We shall review the experience of the People’s Health Movement as a case study of civil society activism in health development with a view to generating clearer understandings of the ways in which public health professionals might position themselves in relation to such civil society activism. It is widely accepted that civil society has an important role to play in ensuring decent health care provision and creating the conditions for population health. This role has been conceptualised in many different ways (eg community involvement, democratic accountability, demand side strategies, voter registration, popular mobilisation, etc). However, there remains some confusion and uncertainty regarding this role, including in the public health community. This confusion reflects the highly contested character of the idea as well as the many different ways in which it is framed. The first half of the 90’ session will comprise five presentations. This will be followed by an extended discussion of the role of civil society in health development in the African context which will be finalised with a brief synthesis of the main issues arising. The moderator will commence with a general introduction to the session explaining the purpose, background, method and anticipated outcomes of the session. The first presentation will address the history, direction and governance of PHM and the theory (or ‘program logic’) which informs PHM strategy. How does PHM interpret the local, national, regional and global dimensions of the struggle for health? What is PHM trying to do and why? The next three presentations will be from Uganda, Ghana and Zimbabwe exploring the salient challenges in health development in those countries and reflecting on the ways in which civil society is responding and the value of wider links with a broad civil society movement such as PHM. The presenters will refer, in the course of their presentations, to some of the major global projects of PHM and the ways these projects interact with the grass roots struggles on the ground as well as influencing policy making at the national and global levels. These global PHM projects include: • IPHU – the International People’s Health University – a short course program in the political economy of health and the principles and strategies of health activism; • GHW – Global Health Watch – ‘the alternative world health report’ – a report on the structures and dynamics of global health decision making; • WHO-Watch – seeking to make WHO more accountable to the people it is supposed to be serving; creating more organic links between the grass roots struggle for health and the global policy debates and dynamics; • RTHC – the Right to Health Campaign – mobilising around the right to health; gaining leverage from the legal instruments while insisting on the deeper morality upon which the right to health is based; • Globalisation From Below – building solidarity across the boundaries of difference - and the current build up to the third People’s Health Assembly, scheduled for July 2012 in Capetown. In the general discussion following the presentations the moderator will encourage the group to reflect upon the work of PHM in the light of the health challenges facing Africa. What are the most promising strategies in the African context and how can these be advanced? What are the vulnerabilities and what kind of capacity building might be needed to overcome these. Outcomes. In closing the session a senior public health advocate will bring together the threads of the discussion in a synthesis of the most important insights and principles emerging from the discussion regarding the role of civil society activism in health development.