Abstract

This issue brief is based on the findings from a questionnaire administered to Ministry of Health staff in the five Ministerial Leadership Initiative for Global Health (MLI) countries: Ethiopia, Mali, Nepal, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. The original objective of the questionnaire was to inform the Ministry of Health and Sanitation in Sierra Leone about the set-up of development assistance coordination for the health sector in other countries. However, through the process of data collection and analysis, it became apparent that the results of the study would have wider interest and potential application in other MLI countries, and beyond. 

The questionnaire collected information on issues related to the organization and management of aid coordination activities within the MLI countries, including the ways countries have chosen to define the roles and responsibilities of units in charge of coordinating aid activities, and the advantages and disadvantages of these types of arrangements.  This work provides a number of practical examples for ways that developing countries can turn global principles of aid harmonization and alignment into concrete action on the ground.