Health Budget and Advocacy

CEHAT’s work on health financing has led to a lot of literature on health budgets, financing and expenditure issues, including large field based studies to generate primary data. CEHAT has been conducting trainings and involved in advocacy on budgets among people to raise awareness and mobilize them for demanding higher allocations to social sector especially health. In the initial years CEHAT did research projects and came out with papers which mainly looked at major macro and micro issues related to the health services and financing. Health Expenditure Across States Financing of Disease Control Programmes in India

Budget is a critical policy document of the government that not only indicates the expenditure incurred but also reflects the policy priorities of the government. Understanding the budget and analyzing it can be effective instrument to demand transparency, accountability and to generate public pressure for influencing policy.

CEHAT has undertaken budget analysis and training with the intention to create awareness amongst people and empowering them with knowledge to scrutinise budgets and demand for transparency, accountability in governance. With this vision to create a momentum as it will serve a roadmap for mobilizing local groups who will monitor resource allocation and formulate their demand, enhance the rights based perspectives among the activities working at the grassroots and will create enabling environment of accountability and transparency for a good governance.

Budget Advocacy Work in Maharashtra

CEHAT have been closely working with the groups in Maharashtra region so as to strengthen the budget work. The local groups are trained to monitor resource allocation and formulate demands for state/district /village level budgetary allocations as well as accountability and transparency.

In April 2003 CEHAT organized first budget orientation workshop for the activists and NGOs in Maharashtra. The workshop was organized in collaboration with National Center for Advocacy Studies, Pune and Samarathan’s Centre for Budget Studies, Mumbai. The Workshop was conducted by well-known budget analysts giving insights to the participants about the importance of understanding budget in development work and the need to use it as a tool for advocacy for strengthening social sector investment and expenditures. Read More...

Budget Advocacy Work in Orissa and Madhya Pradesh

CEHAT has been associated with organsiations in Mandhya Pradesh and Orissa and conducting training and capacity building on budget issues

State Level Consultation on Health Sector Budget in Odisha at Redcross Bhawan in Bhubaneswar on February 7, 2011

Giving the significance of forthcoming budget section in Orissa, CEHAT along with NSA, JSA, BGVS and PRAYOG under the banner of “Odisha Budget Solidarity” came together on February 7, 2011 at Red Cross Bhavan & spoke about the fiscal governance, its poor management, and express their apprehension about and opaqueness in the way the economic governance in Orissa. The Consultation ended with the formation of Citizen’s Charter of Demand for the forthcoming budget 2011-12. Based on the outcome of the discourse, Odisha Budget Solidarity agreed to submit to the legislators, different standing Committee Members & other line Departments to carry forward the debate among the larger public domain on prioritizing the needs of the poor with regard to resource allocation and spending of the State... Report and News Coverage…

State level Training programme on "Health Budget Analysis at District Level Governance" on 27-28 December 2009

A training programme was organised on 27th and 28th December 2009 at Brainstain Conference Hall, Bhubaneswar to orient and train activists from civil society and members of the media community on “Health Budget Analysis at District Level Governance”. The training organised by Network for Social Accountability (NSA), Jan Swasthya Abhiyan (JSA)-Orissa and Centre for Enquiry into Health and Allied Themes (CEHAT) was attended by more than 40 activists from 14 districts across the State of Orissa. The training workshop was a part of an ongoing process of forming a vibrant civil society group called “Orissa Budget Solidarity” to hold the government accountable towards the developmental needs of the people of Orissa. Read More...