What is Country Ownership Anyway? Remarks by Ethiopian Minister of Health Tedros

The concept of country ownership has become increasingly visible in donor policy and strategy, yet definitions vary and there is little clarity and great diversity in how this concept is articulated and practiced by donor and recipient countries. Health experts from Ethiopia, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia will discuss why and how the U.S. government and host country actors--governments and civil society—are redefining their relationship. Our panelists will reflect on PEPFAR and other global AIDS programs in the last decade to suggest how the U.S. Global Health Initiative’s key principle of country ownership may be applied to achieve specific donor and host country objectives. Our panel will attempt to answer some key questions: What is the U.S government’s definition of country ownership and does this resonate with that of host country governments’? What are the objectives of country ownership? And what are the challenges to getting to a more shared definition and practice of this concept? (Delivered at the Center for Global Development, Monday, June 21, 2010 )