The excitement was palpable; for this was the first time they were meeting as a big group
since the launch of the SPEED initiative. They came from three corners of the globe;
Uganda, South Africa and Belgium. The much-awaited meeting was held at Mutungo’s
Afrique Suites, 27th – 28th April 2016.
Welcoming them, the SPEED Director, Associate Professor Freddie Ssengooba noted that
going through the first year with the many accomplishments registered is a real milestone.
“Collectively what has been done is impressive; we have a model of work that we have not
been able to reflect on very well; delivering at collective and individual levels. At individual
level/institutional level, we have to be realistic in expectations and capacity to do what is
expected. As skills sharpen, more will be done. Remember the third objective of SPEED is a
learning objective”, he emphasised.
He also pointed out to the partners that the target audience of SPEED; the policymakers and
Universal Health Coverage stakeholders, are getting more and more interested in what
SPEED is doing and how it can support their work. “How we perform will determine how this
response is sustained. How do we organise ourselves to do this work quickly and deliver
quality outputs?” he asked.
The meeting reviewed progress across the different delivery areas of the initiative. While it
was realised that a lot has been achieved in a space of one year, it also became clear that
there is still a lot more that needs to be done.
The partners also received a lesson in how to effectively use social media for policy
engagement.
