Training Health Advocacy Committees in Liberia

Community leaders and influential members from faith-based, traditional, social, and civil society groups can often influence community actions that lead to change at the individual and community levels and even influence policy actions to improve health outcomes. Leveraging this potential, Breakthrough ACTION trained 736 influential community members and established 47 Health Advocacy Committees (HACs) in 12 supported counties.

Since their inception, the HACs have identified and resolved health-related challenges in their communities using the SMART advocacy approach. Examples include building new hand pumps, refurbishing damaged hand pumps, building toilets, building bridges and community roads, and repairing ambulances, among others. As the groups’ responsibilities continue to expand, many HACs have formalized their status as independent civil society organizations.

Explore the SMART Advocacy Training for Advocacy Core Groups: Facilitator’s Guide and Leadership, Resource Mobilization, and Budget Management Facilitator Guide.

Last modified: July 31, 2026

Language: English

Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

Year of Publication: 2021