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Opinion

Isabel Mestres: Does City Cancer Challenge provide value to Civil Society Organisations in the cities where we operate?

Photo taken from Isabel Mestres/LinkedIn

Dec 24, 2023, 18:00

Isabel Mestres: Does City Cancer Challenge provide value to Civil Society Organisations in the cities where we operate?

Isabel Mestres, CEO of City Cancer Challenge Foundation, shared on LinkedIn:

“Does City Cancer Challenge provide value to Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in the cities where we operate? Are we relevant to them at all?

This question was a central topic in our discussions during the first Civil Society Organization Forum held by C/Can in Qatar last week. This Forum brought together representatives from CSOs across all C/Can cities, with the support of our partners, the Qatar Cancer Society.

A few takeaways, more to come:

C/Can brings to CSOs the opportunity to participate in a locally-led multi-sectoral initiative, often for the first time, to identify common challenges, discuss opportunities and collaborate towards implementing sustainable solutions that will benefit ALL stakeholders.
C/Can supports CSOs and patients to elevate their voices, which are often neglected, including them in local C/Can governance bodies and in the design, development and implementation of the projects.
C/Can supports CSOs’ advocacy efforts towards local governments and media, leveraging international advocacy work and capacity development activities.
C/Can advises and assists CSOs in exploring potential additional sources of funding for cancer and the development of compelling cases for support.
C/Can must maintain its efforts to listen to what local stakeholders, especially patients, really want and need. This is a prerequisite to ensure we are providing “real value”.

My conclusion: We have a compelling value proposition for CSOs, but we have to strengthen our efforts towards greater impact.

Following this first Forum, a network of CSOs across all cities has been created and an action plan will be co-developed within the group. The goal is to ensure that in one year from now at least 70% of CSOs engaged in C/Can report getting value from C/Can and recommending C/Can to other cities.

Thank you to all the CSOs and their representatives for their commitment and dedication. We are stronger together.”