Budget Advocacy Accelerator for African and Asian Health CSOs

The Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) invites civil society organizations (CSOs) in Africa and Asia to apply for the second cohort of its health budget capacity strengthening series, now called the CSO Budget Advocacy Accelerator.

📖 About the Budget Advocacy Accelerator

The CSO Budget Advocacy Accelerator is a comprehensive 12-month program designed to strengthen CSO capacity to advocate for domestic financing for noncommunicable disease (NCD) prevention, injury prevention, and health security.

Key Details:

• Date Published: June 20, 2025
• Application Deadline: July 07, 2025
• Category: Training
• Eligible Locations: Africa and Asia

Why It Matters:

• Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory conditions claim 41 million lives annually, often in countries least equipped to respond.
• Injuries, especially from road crashes and drowning, further compound this health crisis.
• Despite this overwhelming burden, only 2% of global health funding is directed toward NCDs—a mismatch that costs lives.

Program Highlights:

Participants will engage in:

• 9–10 webinars
• 1–2 in-person workshops covering topics such as domestic health financing, health systems strengthening, public financial management, and strategic communications.
• Technical focus areas include mental health, nutrition, tobacco control, road safety, and epidemic preparedness and response.

Through a capstone project, each CSO will develop and pitch a concrete budget advocacy campaign to strengthen financing for NCDs or epidemic preparedness. GHAI will support the implementation of these projects with seed funding and mentorship.

🎓 Curriculum Overview

The Accelerator curriculum will cover the following topics:

1. Relevant health security and NCD-specific technical topics (e.g., tobacco control, food and nutrition systems, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer, mental health, cardiovascular diseases, injury prevention, and epidemic preparedness).
2. Overview of health financing mechanisms and domestic resource mobilization strategies.
3. Legal aspects of health financing, including the role of legislation in effecting budgetary changes.
4. Conducting a landscape assessment and developing policy objectives.
5. Leadership skills for impactful budget advocacy.
6. Communications and the role of media in creating a conducive advocacy environment.
7. Budget Basics: Linking problems, plans, and budgets, finding budget information, budget evaluation/audit stage, and addressing common budget-related bottlenecks.
8. Capstone project ideation and implementation.

🌟 Benefits

• Global Network: Participants will join a global network of policy influencers and budget advocates committed to making public health a priority.
• Seed Funding: Selected CSOs will receive funding and mentorship to implement their advocacy campaigns.

✅ Eligibility Criteria

To qualify, organizations must meet the following requirements:

• Be legally registered CSOs based in Africa or Asia.
• Have experience in policy advocacy, health financing, or public health.
• Demonstrate a well-developed understanding of the political advocacy landscape in their country.
• Have experience in advocacy at the national level, especially in mobilizing domestic resources for health-related issues.
• Strong interest/experience in health systems strengthening.
• Proof of Legal Existence and an organizational strategic plan.
• Ability to receive foreign funding (with documentation where applicable).
• Ability to speak and write in English to participate in sessions and complete assignments.
• Access to high-speed internet.
• Up-to-date membership in a health sector NGO coalition.
• Two dedicated representatives from each organization who can engage fully in all webinars/in-person sessions (preferably mid- to senior-level staff with at least two years of experience).
• Must not currently receive funding from CTFK/GHAI for budget advocacy activities.

📅 Application Process

How to Apply:

• Submit your application via Google Form.

Application Deadline:

• July 07, 2025

📞 Contact Information

For more details, visit the Global Health Advocacy Incubator website.

This Accelerator is more than a training program—it’s a launchpad for action. Join the movement to make public health a priority!

• Participants will join a global network of policy influencers and budget advocates committed to making public health a priority.