Libyan civil society develop advocacy campaigns for health and protection

In 2017, ACTED began implementing an integrated emergency response for protection in Benghazi. ACTED’s response focused on community-based protection monitoring, establishing a dedicated helpline and an extensive referral system to service providers. This protection programme targeted the most vulnerable populations in Benghazi, which included IDP’s, returnees and host communities.

The success of the protection project has expanded under ACTED’s Communication with Communities (CwC) project, which was launched in early 2018 and includes other protection-related aspects like water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), health and personal safety. It is dedicated to conducting assessments on the risks and limitations to these services in the cities of Benghazi and Ajdabiya.

The CwC project includes a dedicated advocacy campaign to raise awareness among vulnerable communities and inhabitants of both Benghazi and Ajdabiya on the risks of disease, pollution, health hazards and unsafe water practices, as well as mitigation strategies. Participating Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) will soon be launching targeted awareness campaigns on issues such as:

• The dangers of random well-drilling
• Unsafe water practices
• Hepatitis and Tuberculosis prevention in Ajdabiya
• The dangers of storing weapons in the house
• The dangers and health risks associated with burning garbage

The CwC project featured a five-day advocacy workshop for CSOs in Benghazi. Participating CSOs gained essential tools and skills needed to conduct effective grassroots advocacy among the most vulnerable sectors of the population.

The first two days of the training focused on advocacy tools; participants learned techniques for how to raise awareness, how to campaign on sensitive social issues, how to liaise and cooperate with stakeholders and how to organise and plan a successful awareness campaign through digital and traditional outreach methods. During the final three days, CSO representatives learned how to create an action plan to target specific locations and communities.

Following the initial call for interest, ACTED selected five CSOs to conduct tailored awareness campaigns with a budget of $10,000. Each CSO will focus on different aspects of CwC’s objectives. With ACTED’s advocacy tools and funding from UNHCR, these five CSOs are ready to launch advocacy campaigns to improve health, safety and WASH standards in Benghazi and Ajdabiya.