Big reforms don’t live or die with ministers alone. They depend on the machinery beneath them. In Episodes 1 and 2, I traced the early journey of debt-for-health swaps in Sierra Leone: from first hearing about the tool, to testing its relevance, to earning political attention from the Minister of Health and the Ministry of Finance. In Episode 3, the story shifts. A new Minister of Finance steps in. A workshop gathers technocrats, partners, and experts who co-shape the proposal. And what began as a single idea becomes a multi-stakeholder effort with staying power. We explore: How leadership transitions can both test and strengthen reforms Why workshops and co-creation build credibility that outlasts personalities What lessons Sierra Leone drew from Antigua and Barbuda’s experience with swaps And how the COVID-era Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) reframed global debt rules, creating space for new instruments like swaps Lesson learned: Ministers can open doors, but it’s the directors, deputies, and economists who keep reforms alive. Debt swaps don’t just need political will. They need a bureaucratic home.   #debtswap #debtfinancing

In Episode 1 of Centers & Margins, I explored why debt swaps caught my attention as a possible tool for expanding Sierra Leone’s fiscal space for health. But moving from an idea to something real required testing the waters with those who mattered most. In this episode, I share how we took those early steps: learning from the Global Fund’s experience across 12 countries, engaging the Minister of Health, navigating initial hesitation from a senior member of cabinet, and eventually securing buy-in from the Minister of Finance and his team. These conversations were not always straightforward. They revealed concerns about optics, institutional capacity, and political economy but they also showed what it takes to shift a financing idea from theory into a credible reform pathway. Join me as I reflect on what it means to build momentum for reform in real political contexts and the lessons I have carried forward about listening, framing, and persistence.

Welcome to Centers and Margins,  A podcast where we systematically unpack policy discussions from the engine room of reform. From global financing tools to the gritty realities of local politics, we explore what it really takes to move ideas from concept to implementation.  Episode One introduces the origin story of debt2health swap in Sierra Leone, the concerns about the viability of the instrument for the country and lessons from the very early stages of reform.  Hosted by Dr. Nkechi Olalere, a health financing and systems advisor with over two decades of experience across the private and development sectors, we dive deep into global health, systems-level change, and leadership, bringing perspective and grounded realities to the conversation.

Welcome to Centers and Margins,  A podcast where we systematically unpack policy discussions from the engine room of reform. From global financing tools to the gritty realities of local politics, we explore what it really takes to move ideas from concept to implementation. Each episode draws lessons from working at the intersection of policy, politics, and systems change where human capital ambitions meet the constraints of fiscal space, governance, and political economy.  Hosted by Dr. Nkechi Olalere, a health financing and systems advisor with over two decades of experience across the private and development sectors, we dive deep into global health, systems-level change, and leadership, bringing perspective and grounded realities to the conversation.