“It’s Not Over Yet.”

In our last episode, Ben Eveslage described what happened when U.S. global assistance suddenly stopped. Programs froze, but local partners kept showing up. Community organizations, peer educators, community volunteers, and community health workers were the ones who held things together when everything else fell away.

This episode with Mananza Koné, USAID Côte d’Ivoire’s first Localization Officer, helps explain why that was possible. Known as “Mama Localization,” she spent years strengthening the systems, trust, and leadership that helped local organizations in Côte d’Ivoire expand their programs and deepen their impact as they partnered with USAID. Her work shows what it looks like when investments are made not just in projects, but in people and the systems they carry.

When the funding ended, it was those community networks that kept care moving. The referral system, made up of volunteers and community health workers who made sure people got to the clinic, received medication, kept appointments, and stayed in care, continued on even with little to no pay or support. It is exactly the kind of community-driven structure localization was meant to reinforce and one that proved its strength when everything else fell apart.

Listening to Ben and Mananza together shows both sides of this moment. Ben saw the resilience of local partners in real time. Mananza helped build the foundation that made that resilience possible. Her message is clear. The talent, systems, and networks built over decades still exist. They are not a waste, and now is the time to listen to communities, invest in them, and invest in the systems that have proven to endure.

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