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After a two-year pandemic hiatus, the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program, in collaboration with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, again convened Finance Ministers from across Africa in-person for the 2022 Harvard Ministerial Leadership Forum. While available data suggests the COVID pandemic has had less devastating public health consequences across Africa than first anticipated, the social and economic consequences have been profound. In the early months of the pandemic most…

Continue reading “African Finance Ministers Grapple with Extreme Economic Challenges at Harvard Ministerial Forum”

The 2022 Tessa Jowell Doctoral Fellowship was awarded to Dr. Hailu Tamir Dhufera, a Doctor of Public Health candidate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health who’s research will evaluate Ethiopia’s fledgling telehealth services established in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the COVID-19 pandemic challenging the traditional organization and preparedness of health systems around the world, technology-based solutions have become viable options to address rapidly accelerating…

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The Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program established the Tessa Jowell Student Research Fellowship providing up to $15,000 in support of doctoral or post-doctoral level research. Research must focus on health, education or other aspects of human development impacting prospects for sustainable economic growth in countries participating in the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program.   The Fellowship entails funding and liaison support for in-country and remote work with the relevant Ministry or Ministries.…

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African government Ministers gathered in-person at Harvard for this first time since 2019 last September, more acutely aware than ever that their leadership skills are on the line as they strive to balance their response to the public health, social and economic repercussions of the pandemic, while still keeping focus on their main political goals. “The ongoing pandemic crisis has graphically demonstrated the central importance of good government and effective…

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His Excellency Julius Maada Bio was elected President of Sierra Leone in 2018, winning 51.8% of he vote. He ran on a five-pillar platform focused on transforming the country’s economy, human development, improving governance, improving infrastructure, and overhauling financing of the public sector. Prior to being elected President, H.E. was a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Bradford in the U.K. pursuing a Doctorate in Peace Studies. H.E. has…

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His Excellency Julius Maada Bio called on government Ministers from across Africa to keep focus on human development even while managing the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Opening the first in-person Harvard Ministerial Forum since the start of the pandemic, President Bio told Ministers invited to the annual Forum that one of the most important traits of effective leadership is the ability to adapt to changing circumstances without losing direction.…

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When the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Kenya in early 2020, Sicily Kariuki was initially relieved the President just weeks before had switched her from leading the health ministry to take charge of water and sanitation. Her sense of relief was short-lived as she realized that hand washing, long recognized as a basic public health measure, was now of life and death importance in helping combat COVID. Her challenge on the…

Continue reading “Kenya’s Sicily Kariuki Recognized with Ministerial Medal of Achievement”

Today more than ever, Ministers are challenged to maintain progress in health, education and economic growth in the face of severely depleted fiscal reserves. Data is critical to guiding ministerial decision-making as they try to optimize available budget. With the help of a group of current and former Ministers, the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program last October launched a Dashboard on Human Development for Economic Progress, whose primary aim is to…

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What are the factors affecting gender equity in higher education in Zambia? Which districts should pilot a stay-in-school program for girls in Sierra Leone? What have been the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Ethiopia’s essential health services? These are pressing issues that Harvard Ministerial alumni Ministers are currently facing. Over the past year, 44 Harvard graduate students from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Graduate School of…

Continue reading “Harvard Student Policy Research Supports Ministerial Planning”