Millennium Challenge Corporation Board Names Fiscal Year 2006 Threshold Countries

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) selected a total of 13 countries to participate in the Threshold Program for fiscal year 2006. The Threshold Program is designed to assist countries that do not qualify but are close and are committed to undertaking the reforms necessary to improve policy performance that may eventually help them qualify for Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) Compact assistance.

The Board selected 13 countries to participate in the Threshold Program: Guyana, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyz Republic, Malawi, Moldova, Paraguay, Philippines, São Tomé and Principe, Ukraine, Uganda, and Zambia.

Since its establishment last year, MCC has signed Compacts with five nations, Madagascar, Honduras, Cape Verde, Nicaragua, and Georgia, totaling over $900 million. MCC is also actively engaging with other MCA-eligible countries in Compact negotiations and currently expects to sign three more within the next few months. Under the fiscal year 2005 Threshold Program, MCC has committed nearly $13 million to help improve girls' primary education in Burkina Faso and almost $21 million to help Malawians fight corruption. Additional threshold plans are in the final stages of completion and are expected to be received by MCC within the next few months.

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Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), a U.S. government corporation designed to work with some of the poorest countries in the world, is based on the principle that aid is most effective when it reinforces good governance, economic freedom, and investments in people that promote economic growth and elimination of extreme poverty.