In July 2008, the Millennium Challenge Corporation signed a five-year, $304.5 million compact with the Government of Namibia to reduce poverty and accelerate economic growth. The compact seeks to improve the quality of education and training for underserved populations, and attempts to capitalize on Namibia’s comparative advantages (e.g., large areas of semi-arid communal land suitable for livestock, and diverse wildlife and unique landscapes ideal for ecotourism) to increase the incomes of poor Namibians in the northern areas of the country.

For the most up-to-date information on implementation progress, please read the Quarterly Status Report.

This project will target investments to improve the economic performance of the livestock sector in the northern area of the country. The project aims to increase the productivity and profitability of livestock by strengthening the land tenure system, introducing improved rangeland and livestock management practices, and improving animal health services and livestock marketing efficiencies. This project will also support the growth of the indigenous natural products (INPs) sector. The Agriculture Project is comprised of the following activities: 

• Improve the communal land regime and introduce effective community-based rangeland and livestock management activities;
• Support the construction of five veterinary centers in the underserved Northern Communal Areas and rehabilitation of two quarantine camps in the Caprivi region; and
• Provide a livestock traceability system to improve herd management and market-entry requirements; and a market efficiency fund to alleviate challenges that are present in the current supply chain; and
• Assist in increasing the volume, quality, and value addition of the indigenous natural products that Primary Producer Organizations (PPOs) collect and harvest, and to advance PPOs operational and business capacity.

The Education Project seeks to improve the education sector’s effectiveness, efficiency and quality through infrastructure improvements, institutional strengthening, policy reform and targeted technical assistance to ensure sustainable results. This project is comprised of the following activities:

• Improve access to and management of textbooks;
• Construct Regional Study and Resource Centers in underserved areas in an effort to improve access to documentation, information resources, training materials and programs, and study facilities;
• Expand access to tertiary education through assisting the Ministry of Education in its efforts to establish a sustainable and more widely accessible tertiary and technical education finance system;
• Strengthen to the Ministry of Education’s HIV/AIDS Management Unit and develop HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention plans related to construction activities;
• Bolster the quality of general education through the improvement of infrastructure and equipment in approximately 47 primary and secondary school campuses; and
• Improve vocational and skills training through the establishment of a National Train­ing Fund within the Namibia Training Authority.

This project aims to improve the management and infrastructure of Etosha National Park, enhance the marketing of Namibian tourism, and develop the capacity of communal con­servancies to attract investments in ecotourism and capture a greater share of the revenue generated by tourism. Together, these activities will increase incomes and create employment opportunities for some of the poorest populations in Namibia, while conserving the natural resources that serve as the basis for the tourism industry. This project is comprised of the following activities:

• Improve the management capacity of Etosha National Park (ENP), promote private sector investment in tourism enterprises around the park, increase tourism revenue nationally;
• Increase tourist arrivals to Namibia by expanding marketing of Namibia as a tourist destination, developing and marketing local and regional tourism route packages, and developing a fully interactive website for the Namibia Tourism Board.
• Assist Namibia in building conservancy capacity to protect natural resources, attract investment, and achieve financial sustainability so that households in communal conservancy areas (or conservancies) can receive a greater share of revenues.