Storytelling with a purpose - Today it is my turn, tomorrow it could be you

Participants represented personal lived or care partner experience of a range of NCDs including mental health conditions, eye or ear condition, cancer, neurological disorder, sickle cell disease, hyperthyroidism, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

The five-week long virtual training included eight modules delivered via live sessions, distance learning activities and assignments. It familiarised participants with the NCD global policy landscape and supported participants to hone their public speaking  and advocacy skills to harness the power of their lived experiences. They also introduced to the fundamental elements of building an impactful public narrative on NCDs and mobilise their communities to drive change.

The training explored the concept and mechanisms of meaningful involvement of people living with NCDs, including advocacy tools like the Advocacy Agenda of People Living with NCDs and the Global Charter on Meaningful Involvement of People Living with NCDs. Participants had the opportunity to identify key advocacy messages for policy makers and other key stakeholders at local, regional, and national levels and prepare their action plans in response to upcoming opportunities like the Global Week for Action on NCDs in September.

NCD Alliance is grateful to all the virtual training participants for their passion and commitment towards the training sessions and for generously sharing their personal experiences.

The Our Views, Our Voices advisory committee members and past training participants contributed to the training as resource persons and observers. Our Views, Our Voices Global Advisory Committee member Christopher Agbega, from Ghana co-led the training as a peer trainer, bringing his personal expertise as an NCD advocate to inspire the participants.

This virtual training was possible thanks to NCD Alliance’s partnership with Access Accelerated.