Successful maternal and child health programs have demonstrated that when US foreign assistance is paired with domestic financial commitments the US is able to play a catalytic role in helping governments lead their own strategies. In this issue brief, PATH lays out three instances when civil society and advocacy groups empowered citizens in DRC, Kenya, and Uganda to take ownership of their maternal and child health agendas. These stories are powerful examples for the US Agency for International Development as it works to define how it will accelerate and measure progress along the journey to self-reliance.