CAAP Senegal · Collaborative Advocacy Action Plan
Since 2024, Amref Health West Africa has coordinated Senegal’s CAAP through an existing national committee — and an April 2026 partners’ meeting marked a milestone toward making it the country’s single platform for SRMNCAH advocacy
Members of the National Technical Committee on Advocacy, Resource Mobilization and Communication, supported by Senegal’s Directorate of Maternal and Child Health (DSME), at the Auditorium Léopold Sédar Senghor.
Since 2024, Amref Health West Africa’s coordination of PMNCH’s supported Collaborative Advocacy Action Plan in Senegal has been built on a deliberate choice to work through an existing, strengthened institutional coordination body rather than create a new one. This reflects PMNCH’s approach to impact-oriented partnerships and multi-sectoral coalitions that are built to last, all converging toward stronger policies, services and financing for women, children and adolescents. Activities delivered in 2025 advanced this founding strategy, and a partners’ meeting in April 2026 marked a milestone toward formalizing the country’s coordination platform for SRMNCAH advocacy.
Bringing people and advocacy efforts together under shared governance
When Amref Health West Africa began its role as the coordinating partner of the CAAP in Senegal in 2024, it chose not to establish a new coalition but to work through the National Technical Committee on Advocacy, Resource Mobilization and Communication, supported by the Directorate of Maternal and Child Health (DSME) through the Promotion and Partnership Unit. This choice capitalized on the diversity of stakeholders already represented on the Committee, bringing in new ones — in particular to represent community and youth voices — and supporting long-term sustainability by avoiding adding to an already crowded landscape that risks fragmenting SRMNCAH efforts.
The CAAP’s objective in Senegal is to strengthen collaboration between stakeholders in order to: give clarity on who is doing and funding what, and where; secure more coordinated national advocacy, particularly regarding the implementation of policies and strategies and monitoring the accountability of decision-makers across government and parliament; and increase ongoing tracking of disbursements, in turn improving access to services and information across maternal, newborn and child health and sexual and reproductive health.
Context: health indicators and policy landscape
The CAAP advocacy and accountability foundations operate within the framework of Senegal’s SRMNIA-N Strategic Plan 2024–2028, through which the government has committed to accelerating reductions in maternal, neonatal, infant and adolescent mortality. Progress has been made, but indicators remain a concern
213maternal deaths per 100,000 live births
21neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births
26.5%contraceptive prevalence rate
The Government has pursued universal health coverage to expand equitable, quality service provision, strengthened governance and partnerships through multisectoral coordination and CSO involvement, and invested in prevention and demand-generation campaigns
Challenges persist: disparities in access to healthcare across regions, a shortage of qualified health workers, and gaps in the availability of sexual and reproductive health commodities and medicines, compounded by misinformation
Countering misinformation through evidence and awareness-raising
Countering misinformation on family planning and sexual and reproductive health is a core pillar of PMNCH’s Strategy and a principal focus of the CAAP in Senegal. In October 2025, ten influencers — drawn from activists, entrepreneurs and students with established social media followings — were trained to counter rumours and disseminate accurate information on family planning, adolescent health, <a href="https://lumeamara.online/?p=5156" title="Katie Price expresses concerns over Perez Hilton's mental health after his disturbing livestream”>mental health and menstrual hygiene. They went on to produce live sessions, podcasts and short-form content reaching audiences that conventional sensitization campaigns do not typically cover.
7,200+people reached through live sessions and podcasts
1,931,000people reached through Sud FM radio programmes
10influencers trained as SRHR ambassadors
Radio programming on Sud FM, targeting women aged 15 to 49, covered the Integrated Package of Care and maternal mental health. Social media channels, including Facebook and YouTube, reported combined followings of nearly 200,000, and live sessions recorded approximately 430 direct audience interactions on topics including access to services, menstrual hygiene and family planning
Budget advocacy from the ground up
A parallel workstream focused on budget advocacy. A technical assistance workshop held in Dakar from 27 to 29 October 2025 brought together institutional stakeholders, local elected representatives, civil society organizations and technical partners to strengthen budget advocacy skills relevant to SRMNCAH financing. At the local level, Amref and the Committee held advocacy meetings with elected officials, and several local authorities committed to institutionalizing quarterly meetings of departmental health committees to strengthen multisectoral coordination and budget tracking.
Building on PMNCH’s track record of mobilizing national parliamentary leadership, including through the Parliamentary Network of Champions for Women’s, Children’s and Adolescents’ Health, to protect women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health and engage key sectoral committees to advance the SRMNCAH agenda, Amref deepened engagement with the National Assembly, including the Speaker and the Chair of the Health Committee — bridging the Committee’s operational and strategic levels and raising awareness to build the case to secure funding for SRMNCAH policies and strategies.
April 2026: consolidating the coalition
The expanded Committee’s first meeting of 2026, held in April, drew on the CAAP work in 2025 to take a further step toward the Committee’s founding aim of becoming the country’s single platform for SRMNCAH advocacy. Members discussed the current state of health financing, including gaps in budget utilization tracking and re
Following that meeting, membership was broadened to formally include UNICEF, UNFPA, the WHO country office, MSI, Helen Keller International, Sightsavers, 3 Cap Santé, ACDEV, the National Association of Midwives and the Health Economics Unit, alongside existing government departments and community-based Bajenu Gox organizations. A smaller working group, comprising UNFPA, UNICEF and civil society representatives, was established to liaise directly with government on a joint roadmap for domestic resource mobilization and for sustaining and expanding the coalition.
Member organizations continue to run their own advocacy independently, including parallel outreach to parliamentarians and ministries. The Committee’s role is to harmonize these interventions, track them centrally and present a unified position to decision makers
The Committee’s 2026 recommendations call for continued capacity-building for youth and community organizations on domestic reard the Abuja Declaration target of allocating 15 percent of national budgets to health, supported by standalone SRHR budget lines and harmonized tracking tools that do not yet exist
2026 priorities
The CAAP 2026 workplan in Senegal centres on converting coordinated advocacy into sustained domestic financing. Priorities include budget monitoring with the Ministries of Health and Finance, targeted engagement with parliamentarians and private sector actors, and continued emphasis on adolescent and youth sexual and reproductive health as a cross-cutting theme
The strengthened Committee, its broadened membership and increased advocacy leadership stand as the principal outcomes to build on as CAAP Senegal moves from its initial implementation phase into consolidation
A thank you note from PMNCH
Implementation of CAAP in 2025 and into 2026 was led by Solange Mbaye, former Programme Manager at Amref Health West Africa, who was responsible for revitalizing collective advocacy for women’s, children’s and adolescents’ health and ensuring the voices and needs of young people and adolescents were integral to national efforts
“PMNCH’s convening power and political connectivity have been instrumental in helping the CAAP platform accelerate advocacy, coalition building and political engagement in Senegal, providing strong added value to advance progress.”
Solange Mbaye
While a transition is currently underway, PMNCH is grateful for the leadership provided by Solange and her commitment to the cause of women, children and adolescents, which she led with professionalism and grace. Solange was a enting partners across countries
Looking ahead, PMNCH looks forward to continuing this work with Amref Health West Africa, and in particular with Ernest Mendy and Thiane Gueye, under the leadership of Awa Dieng, through the remainder of 2026 and into 2027
