Advocacy Committee
Background
Despite what seems to be a significant burden of rheumatic diseases in Africa, huge deficiencies exist in the education and training of health professionals and society at large. As knowledge progresses at a fast rate, health professionals, patients, and government officials need to contribute significantly to identifying the burden of rheumatic diseases as an important health focus.
The African League of Associations for Rheumatology (AFLAR) is committed to partnering with organizations and scientific medical societies at Regional, national, and international levels to improve research funding, social policy legislation, and quality of care and to assist advocacy actions on the national and international levels around rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases (RMDs).
The AFLAR Advocacy Committee, therefore, seeks to promote AFLAR as a recognized partner and source of expertise in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. This committee is led by Dzifa Dey and Romana Govinda.
Objectives
Advocate for the needs of people with Rheumatic conditions in Africa through Member bodies in the various African nations such as AU, ECOWAS and international partners such as ILAR, ACR, WHO, etc.-
Engage in policy formulation– policies that affect healthcare providers and patients.
Educating the African populace on the various rheumatic conditions
Improve the visibility of AFLAR globally
Scope
The scope of the duties of the advocacy committee will be defined and refined by the AFLAR executive committee to meet the committee’s goals. The roles of the advocacy committee will include:
– Advocate for the needs of people with RMDs
– Advocate for education and research in Rheumatology
– Conceptualize and develop projects that promote the AFLAR brand as a reliable source of information and knowledge
-Coordinate the works of the subcommittees
-Provide strategic guidance on all AFLAR messages to internal and external audiences.
