Last year, SAFMH in collaboration with United for Global Mental Health (UGMH) advocated for mental health to be integrated into South Africa’s Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and health financing reforms.
At the start of 2022, deliberations on the national health insurance (NHI) bill were underway. At the same time, the national strategic plan for HIV 2023-2028 was being drafted and the country coordinating mechanism for the Global Fund was preparing an application for more health financing as part of the Global Fund’s new grant cycle 7. These developments made 2022 an ideal window to advocate for the integration of mental health into South Africa’s UHC and health financing reforms. The South African Federation for Mental Health (SAFMH), which was part of the public consultation on the NHI bill and works at grassroots and community level, was the ideal partner to help achieve this monumental systemic change.
This consultancy was extremely helpful. It incentivised strategic thinking and long-term planning. Beyond the grant, the mentorship received by UGMH was excellent. It helped connect our national work to global work and taught us best practices for how one might go about developing and implementing advocacy efforts. We would strongly encourage UGMH to consider offering these opportunities to other national mental health organisations seeking to prioritise and setting time aside for developing their UHC advocacy.” – Shayni Geffen, Project Leader: Advocacy and Awareness at SAFMH
You can read the full case study here.
