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Ministers invited to participate in the June Ministerial Forum are required to identify a ‘legacy goal’ before coming to Harvard. The idea of a legacy goal is the focal point of the Ministerial Forum curriculum designed to have Ministers sieve through the many priorities they are confronted with to determine which is likely to make the most enduring impact and benefit the most people. During the Ministerial Forum, Ministers map…

Continue reading “Ministerial Forum Asks Ministers to Consider their Legacy”

In June the Harvard Ministerial Leadership Program marked the tenth anniversary of its series of Harvard Ministerial Forums. Over the past ten years the Program has organized and hosted 19 Ministerial Forums bringing to Harvard a total of 228 serving government Ministers from 65 countries. Initially conceived as a special opportunity for health Ministers, the Ministerial Forums were soon expanded to include finance Ministers, and in more recent years economic…

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Efforts to reboot health care in Africa are not new most notably dating back to the landmark 1978 Alma Ata Declaration charting the road to ‘health for all’. Although most African countries in the subsequent decades adopted the principles of primary health care (PHC) articulated in the Alma Ata Declaration, in too many cases PHC services were under-resourced resulting in PHC being stigmatized as “second class care for second class…

Continue reading “Dr. Muhammad Pate Leads Effort to Re-charge Public Health in Africa”

In the aftermath of Côte d’Ivoire’s civil war, the country’s health system was devastated. Infrastructure and supply chains were in ruins, many health facilities were no longer functioning, impacting health service provision at every level.  After the war was ended and democratic government restored, in 2012 newly appointed Health Minister, Dr. Raymond Goudou Coffie, was charged with rebuilding the health care system. “As you can imagine, after the crisis our…

Continue reading “Building Back from Civil War: Hon. Raymonde Coffie Awarded Medal of Achievement”

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”

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…

Continue reading “Pandemic Underscores Importance of Effective Political Leadership”

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…

Continue reading “Customizing Human Development Data for Ministerial Decision-making”