http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog MCC staff reports on MCC's impact en zolandzpr@mcc.gov Copyright 2010 2010-07-30T13:45:12+00:00 http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/celebrating-a-historical-partnership-and-prosperous-future1 http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/celebrating-a-historical-partnership-and-prosperous-future1#When:12:45:12Z Out in the Pacific Ocean is a country that has held close ties with the United States for 70 years. America’s friendship with Vanuatu began during World War II when American service men and women came to set up bases in Vanuatu MCA-Vanuatu, Blog Entry, Vanuatu, Compact, 2010-07-30T12:45:12+00:00 http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/on-the-ground-in-liberia http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/on-the-ground-in-liberia#When:02:23:51Z Last week I was fortunate to represent MCC at a signing ceremony kicking off MCC’s $15 million Threshold Program with the Government of Liberia.  Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and a bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation led by Rep. David Price and Rep. David Dreier, representing the U.S. House Democracy Partnership, also attended the signing ceremony, which took place in Monrovia.  We were also pleased to have Rep. Donald Payne participate in the ceremony as a long-time supporter of African development and MCC. Blog Entry, Lesotho, Signing Ceremony, Threshold, Africa, Education, 2010-07-15T02:23:51+00:00 http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/the-fine-print-impressions-from-the-field http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/the-fine-print-impressions-from-the-field#When:13:12:10Z Earlier this month, I spent three days getting a firsthand look at MCC’s investments in Honduras.  The MCC-funded program there will end in September, so most activities are almost finished.  MCA-Honduras, Foreign Aid, Results, Blog Entry, Honduras, Compact, Latin America, Agriculture, Infrastructure, Transportation, 2010-06-23T13:12:10+00:00 http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/agents-of-changetangible-results-in-honduras http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/agents-of-changetangible-results-in-honduras#When:11:17:31Z On Friday April 23, 2010, MCA-Honduras, the local entity implementing Honduras’s MCC compact, informed several stakeholders about the results from investments made in the Aguan Valley in northern Honduras. The results were shared at the inauguration of one of the three secondary roads that are being rehabilitated with MCC funds. U.S. Citizens, MCA-Honduras, Blog Entry, Honduras, Compact, Latin America, Agriculture, 2010-05-03T11:17:31+00:00 http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/book-by-book-namibias-mcc-compact-begins-to-show-results http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/book-by-book-namibias-mcc-compact-begins-to-show-results#When:11:33:47Z Namibia’s MCC compact, signed in July 2008, includes MCC’s largest education project, which is designed to improve the quality of Namibia’s education system.  One of the substantial challenges Namibia is trying to address is a lack of textbooks for many of its students, particularly those in rural areas, where as many as five students share one textbook. Foreign Press, U.S. Citizens, MCA-Namibia, Blog Entry, Namibia, Education, Poverty Reduction, 2010-04-27T11:33:47+00:00 http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/world-water-day http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/world-water-day#When:20:06:29Z When World Water Day was first celebrated in 1993, some 5.3 billion people lived on the planet.  Of these, 512 million lived in sub-Saharan Africa, where only 49 and 26 percent, respectively, had access to an improved water source and sanitation facility. Blog Entry, Armenia, Burkina Faso, Lesotho, Mali, Moldova, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania, Africa, Water Supply and Sanitation, 2010-03-22T20:06:29+00:00 http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/gender_equality_in_lesotho-2 http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/gender_equality_in_lesotho-2#When:12:54:12Z On February 26, 2010, we went to several villages in the northern region of Lesotho to witness the progress of the country’s $362.5 million MCC compact, in particular how the Gender Equality Project is building understanding and support for changes resulting from the Legal Capacity of Married Persons Act of 2006. MCA-Lesotho, Gender, Blog Entry, Lesotho, Africa, 2010-03-08T12:54:12+00:00 http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/effectively-engaging-the-private-sector http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/effectively-engaging-the-private-sector#When:14:58:31Z This week more than 167 companies attended a procurement conference and heard about contracting opportunities arising from projects funded by Millennium Challenge Corporation compacts. Procurements, Blog Entry, Zambia, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Tanzania, Africa, Education, Health, Transportation, Water Supply and Sanitation, 2010-03-04T14:58:31+00:00 http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/guyana-advancing-its-business-climate http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/guyana-advancing-its-business-climate#When:14:56:31Z In August 2007, MCC launched a $6.7 million Threshold Program with the Guyanese Government to support the country’s ambitious competitiveness strategy and reform plan focused on overcoming fiscal challenges, strengthening the procurement system, and creating an efficient business registration process. Investment, Blog Entry, Guyana, Anti-Corruption, Threshold, Latin America, Finance and Enterprise Development, 2010-02-25T14:56:31+00:00 http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/seeing-sustainable-results-in-nicaragua http://www.mcc.gov/pages/povertyreductionblog/entry/seeing-sustainable-results-in-nicaragua#When:22:28:23Z As the Resident Country Director in Nicaragua, I have seen firsthand how the quality of life of the poor has improved because of MCC development assistance that emphasizes country-led and country-implemented solutions. Blog Entry, Nicaragua, Compact, Latin America, Community Services, Education, Transportation, Income Increases, Poverty Reduction, 2010-02-16T22:28:23+00:00