RAND is an independent, nonprofit institution that helps improve policy and decisionmaking through research and analysis. For more than 60 years, RAND has been expanding the boundaries of human knowledge. With a research staff consisting of some of the world's preeminent minds, RAND keeps policymakers ahead of the curve on the issues that matter most, such as health and health care, education, national security, civil justice, the environment, and more. No other institution tackles tough policy problems across so broad a spectrum.

A multidisciplinary approach is a hallmark of RAND research. RAND expertise provided to the Leadership for Health Summit includes researchers with backgrounds in global health policy, education, and international relations, and includes behavioral scientists, medical doctors, economists and anthropologists. RAND has assisted USDFA and African Synergy in shaping the dialogues that take place in connection with the Leadership Summit.

In 2004, GE created a $20 million product donation program to improve healthcare delivery in rural African communities. The program, now branded "Developing Health Globally", has since expanded to Latin America and South Asia as a $30 million commitment. It draws on GE employees' expertise and engagement to provide a sustainable, systems-solution approach to gaps that exist in rural healthcare facilities today. Solutions comprised of products from GE's Energy, Water, Healthcare, and Consumer and Industrial businesses are installed in selected hospitals and clinics with adequate training provided on equipment operation, use, repair and maintenance. In Africa, GE has extended this Citizenship program to district hospitals and clinics across 10 African nations including ongoing work in Ghana, and new facilities in Mali, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi, Senegal, Uganda, Ethiopia, and Nigeria.

P&G’s Children's Safe Drinking Water program helps address the critical need for clean drinking water by use of PUR™ Purifier, a simple, household-level water treatment technology that can take the filthiest drinking water and make it safe to drink. P&G is committed to long-term, not-for-profit provision of PUR™ in the developing world, with a specific focus on Africa, in an effort to reduce illness and death, particularly in children.

P&G's Children’s Safe Drinking Water program is executed using two main approaches in Africa: a) disaster response and b) sustained social markets. P&G and its partners currently have established social marketing programs in Uganda, Malawi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Cote d'Ivoire, and are starting programs in Sudan and Tanzania in 2009. These programs include educational initiatives throughout schools, health clinics and government health programs. P&G hopes to expand the Children’s Safe Drinking Water programs in additional Africa countries over the next several years.

The WHO Department of Making Pregnancy Safer (MPS) helps to improve maternal and newborn health and survival, assists countries to ensure skilled care throughout pregnancy and childbirth, and strengthens national health systems in order to achieve Millennium Development Goal 5 as well as MDG 4 and 6. The main objective is to reduce maternal and newborn mortality and morbidity by improving health and survival significantly by 2015. WHO's involvement in this summit will follow up on its recent WHO Director-General's Roundtable with Women Leaders which took place on 25 September 2008. Many First Ladies from around the world, including Africa, were in attendance and all showed great concern in the little progress made in reducing maternal death since 1990. As the First Lady of Burkina Faso, H.E. Mrs Chantal Compaoré, stated, “alliances have to be forged with mothers and their families, with midwives and nurses, and with civil society.”

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation For 40 years, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation has tackled population and reproductive health challenges worldwide. The foundation is working toward a future where government, nongovernmental, and private sectors can join in helping all individuals to improve their reproductive health and fully exercise their reproductive rights through access to quality services. Programs in the foundation's focus countries of Ethiopia and Nigeria include strategies for:

1. Increasing the availability and quality of family planning and reproductive health services
2. Bringing reproductive health information and services to youth
3. Developing future leaders
4. Mobilizing resources and demand for family planning and reproductive health services through public education and advocacy
5. Supporting reproductive rights

ONE is a grassroots campaign and advocacy organization backed by more than 2 million members from around the world who are committed to the fight against extreme poverty and preventable diseases, particularly in Africa. ONE holds world leaders accountable for promises made to the poorest people and advocates for better policies and more effective aid and trade reform. The organization also supports greater democracy, accountability and transparency in developing countries so that these resources can be effectively deployed. For the Leadership for Health Summit, ONE is working to promote and cultivate the First Ladies’ work and leadership and to help develop sustainable relationships towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

Vital Voices Global Partnership was initiated in part by a First Lady, Hillary Clinton, during her term as First Lady of the USA. What began as an initiative of her office and the U.S. Inter-Agency Council on Women, grew into an international, nonpartisan network of women working together to improve our world. Vital Voices is now the premiere organization engaging the public and private sectors in efforts to promote the status and wellbeing of women worldwide. Vital Voices is an example of what can happen when a First Lady builds a lasting legacy.

Vital Voices will be running the "Building a Lasting Legacy" professional development workshop for the First Ladies during our summit. The purpose is to share proven strategies of an effective First Lady, so that the work of the African First Ladies continues to have impact beyond their term in office.

The White Ribbon Alliance is an international coalition focused on ensuring that pregnancy and childbirth are safe for all women and newborns in every country around the world. Their coalition is 111 countries strong.

Chevron has been actively involved in the struggle against HIV/AIDS for more than two decades working with employees, communities, local and national governments, NGOs, and the business sector.

Chevron is the first Corporate Champion of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria committing $30 million to strategically combat these diseases in Angola, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Africa and Thailand – all among the more than 100 countries where Chevron conducts business.

One of the first corporations to institute a worldwide company HIV/AIDS policy, Chevron has also trained over 23,000 employees to build awareness, educate and dispel myths about HIV/AIDS in order to help prevent new HIV infections and support those who are infected or affected. Chevron is a member of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS and a founding sponsor of Transatlantic Partners Against AIDS.

One of the cornerstones of ExxonMobil’s 125-year history has been contributing and building the capacity of people in the communities in which we operate, particularly in the areas of health and education. As a major investor in Africa, ExxonMobil witnesses first-hand the health and economic impacts of malaria on our workforce, their families and the communities where we operate. In 2000, the ExxonMobil Foundation launched the Africa Health Initiative, focused on African countries where it has significant operations. ExxonMobil has spent more than $50 million to help fund programs to fight malaria in 16 different African countries, becoming the largest non-pharmaceutical corporate donor to malaria research and development efforts.

The ExxonMobil Foundation’s Educating Women and Girls Initiative, launched in 2005, helps equip women in developing countries with the resources they need to fulfill their economic potential. Enabling women to enter and advance in their local economies will transform not only their lives but also those around them, resulting in stronger families, stronger communities and stronger nations. The ExxonMobil Foundation has committed grants totaling nearly $20 million for programs including the African Women Leaders as an Economic Force Initiative with Vital Voices; in-country programs in Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea and Nigeria; and leadership and skills development programs for women from 26 African countries.

Until There's A Cure is a national organization dedicated to eradicating HIV/AIDS by raising awareness and funds to combat this pandemic. Goals: to fund prevention education, care services, and vaccine development using The Bracelet as the tool. Until There’s A Cure is committed to:

Africare is a leading non-profit organization specializing in African development aid. It is the oldest and largest African-American led organization in that field. Since its founding in 1970, Africare has delivered more than $760 million in assistance and support — over 2,500 projects and millions of beneficiaries — to 36 countries Africa-wide. Africare has its international headquarters in Washington, DC, with field offices currently in some 25 African countries.