UN DESA Holds a Training Workshop on Cooperative Healthcare

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), in collaboration with AFRIKAM Centre of the Istanbul Aydin University, organised a training workshop on the role of cooperatives in sustainable development with particular focus on its contribution to achieving the sustainable development goal target 3 - the provision of universal health care. The event took place at the Istanbul Aydin University from 21 – 23 May, attended by Co-operators and government officials from Turkey, Brazil, Fiji, Kenya, Kiribati, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Spain, Uganda, and Vietnam.

The objective of the workshop was to strengthen the capacity of the participants to develop and implement policies for the promotion of cooperatives within their national and local contexts and to develop the capacities to provide quality and affordable health services.

This comes at a time when the international community is once again promoting the implementation of sustainable development goal 3, to “ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages.” On September 23 this year, the United Nations General Assembly will hold a high-level meeting attended by heads of States and governments on “Universal Health Coverage: Moving Together to Build a Healthier World.”

The workshop shared examples of successful healthcare services being provided by many cooperatives around the world and analysed strategies for rolling out these services to more countries. Participants gained enhanced understanding of the factors that lead to effective functioning and strengthening of cooperatives across different countries in the provision of healthcare services; improved capacities effectively promote cooperatives by establishing coherent legal, regulatory and policy frameworks; and an improved ability to collect and share relevant and internationally comparable data on cooperatives in healthcare for reporting on SDG 3.

The workshop also identified other areas for which the support of UN DESA will be required to support countries provision of cooperative healthcare and more training workshops will be planned in the future.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognised the important role of cooperatives, stating that: "we acknowledge the role of the diverse private sector, ranging from micro-enterprises to cooperatives in the implementation of the new Agenda." The United Nations has also consistently called for the promotion and development of cooperatives as inclusive and socially responsible enterprises with a huge potential for growth.

Photos of the Workshop