For Immediate Release
Media Contact
Katie Unthank
Director of Strategic Communications
[Washington, DC, March 20, 2023] – Today, Peruvian NGO Prisma was named the new South America regional hub for the Community of Practitioners on Accountability and Social Action in Health (COPASAH), a network of advocates and social accountability practitioners in the global south advancing health rights and equity. PAI, a leader in championing sexual and reproductive health and rights globally, and COPASAH jointly awarded Prisma $50,000 to support their role and work ahead.
COPASAH supports more than 1,000 individuals and civil society organizations (CSOs) with technical assistance and resources that enable citizens—particularly women, youth and at-risk communities—to have a meaningful voice and hold their governments accountable when it comes to health policy and services. COPASAH’s regional hubs similarly lead social accountability efforts tailored to the local context in which they work.
“Prisma is proud to collaborate with COPASAH and PAI to support South American practitioners’ efforts to propel health rights and enhance accountability within health systems,” said Marilú Chiang, Executive Director of PRISMA. “With this critical funding, PRISMA will have an even greater impact across the region.”
COPASAH was established in 2021 and consists of a Global Secretariat and West Africa hub based in Nigeria and regional hubs for Asia, Central America and the Caribbean, East Africa, Eastern and Southern Europe and South America respectively based in India, Guatemala, Macedonia, Uganda and Peru. The South America hub has a particularly strong focus on community monitoring of the health rights of Indigenous communities. With more than 36 years of experience establishing strategic partnerships with rural Indigenous community leaders, Prisma is well positioned to advance the hub’s efforts to hold governments responsible for their commitments to communities across the continent.
“I congratulate and commend Prisma for being selected to host the COPASAH South America hub. We look forward to working with them to strengthen health sector accountability and engage various practitioners, advocates, and civil society leaders—leading to bottom-up accountability processes,” said Aminu Magashi Garba, Global Co-convener at COPASAH’s Global Secretariat in Abuja, Nigeria. “Prisma brings unique expertise in coordination, networking, and using accountability tools to bring positive change in health in South America.”
PAI has supported the COPASAH network since 2020 to improve sexual and reproductive health outcomes at local, regional, and national levels by developing and implementing effective, inclusive, and coordinated social accountability initiatives.
“PAI’s partnership with COPASAH and its regional hubs reflects our commitment to ensuring the global SRHR movement is led by bold, diverse local voices working to improve the health and lives of their community members,” said Nabeeha Kazi Hutchins, President and CEO of PAI. “The work of COPASAH is urgent, especially in this time when citizen-driven accountability and engagement are required to achieve desired health outcomes and sustain them. Prisma’s track record as a convener, technical expert, trusted partner and advocate ensures strong regional leadership to achieve health equity and progress for all communities.”
About Prisma
Prisma is a Peruvian NGO that designs and implements innovative research studies and projects to enhance the capabilities of, and improve access to opportunities for, vulnerable people, contributing towards the attainment of a more inclusive society and sustainable development. Prisma began its work in 1986 with a multidisciplinary group of professionals intent on reversing Peru’s high rates of chronic child malnutrition and the associated risk factors. Over 30 years of experience and innovations with a comprehensive approach to development have expanded Prisma’s scope to eight areas of action and paved the way for international expansion into Latin America and Africa.
About COPASAH
COPASAH is a community where practitioners who share an interest and passion for the field of community monitoring for accountability in health interact regularly and engage in exchanging experiences and lessons; sharing resources, capacities, and methods; in the production and dissemination of conceptual, methodological and practical outputs towards strengthening the field; and in networking and capacity building among member organizations. COPASAH is organized across six regional hubs managed by the Africa Health Budget Network; Anusandhan Trust; Association for Emancipation, Solidarity and Equality of Women; Center for Health, Human Rights and Development; Centro de Estudios para Equidad y Gobernanza en Sistemas de Salud; and Prisma. This Community of practitioners was established as result of a three day ‘Practitioners Convening on Community Monitoring for Accountability in Health‘ organized by the Accountability and Monitoring in Health Initiative (AMHI) of the Open Society Institute’s Public Health Program in July 2011 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
About PAI
PAI is a leading civil society advocacy organization dedicated to advancing universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) across the globe. For nearly 60 years, PAI has served as a credible source of information, a strong ally to in-country partners and an unrelenting advocate for improved and expanded SRHR at the country, regional and global levels. PAI works to achieve its mission by propelling evidence-informed advocacy strategies globally and supporting in-country CSO partners across nearly 40 low- and middle-income countries to advocate for increased access to sexual and reproductive health services and expand SRHR for all. To learn more, visit pai.org.