PATH Program

Advocacy & Policy

At PATH, we know it is not enough to create solutions to health problems. To achieve health equity, PATH's advocacy and policy team helps policymakers, advocates, and citizens make evidence-based policy and funding decisions that bring these solutions to scale. But we don’t stop there—we also hold decision-makers accountable for their commitments.

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Our Latest
In 2018-2021, our advocacy contributed to at least:
77
Policies adopted
98
Policy implementation activities completed
112
Funding lines mobilized

What we do

PATH is an expert in driving change through policy. For four decades, we have applied our technical expertise and leveraged our influential partnerships with public and private-sector leaders to inform and advocate for action that responds to communities' health priorities.

We inform policies, mobilize resources, and advocate for actions that will lead to lasting positive change with a focus on:

Reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health and nutrition to help women, families and communities thrive.

Immunization that reaches every child to protect them from serious illnesses and deadly diseases.

Innovation to develop and scale new technologies, whether they are vaccines, drugs, diagnostics, or system innovations including data and digital tools.

Elimination and control of diseases including infectious and noncommunicable diseases and neglected tropical diseases.

Preparedness to fight emerging health threats and end pandemics.

Access to essential medicines and technologies for all that are affordable, appropriate, and quality-assured.

How we do it
Analyze and develop policies

When it comes to improving health, smart policies and robust resources can make all the difference between a promising idea and an accessible health solution or program. Our experts analyze the policy environment to identify where new or different policies are needed to advance progress against priority health challenges. We develop policies, strategies, legislation, and guidelines to overcome these challenges.

Engage decision-makers

We encourage decision-makers to craft policies, commit resources, and sponsor initiatives that improve health. It often starts with raising visibility of the issue and building political will to move forward. Then we gather and communicate evidence to ensure that policymakers understand the multiple facets of an issue. We then engage decision-makers to ensure they advance evidence-based policies. We don’t stop until these policies are written and adopted, resources are mobilized, and the policies are fully implemented and monitored to ensure accountability.

Build influential champions

We build champions to ensure our issues are prioritized for action. This includes political champions but also other influential voices such as healthcare professionals, scientists, researchers, academics, business leaders, faith community leaders, and patients. We give them the information, and opportunities they need to be effective advocates for health equity.

Generate citizen demand

Citizen mobilization and empowerment is critical to generating demand and ensuring accountability for quality-assured, affordable, and accessible health services. PATH creates platforms to elevate citizen voices and concerns, foster dialogue between citizens and the policymakers who serve them, and involve citizens in the planning and monitoring of health and social services. Such platforms serve to influence changes in policies, budgets, and point-of-care service delivery that make a tangible difference in the daily lives of those we aim to serve

Foster coalitions

Coalitions are an indispensable tool for advocacy in today’s complex policy environment. When diverse groups unite for a common cause, their collective action can add real momentum to advocacy efforts and increase the likelihood of impact.PATH has a long history of building successful coalitions that shape policies and promote investments in high-priority health areas. We leverage both our extensive network of partnerships and our footprint in more than 70 countries to bring a mix of public-sector, private-sector, and nongovernmental stakeholders to the table.

Strengthen advocacy capacity

Local health advocates play a pivotal role in the development and implementation of policies and budgets to improve health in their countries. With a deep understanding of the issues and strong, established relationships with members of their communities and governments, they have the necessary knowledge and connections. PATH works with individual advocates, organizations, and coalitions to help ensure supportive health policies, secure adequate funding, and hold their leaders accountable to fulfill health promises. PATH supports advocates as they develop strategies and messages to influence policies and form networks that have real impact. Our support helps build the skills and knowledge base that foster the changes that advocates can replicate time and again.

For more than a decade, PATH has supported the adoption of evidence-based, adequately-resourced, and impactful policies. With locally staffed projects in more than 70 countries, and deep expertise across a range of health areas, we are a trusted partner to government decision-makers and civil society advocates. We work with national and subnational governments to advance evidence-based policymaking and to ensure civil society is engaged in these processes. For greater impact and sustainability, we partner with local civil society organizations, enabling them to lead and demand accountability from governments. Read more about our approach here.

Our global team

Advocacy has been part of PATH’s work since our founding more than 40 years ago. PATH has conducted advocacy globally and in more than 50 countries. Today, PATH’s team of advocacy professionals around the world works at all levels with governments, civil society, the private sector, and other development partners to advance policy initiatives that result in better health outcomes for women, children, and families. Our multidisciplinary staff includes public health experts with experience in diverse cultural contexts, as well as business and policy strategists skilled in translating promising ideas into approaches that have a lasting impact on health

Meet the team

  1. Heather Ignatius

    Managing Director, External Affairs

  2. Rosemarie Muganda-Onyando

    Regional Advocacy Director, Africa

  3. Marti Wilson

    Finance and Administration Manager

  4. Kelly Healy

    Co-Lead, Advocacy Partnership

  5. Rachel Ndirangu

    Co-Lead, Advocacy Partnership

  6. Jacqueline Achieng

    Program Officer, Media and Communications

  7. Deogratias Agaba

    Senior Communications Officer

  8. Elizabeth Bazuaye

    Program Assistant- Advocacy and Public Policy

  9. Mariana Becerra

    Policy & Advocacy Officer

  10. Jenny Blair

    Manager, US & Global Policy and Advocacy

  11. Taonga Chilalika

    Advocacy and Policy Officer

  12. Claire Felten

    Senior Advocacy and Policy Associate

  13. Pauline Irungu

    Global Policy & Advocacy Advisor

  14. Josphine Kinyanjui

    Advocacy and Policy Officer

  15. Wanjiku Manguyu

    Regional Advocacy and Policy Advisor

  16. Diketso Mphafudi

    Program Associate

  17. Rebecca Mwima

    Program Assistant- Advocacy and Public Policy

  18. Esther Nasikye

    Advocacy and Policy Lead, Uganda

  19. Jamie Nishi

    Executive Director, Global Health Technologies Coalition

  20. Frederick Okwi

    Program Officer

  21. Johnpaul Omollo

    Senior Policy Officer, R&D

  22. Clayton Opiyo

    Advocacy and Policy Officer

  23. Hannah Sachs-Wetstone

    Program Assistant, GHTC

  24. Martha Songa

    Regional Advocacy and Policy Officer

  25. Melissa Wanda

    Policy & Advocacy Officer, Kenya

48 Articles
48 Articles
48 Articles
  1. Senegal street scene
    October 24, 2022

    20+ years advancing health equity in Senegal

    Celebrating more than two decades of impactful partnership between PATH and the Ministry of Health.
  2. A view of the flags outside the United Nations Headquarters in New York. Photo: UN Photo/Rick Bajornas.
    September 8, 2022

    PATH at the 77th UN General Assembly: applying COVID-19 lessons to strengthen health equity and security

    As the world continues to respond to and build back from COVID-19, PATH joins world leaders in New York at the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly to reflect on pandemic response to date and commit to building back and building better health systems to withstand future health crises.
  3. A Village Health Team member holds her vaccination card at Komamboga Health Centre III in a suburb of Kampala, Uganda. Photo: PATH/Will Boase.
    April 25, 2022

    Expanding the impact of COVID-19 vaccine rollout

    How we can strengthen immunization services while introducing COVID-19 vaccines.
  4. Sue Wairimu, Design and Innovation Lead with PATH’s Living Labs team, interviews a health care worker in Tukana County in Kenya to understand their perceptions and motivations around COVID-19 vaccines. Photo: PATH/Nelson Cheruiyot.
    April 15, 2022

    Overcoming COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy

    PATH is working with partners in Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, and Uganda to increase vaccine uptake and save lives.
  5. A taxi driver in Kampala, Uganda, displays masks provided to him by local health workers. Photo: PATH/Will Boase.
    March 10, 2022

    Endemic is not the end—it never has been

    PATH calls for leaders in high-income countries to consider those most vulnerable to COVID-19—within their own borders and beyond.
  6. Oxygen 2_PATH Zach Clemence.jpg
    November 1, 2021

    What pneumonia can teach us about COVID-19

    COVID-19 still has many unknowns, but hope lies in what we already know about preventing and treating pneumonia.
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