History

From its inception in 2001  to the end of the grant in 2011, the LDM program made consistent progress toward realizing its overall aim of building and sustaining a critical core of well-trained, emerging and established leaders who have the vision, commitment, knowledge and skills to improve the delivery of family planning and reproductive health services in the focus countries. Leadership Fellows were selected and matched with both domestic and international training programs to enhance their leadership, reproductive health and family planning skills.

The first three years of the LDM program focused in eight countries: Ethiopia, India, Mexico, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines and Sudan. From 2004 to 2011, the program concentrated on a reduced number of focus countries selected by the Packard Foundation: Ethiopia, Nigeria, India, Pakistan and the Philippines.

Recognizing the need to balance global gender inequalities, special emphasis was placed on identifying and recruiting women into the program. Priority was also placed on emerging leaders, as they represent the leaders of tomorrow’s population programs. Expanding media professionals’ leadership in reproductive health was also critical to the program’s early success because of their ability to both lead and influence local policy and social norms.

Supported by talented and dedicated LDM staff on-the-ground in each of the countries, Leadership Fellows were also given opportunities to participate in follow-up activities such as customized training workshops, study tours, and national and regional gatherings. Each of these opportunities served as a valuable foundation for network building.

In 2006, all Leadership Fellows from the Packard Foundation's other leadership grantees, the International Health Programs (IHP), University of Washington (UW), and the Visionary Leadership Program (VLP), were invited into the LDM network. This brought the network to over 1300 Leadership Fellows. With this consolidation, the LDM program also moved from a focus on individual leadership to one of collective action. Nurturing and sustaining strong networks of Leadership Fellows as platforms for learning and action became a key program component.

To support the long-term sustainability of leadership development, the LDM program focused on supporting the institutionalization of leadership and reproductive health programs at various levels within each country.