The International Development Law Organization (IDLO), in collaboration with the Global Center for Legal Innovation on Food Environments at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University, convened a cross-regional forum for civil society in Kampala Uganda from 19th to 21st November 2024. The forum, titled “Shaping Policies for Healthy Diets and Physical Activity,” presented an opportunity to share experiences on the critical role of civil society in fostering and maintaining environments conducive to promoting healthier lifestyles.
The event brought together advocates and lawyers from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, providing a unique platform for exchanging insights, best practices, and innovative approaches. The goal of the forum was to foster and defend policy changes that promote healthy diets and physical activity, thereby enhancing collaboration and shared learning. The forum also strengthened networks and efforts across regions, bolstering the global movement towards healthier communities. During this forum, KELIN shared its experiences in employing human rights as the foundation for advocacy and policy change as well as strategies such as collaboration in co-creation of workplans and giving technical support in policy development, as explored when working with governments to advance key priority policies.
The Forum was part of the Global Regulatory and Fiscal Capacity Building Programme (Global RECAP, 2019-2026), a collaborative initiative between IDLO and the WHO, in coordination with the IDRC, supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (2019-2025) and the European Union (2024-2026). The programme aims to enhance regulatory and fiscal capacities to support the development, implementation, and monitoring of cost-effective policies promoting healthy diets and physical activity to prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs). It is designed to assist countries in creating environments conducive to evidence-based, coherent, and equitable public policies for healthier diets and active living. Currently, Global RECAP is being implemented in ten countries across Africa, South, and Southeast Asia.
KELIN has been implementing the program since its inception in Kenya. We are currently working to achieve strengthened regulatory and policy frameworks on healthy diets and physical activity through advocacy and multisectoral coordination in Kenya. Ensuring the presence of all key stakeholders in policy discussions promoting healthy diets is crucial for developing policies that accurately reflect the views and needs of the populace. KELIN continues to actively champion the perspectives of the population, particularly the indigent, through a human rights lens.
For more information, please contact:
Martha Ogutu and Pauline Omoto
Programme Officers, Health and Governance
P. O. Box 112 – 00202 KNH Nairobi,
Tel: 020, 2515790
E-mail: marthaogutu@kelinkenya.org, pomoto@kelinkenya.org
Website: www.kelinkenya.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kelinkenya
