Discussion Threads
ACCESS TO INFORMATION: WHAT DIFFERENCE DOES IT MAKE?
In a recent article on the MeTA website Richard Calland writes: Acess
“The right of access to information has gone through a massive growth spurt in the past decade. More than fifty countries have passed access to information (ATI) laws of some sort. The right to seek and receive information, and the state’s duty to process such requests for information, has been the subject of a ground-breaking case that came before the inter-American Court of Human Rights. Now it is possible to say that the ‘right to know’ is incontrovertibly enshrined in international law.”
The article goes on to discuss ATI laws and how they relate to MeTA.
[Join in the discussion →]
ENGAGING IN MULTI-STAKEHOLDER PROCESSES
The latest issue of the Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA) newsletter highlights the worry that some stakeholders feel about engaging in a complex dialogue process. In particular, civil society organisations often – as Minu Hemmanti points out – have concerns over co-option, of losing independence, and being in a situation where the political and economic power of other participants in a multi-stakeholder process might divide civil society or dilute the strength of its voice and its advocacy for change.
MeTA believes that the multi-stakeholder process it is facilitating in seven countries is very much about change and transformation. [Join in the discussion →]
COMMUNICATING TRANSPARENCY
Encouraging dialogue on transparency
Earlier this year, presentations from the International launch of the Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA) – held in London in May 2008 – were posted on the internet SlideShare site
Two of the presentations – one from Peru and the other from Jordan – have attracted positive comments from people who viewed the slides. The comment from Peru was posted by Ideeleradio, a Peruvian community-based radio station. A representative from Ideeleradio attended a MeTA-sponsored workshop for civil society held in the Philippines in June 2008, to encourage greater engagement of civil society groups in the efforts to improve transparency in the health sector. [Join in the discussion →]
