A regional gathering of the L4UHC programme is always a great experience. The one that took place in Rabat, Morocco, from 16 through 20 October 2023 met all expectations.
The coalitions of Chad and Cameroon came together again to meet and share, to reconnect with their leadership skills, to cocreate as national teams and to innovate to face the adaptive challenges of UHC. Ten high-level representatives from Chad and 11 from Cameroon came together from a variety of departments and organizations. The P4H-CFPs in their countries accompanied them: Saibou Seynou (Chad) and Aminata Nana Tou (Cameroon). Facilitators included a rich mix of leadership professionals, coaches and UHC experts who worked as a team to share the best the programme has to offer. Among these, Claude Evin, ex-minister of health and member of France’s parliament, effectively combined his great experience with his natural humility and kindness.
The participants appreciated this module’s practical teachings on leadership skills, which strongly supported the confidence between the teams’ members, allowing for more transparent and deeper discussions on how to tackle the challenges of UHC in their countries. The module also focused on the collective action initiatives of coalitions to show how the teams make a difference in-country.
The participants also paid great attention to results, which they always challenged themselves to identify with the question ‘What does it change for the people, and especially the ones with greater needs?’
Tackling the challenges and complexities of UHC requires tremendous individual energy. To best direct that energy, the L4UHC programme aims to align leaders as a group with shared direction to address the challenges of HF systems. In Chad, although the context seems overwhelmingly challenging, a coalition is in place that will hopefully find a way to demonstrate the feasibility of a sound third-party payer and the benefits of dedicating public resources for those most in need. In Cameroon, a lot has already been accomplished in domestic resource mobilization, as reported in the forthcoming annual review 2022-2023 and its annex (a draft has already been circulated). Concertation among all participants in an L4UHC module – leaders, facilitators and P4H-CFPs supporting them – makes the L4UHC programme a lodestar that can drive SHP and HF reforms forwards.
Featured image on top: Vaccination in Columbia, @ILO
