digital advocacy campaigns. PMNCH also produces knowledge products — policy briefs, evidence summaries, and success stories — designed to translate research findings into actionable advocacy messages.
PMNCH's advocacy effectiveness is difficult to measure definitively — political attention and resource commitments are influenced by many factors beyond PMNCH's campaigns. However, PMNCH is credited with: keeping RMNCAH on the political agenda during competing crises (COVID-19, climate, conflict), mobilising commitments at successive Global Strategy milestones, and providing platforms for youth advocacy that have increased adolescent health visibility.
KEY FACTS
- Partners' Forum: Biennial convening (most recent: 2023); brings together 1,000+ participants from all constituencies; produces commitments and political declarations
- Call to Action campaigns: Timed around UNGA, WHA, and G7/G20 summits; targeted advocacy to heads of state and finance ministers
- Advocacy targets: Finance ministers (for domestic health spending), bilateral donors (for ODA), private sector (for partnership commitments), and civil society (for accountability)
- Knowledge products: Policy briefs, evidence summaries, investment cases — designed to be accessible and actionable for policymakers
- Digital advocacy: Social media campaigns, email mobilisation, virtual events — expanded significantly during COVID-19
- Youth advocacy: PMNCH supports young people's advocacy for adolescent health at national and global levels; youth advocates have addressed the UN General Assembly and WHA
- Accountability reports: Published biennially; track commitment compliance and name both leaders and laggards
DETAIL
PMNCH's advocacy model rests on the assumption that political attention drives resource allocation, which drives health outcomes. The partnership uses evidence (from Countdown to 2030, WHO/UNICEF reports, and academic research) to construct advocacy messages, then delivers these messages through its multi-stakeholder platform to political decision-makers.
The Partners' Forum is PMNCH's highest-profile advocacy event. Previous Forums have generated significant political commitments — including pledges from heads of state, finance minister commitments to increased health spending, and private sector partnerships. The 2023 Forum in Kigali produced commitments aligned with the Global Strategy midpoint review.
Limitations of PMNCH advocacy include: difficulty measuring the causal link between advocacy and policy/spending changes; "commitment fatigue" (stakeholders making pledges they do not fulfil); and competition for political attention from other global health issues (pandemics, AMR, climate) and non-health priorities.
SOURCES
- PMNCH: Partners' Forum reports and declarations
- PMNCH: Annual reports and advocacy materials
- Shiffman, Jeremy and Smith, Stephanie: "Generation of political priority for global health initiatives" (Lancet, 2007)
RELATED DOCUMENTS
- PMNCH-O-02 (PMNCH's Work)
- PMNCH-W-02 (Accountability Framework)
- PMNCH-W-04 (EWEC)
- PMNCH-W-06 (Constituency Structure)