Threshold Countries
Six countries are currently receiving threshold program funding. No new countries were named threshold-eligible in FY2011 or FY2010.
Of the 23 countries named eligible, two had their eligibility suspended before starting a program. Mauritania underwent a coup in August 2008 and negotiations for their threshold program were subsequently suspended. Yemen, suspended in November of 2005 for a deterioration in performance on several indicators, had its threshold eligibility reinstated on February 14, 2007 due to its demonstrated commitment to reforms addressing indicator slippage. Currently, it is not threshold eligible. The MCC board of directors suspended Niger's threshold program on December 31, 2009 due to political events that were inconsistent with the criteria used to determine a country's eligibility for MCC assistance.
The following is a list of all 21 threshold countries with the fiscal year in which they were first deemed eligible in parentheses. Countries with approved Stage II threshold programs are marked with an asterisk (*).
Countries with threshold programs currently underway:
Albania* (2004)
Liberia (2009)
Paraguay* (2005)
Peru (2007)
Rwanda (2006)
Sao Tome and Principe (2004)
Timor-Leste (2004, 2009)
Countries with concluded threshold programs:
Burkina Faso (2005)
Guyana (2005)
Indonesia (2006)
Jordan (2006)
Kenya (2004)
Kyrgyz Republic (2006)
Malawi (2005)
Moldova (2006)
Niger (2007)
The Philippines (2006)
Tanzania (2004)
Uganda (2004)
Ukraine (2006, 2009)
Zambia (2005)
Threshold Program Funding and Allocation
To date, the MCC has funded twenty-three threshold programs worth over $495 million. The MCA's authorizing legislation allows for up to 10 percent of total MCA funds to be directed towards any country that "demonstrates a significant commitment to meet the [selection] requirements but fails to meet such requirements (including by reason of the absence or unreliability of data)." This clause is the basis for the threshold program which is usually administered through USAID in cooperation with the MCC.
Countries eligible for the threshold program are invited to submit funding proposals geared towards improving policy performance in areas that are constraints to economic growth. Visit the threshold program country pages to review each country's performance on the indicators.
MCA Threshold Program Focus by Country and Indicator
The MCC established the threshold program to improve the indicator rankings of those countries that are near eligibility and committed to reform. This chart shows, for each threshold country, which indicators failed at the time of threshold eligibility and what reforms the threshold program targets. All but four threshold programs (Burkina Faso, Guyana, Jordan, and Sao Tome and Principe) focused on the control of corruption.
With the MCC's revamped threshold program, individual country programs will now focus on improving policy performance in areas that are constraints to growth, rather than focus on improving indicator performance. The threshold program will target broad policy areas underlying the MCC eligibility indicators.