R4D Managing Director Marty Makinen led a Ministerial Leadership Initiative for Global Health (MLI)  working session at this year's World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland, May 16-24, 2011.

Senior policymakers from MLI's five countries convened on Wednesday, May 18 to endorse a document outlining the lessons that they have learned about country ownership and development effectiveness through their work with MLI. This document outlines practical steps the donor community can take to achieve the commitments set in the Paris Declaration and Accra Agenda for Action. At the working session, delegates discussed how MLI countries can share these lessons with other countries and the donor community, and how MLI can be a catalyst in advancing country-level ownership and strengthening leadership capacity in developing countries. MLI country delegates will unveil this document at the 2011 Global Health Council Conference in Washington, D.C.

MLI is a four-year program that seeks to strengthen the leadership capacity of ministries of health in Ethiopia, Mali, Nepal, Senegal, and Sierra Leone to advance policy in three interrelated areas: health financing for equity, donor harmonization in health, and reproductive health. It is a collaborative effort between the Results for Development Institute, the Aspen Institute’s Global Health and Development, and the Council of Women World Leaders.