Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Belize got a boost recently, when the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC) hosted its second of three regional Budget Analysis and Advocacy Training workshops. The training, which is part of CVCs capacity building initiative, was held March 5 and 6th at the Ramada Princess Hotel and was attended by representatives from various organizations involved in the national HIV response, including individuals from Belize’s Health Ministry.
The workshop focused on equipping stakeholders in Belize with the knowledge and tools needed to effectively advocate for more resources from the government to be channeled into the local health and HIV response. CVC Executive Director Ivan Cruickshank, who co-facilitated the training, noted that the training was interactive and achieved the desired objectives. “I was very impressed with the level of enthusiasm with which the Belize participants approached the training. They were thoroughly engaged over the two days and were excited about the content of the workshop. It was a fruitful learning experience and I’m confident the participants will utilize the knowledge and skills gained to lobby the Belizean government for more resources for the HIV response,” Cruickshank said.
The training introduced participants to ways in which they can analyze the government’s committed expenditure on health and keep legislators accountable for these commitments. Director at the Collaborative Network Of Persons Living with HIV, Diego Luis Grajalez, noted that the workshop, which occurred as the budget was being presented, was extremely timely and helped the civil society organizations representatives present to better understand how they can lobby the government to get increased spending on critical areas. “The workshop allowed us to really understand the importance of CSOs being involved in the national budget process. As CSOs this is something we’ve never really been a part of, since we’ve become accustomed to depending on external funding. This workshop also comes at an important time in the regional HIV response especially since Belize is transitioning from the Global Fund,” Grajalez said.
Communications & Programmes Officer at the National AIDS Commission of Belize Anellie Paredes agreed, “As someone who had no knowledge of the budget process in Belize, the training helped me to become aware of the process and the role I can play.” She also pointed out that the training will significantly benefit the advocacy efforts of the National AIDS Commission of Belize, “The training will benefit us as we work closer with CSOs and ensure they are advocating and interacting with the budget process. It also allowed us to know our role in the budget process and to look at how we can recommend or lobby for changes where we need more funding,” she said.
In the meantime, Luis Grajalez said that by now knowing when in the national budget cycle to make interventions, his organization is better prepared to engage in health budget advocacy. “This training helped us as an organization by providing us with knowledge on the budget process. It also showed us at what point we must intervene as CSOs to ensure our interests are reflected. It also provided us with advocacy tips on how to build an advocacy plan to engage Members of Parliament to ensure our interests are represented”, he said.
CVC’s next Budget Analysis and Advocacy training will take place in Guyana.
