The Foreign Service Journal, May 2017

24 MAY 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL cent—of health programming. Moreover, nearly every element of the mission was engaged in health—PEPFAR, USAID and the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, of course, but also every one of our 250 Peace Corps volunteers, ultimately our Mil- lennium Challenge Corporation compact and even our Defense Attaché Office. I recall commenting at my first meeting with the country team, “The main thing we do in this country is health.” But we did face challenges. Our engagement with the Zam- bian government was in crisis. A recent scandal had poisoned relations between the government and the donor community. Despite our enormous life-saving investment in health, we could not even get an appointment with the minister of health. We successfully overcame the challenges in Zambia, and our experience doing so produced the following instructive take- aways on the value of health programming. u A Game Changer The sheer size of our health programs presented opportuni- ties to change the way people think. Our team looked for ways to break the cycle of mistrust with the Zambian government, and the PEPFAR programpresented an immediate opening. Our PEPFAR cycle called for signing a new bilateral Partnership Framework laying out our plans for the next five years, including planned U.S. funding. When I signed the deal on Nov. 4, 2010, with Zambian Minister of Finance and National Planning SitumbekoMusokot- wane andMinister of Health Kapembwa Simbao, the Zambians took our action as a renewed American commitment and a public statement of confidence in the bilateral relationship. All the papers ran photos of the signing ceremony. Soon we not only had access to the healthminister again, but Zambian President Rupiah Banda also opened his door to us. u A Team-Building Tool While nearly every agency and section of our embassy worked on health programs, it did not necessarily mean that they were always in sync. I tried to build a sense of a strong team by hosting monthly health-cluster meetings of all agencies, at which we tried to tackle challenges together. But the most effective tool for team-building came when we were offered the opportunity to pilot a new program focused on maternal mortal- ity: Saving Mothers, Giving Life. U.S. Global Health Initiative Director Lois Quam called me to propose the pilot, but she also offered our team the chance to help shape and guide the effort based on the realities we faced in Zambia. In one of the best team-building experiences I have had as a diplomat, we built cross-agency teams that fostered on-the- ground collaboration between key agencies. The leadership of USAIDMission Director Susan Brems and CDC Director Larry From left, Ambassador Mark C. Storella, Zambian Minister of Finance and National Planning Situmbeko Musokotwane, and Minister of Health Kapembwa Simbao shake hands on signing the PEPFAR framework in November 2010. U.S.EMBASSYLUSAKA