MCC Approves Liberia and Timor-Leste Threshold Programs

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Board of Directors recently approved new threshold programs in Liberia and Timor-Leste.  These approvals come just ahead of the board’s quarterly meeting during which the MCC’s policy team will present a threshold program review.

Liberia has been approved for a three-year, $15 million threshold grant that will focus on land rights, girls’ education, and trade policy.  Liberia currently fails the MCC eligibility indicators in these focus areas, scoring in the 33^rd percentile on girls’ primary education completion, in the 5^th percentile on trade policy, and in the 4^th percentile on land rights.  Though Liberia currently scores below the median on 10 out of 17 indicators, Liberians chose these three focus areas as they mostly closely aligned with Liberia’s national development strategy.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf recently attended a reception in her honor on Capitol Hill with MCC CEO Daniel Yohannes, Senator Jack Reed, Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., and additional members of Congress.  At the ceremony, Mr. Yohannes noted:

When President Johnson Sirleaf visited the United States in 2008 she said Liberia was striving to meet MCC benchmarks in hopes of joining the MCC family. I am pleased to announce that MCC plans to partner with Liberia to help deliver stability and create the conditions for long-term economic growth.  We are looking forward to working with our colleagues in Congress and moving toward an official ceremony to sign the grant.

The MCC Board also approved a three-year, $10.5 million threshold program for Timor-Leste.  The program will assist Timor-Leste with its national childhood immunization strategy and with efforts to curb corruption.  In FY2010, Timor-Leste scored in the 15^th percentile in its immunization rates indicator and in the 21^st percentile on the control of corruption indicator.  According to Mr. Yohannes, “this program enhances Timor-Leste’s commitment to improve the health of its children and reduce corruption,” and “reliable health services and an environment of transparency and accountability are both essential to sustainable development.”

In FY2010 Timor-Leste moved from low income to lower middle income country, and, though this is its first grant, it has had a long history with the MCC.  Timor-Leste was selected as threshold eligible from FY2004-FY2005, was selected as compact eligible from FY2006-FY2008, and was re-selected as threshold eligible from FY2009-FY2010.

Both grants are currently undergoing a mandatory 15-day congressional notification period before they can be signed and implemented.