Interview with Martin Drewry, Health Poverty Action
A community-based, comprehensive primary health care system is essential in the fight against poverty, argues Martin Drewry of Health Poverty Action.
What is your role at Health Poverty Action?
As the Director I am accountable for the vision, direction and implementation of Health Poverty Action. It's important to remark though that leadership, vision and power are things that can be exercised by everyone in the organisation in different ways. As Director, sometimes it's easier for me to get things done and sometimes it's harder as things usually need to be implemented by others. I try to use my particular role as effectively as I can, and do so as part of Health Poverty Action's leadership team, which includes everyone in the organisation.
What inspired you to work in the sector?
I'm a voluntary sector person through and through; I am wholeheartedly part of it. I became involved in the voluntary sector initially as a grass-roots community development worker and really this was my social and political introduction to the world. I've been part of the voluntary sector ever since. I moved into international development because I wanted to help address the root causes of poverty and inequality. I find it's a natural incentive to want to do more and be involved in the voluntary sector movement.
What motivates you to go to work every day?
The opportunity to make a difference is my main motivation. Each day we have a new opportunity to make best use of that day, to make a difference to the lives of others. I feel privileged to be able to do the work that I do, and know that we must make the best possible use of all that comes our way.
What are you are working on at the moment?
I'm focussing on developing the policy and campaigning capacity of the organisation. We do excellent development work in many countries but we need to release the potential to influence policy. We are amplifying the voice of the communities we work with so that they can become the architects of their own future. This is a powerful voice of solidarity.
What impact/outcome do you hope this will have?
I hope that it will change the underlying determinants and causes of health and not just the symptoms. If we can raise awareness and campaign systematically to influence health policy at all levels then we will be one step closer to achieving our goals.
What are the current challenges for Health Poverty Action's work?
Funding for areas of work that really add value. Donors tend to focus on direct healthcare, such as child immunisations, but we also need funding to enable us to influence and change health care policy. It is extremely hard to get funding for this but it is one of the most important parts of our work.
Another difficulty we often come up against, as an operational organisation, is that we have to operate within that country's memorandum of understanding. This can make it difficult to be able to speak out against the Government in the interests of the communities in which we work. Balancing the risks and making those choices is hard.
Although the G8 and others have committed to improving maternal health, millions of women are still not receiving the support they need. What needs to be done to ensure that the maternal health MDGs are met?
Poverty often impacts on women the most so addressing the social determinants of health and following through to find a solution to the issues is key. Maternal health is a particularly neglected area although it is receiving increasing attention.
One of the biggest reasons for the neglect of maternal health is the focus of many donors on particular diseases. That might mean that whilst people don't die of that disease any more they will probably still be afflicted by something else. What is actually needed is a comprehensive primary health care system that is available in the community. That's not seen as very sexy from a political perspective; health systems don't include such easily quantifiable targets and numbers. It's not so easy to show the impact. I think one of our main challenges is to make it sexy, to stress its importance and to generate the political will and sense of urgency to make this change happen.
What part of Health Poverty Action's work are you most proud of?
Health Unlimited tries very hard to reach those people who are neglected by everyone else, even other charities. We work in very hard to reach places with the poorest and the most marginalised. I'm very proud that this is a long-term commitment of the organisation.
I also feel very privileged to work with the individuals that we do, many of whom work with us over many years, in the local community and are from the community very often as well. They are the most inspirational, committed and wonderful people, and I am very proud to work with them.
Where would you like Health Poverty Action to be in five years time?
A powerful voice. I want us to have a real influence and a genuine impact on policy and practice to allow everyone to fulfil their right to health.
What is the best professional advice you have been given?
Ask the big questions
What is the key challenge for the sector in the coming year?
Be true to our radical roots, we need to ask those big questions and challenge the status quo, even when it's not comfortable to do so.
I also have a specific challenge to Bond on its donor advocacy role. Funding drives our ability to do everything else, and we need Bond to be our passage to the donors. Some donors are great but some of the institutions, especially the EC for example as any organisation that regularly received EC funding will know, on occasion, have diabolical practices. Some of the practices of donors need to change but the level of capacity, time and commitment needed to achieve this means that individual organisations like Health Poverty Action can't prioritise it because our primary concern is our core work.
We need Bond to lead on this, and to bring us in when necessary. Full cost recovery is a particular area where urgent change is needed. At the moment, project specific funding from the large institutional donors is inevitably lower on quality development funding compared to the unrestricted funds we get from the general public. Very often though the unrestricted income we get from the public is used to subsidise the short fall in institutional funding by paying for things that they don't want to pay for, such as core costs.
This is just not good enough. We are trying to be challenging and to build public momentum for change on this and I would call on Bond to lead on that work.
Background
Martin has a long background in the voluntary sector. Previous roles include Head of Campaigns at Christian Aid where he played leading roles in Jubilee 2000, Drop the Debt, the Trade Justice Movement and was one of the coordinators of Make Poverty History. He became director of Health Poerty Action in April 2006.
