Message from Access Project Founder and Director Josh Ruxin

During my first trip to Africa in 1987 at the age of 17, I was struck by both the severity of health challenges and the inadequate public sector response. During the succeeding years I saw that one of the fatal flaws in public health programming was a lack of management expertise. In spite of the rising tide of financing for public health and AIDS programs, in particular during the late 1990s, there was not a corresponding improvement in management capacity for delivering key health interventions to the poor. When the Global Fund started in 2002, Rob Glaser and I were both struck by the ambition of the venture — to deliver billions of dollars for public health — against the overwhelmingly low capacity for planning and strategy on the ground. The result was the Access Project: an initiative to deliver private sector management skills to those in charge of the strategy and implementation of new, massive public health programs.

Message from Access Project co-founder Rob Glaser,
CEO, RealNetworks

If you make Rwanda a better place, you haven’t solved all the world’s problems, but you have demonstrated that the problems can be solved. There are three reasons why I am excited about Rwanda. First, the government is very progress-oriented and pragmatic. Second, Rwanda is a small enough country, with about nine million people, so you have a feeling you can actually make a difference. Finally, the legacy of the 1994 genocide creates a moral imperative to work there. Using business savvy, I’ve backed about $7 million in grants to improve the lives of desperately poor people. It always takes a little longer than you think, but I think we’re moving the needle.