When ownership is local and national, and various stakeholders work together, program innovations have a greater chance to take root and survive.

I would like to make it possible for many women and men in Latin America to win the lottery and receive the type of reproductive health services they so urgently need.

There are hundreds, even thousands of remarkable pilot or experimental projects in all fields - in agriculture, health, education. But where do these pilots take us? Do they lead to change on a broader scale? If not, how can we ensure that they have broader impact?

Our practical purpose is to facilitate expansion of service innovations on a larger scale to improve access to, and the quality of reproductive health care. We are very grateful to have received support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to continue our work.

It really pains me greatly to hear from graduate students that graduate education is a lower priority here.

One of the things we have learned in the first year is that if you want to scale-up, the first thing you have to do is to expand your own team.

Major changes become possible if you work in a participatory manner, listen to local people, diagnose what the problems are, provide training and identify where there are opportunities for mobilizing local resources to take action.