Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #116529

Imelda Zosa-Feranil, MA, (CEDPA/POLICY), POLICY Project/Futures Group, One Thomas Circle, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20005, 202-775-9680, iferanil@futuresgroup.com

Ideally, policies should be based on evidence showing that a problem exists, that a large segment of the population is affected, and that the specified policy action can directly address the problem and thus improve the lives of large numbers of people. Such an ideal situation, however, does not always occur, as other factors come into play when policy decisions are made, including the beliefs and values of decision-makers, the composition and relative power of interest groups and stakeholders, the socio-political environment, and what issues currently dominate. Oftentimes, who presents what and how it is presented to interest groups and decision-makers determine policy reform. This paper presents and compares the experiences of the Philippines and Romania- two countries of entirely different sociopolitical environments - in reproductive health policymaking, particularly in terms of how data was used and the key actors who were involved. The paper also highlights how public and private interrelationships changed as a result of the process, and presents lessons learned to make partnerships more beneficial for the parties involved.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the session, participants will be able to

• Identify three primary stakeholders of reproductive health policy in each of the two study countries.
• Describe one specific reproductive health problem that was identified as a major challenge in each country and how evidence about the problem was brought to the attention of decision-makers
• Identify two possible ways in which data can influence public-private interrelationships

Keywords: Advocacy, Public Health Policy

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Handout (.ppt format,