Peter's first post

Since my first ever post to this blog has taken longer than expected to appear, I've felt more and more pressure to make it an interesting one. Please find attached a clip from the finale of the Liberian National AIDS Control Program (NACP) retreat—one of the real high points of my 2 months in Monrovia.

The Clinton Foundation hired me to work with the NACP as the Advisor to the Program Manager. The position arose directly from a request by the Minister of Health, who felt that the Program needed additional direction and expertise. The NACP's been a bit dysfunctional for quite some time-- a situation that is problematic for the Ministry as a lot of donor cash is flowing through the AIDS programs. Used strategically, that cash could be leveraged to rebuild much of the crumbled healthcare system. In an example of bad leveraging, some fancy CD4 machines (for HIV diagnostics) are about to get delivered up country to hospitals that lack air-conditioned, dust free rooms to house them. Hmmm. Not a great idea. They are finicky machines anyway and will not last long in a room like that. With better planning, the powers-that-be might have recognized that the same money could have been prioritized to renovate the room and by multiples of more basic lab machines that would benefit that many more patients. And, along the same lines, put some money aside to ensure than maintenance and reagents for the machines will be provided. Everyone believes in this logic (the donors too). But they all must be reminded of it constantly.

Among many other activities, my colleagues and I play that delicate role of the Reminder. We are the "trusted advisors" of people who run significant programs (or, in the case of some friends, Ministries) in this government. It's the most challenging and rewarding job that I could ever ask for. After way too many years, I am amazed to realize that I have reached the position that I have been training for.

We have to be very careful to speak quietly, though. It might feel like we are running our programs, but there is a manager or minister whose job is on the line and any decision is ultimately theirs to make. At many meetings, I have to make a conscious decision as to whether it is more appropriate to speak as NACP or as Clinton Foundation.

The retreat that you will see in the video occurred a couple of weeks ago. NACP is saddled with what Callista calls “classic” organization problems. Suffice it to say that I was fairly dubious that any retreat could solve our numerous issues. Then, we recruited our friend Pewee, who normally works for the Liberian office of the Carter Center, to facilitate the meeting. (He is mentioned, and maybe even pictured in some of Callista’s earlier posts.)

Pewee was amazing. He brought energy and enthusiasm into a room full of skepticism. He broke the ice with songs and non-traditional ways of clapping/showing appreciation for your colleagues that Americans would do well to learn from (see second video). And in the end, he brokered peace deals among the warring parties. They are singing a closing song, the words of which are "Tomorrow, tomorrow, what will they say?" punctuated by saying someone's name after the refrain. At the end they are singing: "NACP, what will you say?" Pewee is in the white shirt in the middle of the group. The second video is of everyone giving themselves Pewee's much more active version of a round of applause...

No, the work is not done. The strategy for expanding quality access to HIV prevention, care and treatment is a work in progress, but we—the staff of the NACP-- are, at least for the moment, tenuously moving forward in the same direction.

(Re: the video-- a disclaimer: I did it with my point and shoot camera and there's a bit too much panning around. At the end I am trying to show the setting of the retreat. It doesn't come out, but we are just above the beach overlooking the Atlantic. )