What We're Reading

Wisman on MLI: Skepticism faded, trust grew

MLI was originally about building leadership.  We found there are many truly effective leaders in ministries of health.  Our work was less about building leadership, but more about unleashing that leadership and finding ways to help ministry leaders convince donors and development partners that their priorities should be supported. Their priorities, informed by civil society and local partners, had the greatest chance for success and for national impact.

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New Consensus on “Effective Institutions” for Development

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Busan capacity development thematic session

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President Koroma’s political will

Political will is said to be able to move mountains, bringing about unlikely reforms in countries desperately needing them. Sierra Leone’s President Ernest Bai Koroma is a prime example of this phenomenon. In power since 2007, Koroma fought skeptical donors to bring free health care to pregnant and lactating women and children under five in Sierra Leone after a 1 in 8 maternal mortality rate created a human rights emergency. While the system is not yet perfect, preliminary results have pointed to more women and children getting the life-saving treatment they need.

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An interview with AGI alumnus David Easton

In the tenth of a series of interviews with social enterprise professionals, On Purpose Associate Martin Underwood talks to David Easton, one of the investment team at Bridges Ventures and former Director of Strategy at AGI.

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The Africa-America Institute Recognizes Sierra Leone With Award

His Excellency President Ernest Bai Koroma accepted The Africa-America Institute’s African National Reconciliation and Peace Award on behalf of the People of The Republic of Sierra Leone at AAI’s 27^th annual Awards Dinner Gala on September 20 in New York City.

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More aid for poor countries, but is it better aid?

A new survey of 78 countries and territories is a global scorecard showing whether they are making aid more effective. The Survey findings are summarised in Aid Effectiveness 2005-10: Progress in Implementing the Paris Declaration and will be the basis of discussion at the international High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, Korea later this year.

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Turning on the lights in Freetown, Sierra Leone: Completing Bumbuna

In 2008, Freetown faced one of the worst energy crises among the world’s major cities, as two aging generators met less than 5% of the Sierra Leone capital’s needs. Residents had electricity for only two or three hours every few days, and businesses struggled with the high cost of maintaining private generators. To make matters worse, efforts toward solution were creeping at a snail’s pace. Construction of a massive hydroelectric plant at Bumbuna, about 200 kilometers from Freetown, was far behind schedule because of mismanagement and political obstacles. President Ernest Bai Koroma assigned a top adviser, Victor Strasser-King, to get the project back on track by breaking through bottlenecks, facilitating coordination between ministries, and regaining the trust andconfidence of the donor community to renew their support for the project.

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Voices of Capacity Development

External aid can provide a significant boost to country-led processes. However, if external partners focus on the performance of their own aid, policies, approaches and knowledge, their support is more likely to hinder than support a country’s efforts. In this special issue published to coincide with the Fourth High Level Conference on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, Korea, Capacity.org invited a number of change agents in the South to speak about their experiences in leading change processes.

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Liberia’s election

The Economist's analysis of the upcoming Liberian elections

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