Citizen Voice and Action: Improving Basic Services through Social Accountability Approach

Abstraksi

One of main poverty reduction strategies in current Government of Indonesia’s mid-term development planning (RPJMN 2015-2019) is to improve basic services. Social accountability has been identified as an approach to improve basic services. World Bank defined social accountability as an approach towards building accountability that relies on citizen engagement, in which citizens or non-state actors engage directly or indirectly – through a range of actions and strategies, beyond voting – in order to demanding accountability from government, service providers and public officials (Malena, 2004). Since 2014, Wahana Visi Indonesia has been applying Citizen Voice and Action as one of the social accountability approach to improve basic service related to maternal and child health (MCH) in 60 villages of three districts in NTT province. Regular monitoring and evaluation has shown positive results of the approach in improving maternal and child health service in village through sub-district level. Over 30% increase in the proportion of respondents (parents of under-five children, village health cadres, village midwives and village government officials) who had heard of minimum standards for maternal and child health services. Over 50% increase in the proportion of Puskesmas that achieved service standard and 30% increase in the proportion of Posyandu that achieved service standard. Over 20% increase in the proportion of participants who rated ‘good and very good’ for MCH services at village through sub-district level and 20% decrease in the proportion of participants who rated ‘poor and very poor’ for MCH services at village through sub-district level.