Communication and Learning Strategies of Health Rights Advocates in Guatemala, Mexico, and the Philippines
Date: January 2026
Author(s): Julia Fischer-Mackey, Joy Aceron, Hilda Argüello Avendaño, Benilda Batzin, Francisco Gómez Guillén, and Rosaura Medina
Publication type: ARC Learning Exchange Report
Published by: Accountability Research Center
Creative and strategic communications are integral to the work of health rights advocates. As part of the Action Learning with Grassroots Advocates for Equitable Access to Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health (2023–25) project, four civil society organizations are working in Guatemala, Mexico, and the Philippines to defend and expand the rights of marginalized citizens to reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health care, in partnership with ARC.
This Learning Exchange Report shares insights and reflections from two virtual discussions about communications that involved 14 participants representing all five organizations. It provides background on each organization’s work and the role that communications plays in their strategies. Over two sessions that were simultaneously interpreted in English and Spanish, participants shared their communications approaches, posed questions to each other, and discussed similarities, differences, and shared challenges. Participants left with their own takeaways—information, insights, or new perspectives gained through the experience. The participants also identified five collective takeaways from their discussion that they decided to share with a broader audience in the form of this report:
1. The organizations use three distinct communications strategies to improve health services and outcomes for the communities they serve:
• Educating citizens about their right to health care and how to claim their rights
• Educating citizens about available health services, health-seeking behavior, and self-care
• Encouraging health care providers and policy-makers to improve health services.
2. The processes of both creating and viewing communications content can build pride, agency, and collective identity among those engaged in health advocacy work.
3. Communicating with marginalized indigenous communities requires more than simply translating the language of texts—it demands contextualization and validation by community members.
4. Advocates can communicate directly with communities to educate them on different aspects of health, and they can also engage with the government to improve its health education work directed toward those communities.
5. Small organizations can do communications on a shoestring, though dedicated resources and expertise help them communicate more effectively.
The reflections shared by these organizations help to broaden our understanding of how and why communications for health advocacy can be undertaken and how communications can shape the ideas and practices of health rights advocates.
Julia Fischer-Mackey, PhD, is a researcher and learning advisor with the Accountability Research Center. Her research focuses on the politics of evidence and making social research more useful to those working for social change. She has provided research, evaluation, and learning support to organizations working in global public health, climate resilience, food systems and gender equity.
Joy Aceron, MPA, is Convenor-Director of G-Watch, a citizen action movement for accountability in the Philippines that aims to improve governance of public services and to deepen democracy. She has 20 years experience with civil society–government engagement for public accountability.
Hilda E. Argüello Avendaño, M.D., PhD, coordinates the OMM in Mexico and is a member of ACASAC. Her research focuses on monitoring health services; transparency and accountability in maternal health in Mexico; and midwifery; and maternal mortality in indigenous areas.
Benilda Batzín is Director of CEGSS. She serves as a liaison between CEGSS staff and the REDC-Salud defenders, provides accompaniment, technical assistance, and capacity building to defenders, and coordinates strategy to achieve health rights for indigenous populations in five regions of Guatemala.
Francisco Gómez Guillén is currently a researcher at the OMM and a doctoral student in social anthropology at CIESAS. He is an active member of ACASAC and a member of various networks of rights defenders. He has focused on working with indigenous populations, sexual and reproductive rights, gender, and masculinities.
Rosaura Medina is Deputy Director of CEGSS, where she manages the fieldwork of the technical team across five regions of Guatemala. She coordinates and supports their training and accompaniment of REDC-Salud members as they conduct citizen monitoring, advocacy, and accompaniment of citizens seeking care from the public health system.