Mainstreaming Human Security in Country Health Plans in Central America and the Dominican Republic

The programme aims to mainstream the human security approach in the national health plans of Central America countries (Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama) and the Dominican Republic to build the path toward universal access to health and Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

To this end, the programme pursues three interrelated objectives: (i) develop and deliver a training programme on the added value of human security to the path toward universal access to health and UHC; (ii) establish a multi-sectoral and inter-organizational network to foster collaboration and information sharing to further the understanding of the human security approach; and (iii) analyze the level of inclusion of the human security approach in existing national public health programmes of Central America and the Dominican Republic to promote its usage as a planning lens and operational framework.

Health, Resilience and Human Security

• By using the human security approach as a practical tool to operationalize UHC, the programme integrates a comprehensive perspective and a multisectoral framework to further promote equitable governance and improve access to health systems for individuals and communities.
• Specifically, the human security approach supports the advancement of UHC and the 2030 Agenda by establishing a governance mechanism based on equity and inclusive multistakeholder participation. By linking the regional, national and local levels, this governance mechanism helps narrow the gap between local realities and national policies and enhances the responsiveness of healthcare to local challenges.
• Moreover, using the human security lens to review existing health plans allows government agencies to identify interconnected challenges, link health plans to other relevant activities across sectors, and further multiply the positive impact of national health plans. As a result, the programme strengthens top-down protection by building the governments’ capacity to understand and assess the multidimensional impacts of interconnected issues such as climate change, migration and poverty on national and community health security.
• Lastly, the human security approach brings visibility to more vulnerable and less visible sub-groups, such as indigenous people, children, and people in rural areas with poor access to healthcare. It proposes a unified strategy to address inequalities in health and development by ensuring the establishment of policies and mechanisms that reach all population groups and ensures their participation in the decision-making processes.

Improving Health Plans through Multistakeholder Cooperation, Capacity-Building and Knowledge-Sharing

• A multi-sectoral and inter-organizational sub-regional network is established in Central America and the Dominican Republic to foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing. This network assists the Council of Health Ministries of the Central American Integration System (COMISCA) in promoting the understanding of the human security approach and its use towards universal access to health and UHC.
• Furthermore, a training programme on the added value of human security to universal access to health and UHC is developed and delivered to national and community public health leaders in the participating countries. The training builds the capacity of health professionals to critically analyze a public health-related plan, programme or policy using the human security lens; makes recommendations on how to further incorporate the human security approach into public health-related plans, programmes, or policies; and trains others in the relationship between human security and health.
• The programme supports the development of “Mainstreaming Human Security to Build Community Resilience within the Context of Health: A Strategy to Implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the Community Level”, an informational booklet to expand the knowledge of public officers and communities in the participating countries.
• The programme also supports the production of Guidelines for Assessing the Human Security Approach in Local Health Plans, both in English and Spanish, to assist public officers using the Human Security Analysis Tool that serves as a guide to incorporate the human security approach into current and future local health plans.
• Finally, six technical reports are issued on the programme’s activities in the targeted countries. PAHO and the participants will jointly evaluate selected local health plans with the Human Security Analysis Tool and present recommendations on how the results should be used to benefit the communities.

KEY MATERIALS
Informative Document “Mainstreaming Human Security to Build Community Resilience within the Context of Health: A Strategy to Implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the Community Level” [EN][SP]
Information Sheet – Mainstreaming Human Security in Country Health Plans in Central America and the Dominican Republic [EN][SP]
Health and Human Security Course Textbook: Health, Resilience, and Human Security: Moving Toward Health for All [EN] [SP]
Brochure Questions and Answers on Human Security [SP]