We have so much to learn from schoolchildren.  Their curiosity and imagination have never ceased to intrigue and impress me during my service as U.S. Ambassador and, more recently, as Millennium Challenge Corporation CEO.  One of the most gratifying aspects of this job has been the chance to talk with young people in some of the 35 countries where we are partnering to reduce poverty.  My visit to Ghana late last month was a particularly poignant reminder of the huge investment that the United States is making in education around the world.

Education is a major driver of economic growth, which is at the heart of a sound antipoverty strategy.  Last month in Ghana, I participated in the commissioning ceremony for one of the hundreds of schools that will be renovated or built through Ghana’s $547 million MCC compact.  In the joy of the children and the enthusiasm of the teachers, we can already see how our investments in education are making a difference.  Investing in education enhances future earnings and employment opportunities for students, while contributing to overall economic growth and poverty reduction.  In addition to Ghana, MCC grants support educational programs in Burkina Faso, El Salvador, Mongolia, Morocco, Niger, and Namibia.

I was also in Ghana to preside over the groundbreaking of a major road project, together with President Kufuor.  Funded through Ghana’s MCC compact, the rehabilitation of this critical transportation route from the capital of Accra to the port of Tema will help farmers get their products to the marketplace in a quicker, more cost-efficient manner.  Having pineapples or mangos, for example, sit on the back of a lorry for three hours on their way to markets wastes time and fuel and shortens the fruit’s shelf-life.  This new roadway will transform Ghana’s agriculture sector and help fuel sustainable economic growth.  I am proud of these tangible results unfolding in our partner countries worldwide.  Investments in infrastructure are essential to the very real needs for development our partners themselves have identified as vital for long-term growth and prosperity.

Our partners also consistently identify secure and efficient access to land as critical for sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction.  We have seen our partners invest their MCC grants in ways to promote improved legal frameworks, more client service-oriented property registries, and formal recording of land rights in selected communities.  To further discuss the importance of secure land tenure for the poor, I welcomed Ron Terwilliger, Chairman of the Board for Habitat for Humanity International, to MCC last Thursday for a standing-room only event to delve into the “housing crisis that no one is talking about”-the issue of secure land tenure for the world’s poor.

Investments in education, infrastructure, and land tenure are making a difference in ways that matter to the poor.  MCC looks forward to advancing this progress under the Obama-Biden administration.  We encourage the new administration and congressional representatives, from both parties, to continue the fight to end global poverty through sustainable and results-based programs like MCC.  Given today’s global economic concerns, we recognize the increased importance of investing every dollar of taxpayers’ money wisely when it comes to foreign aid.  MCC remains committed to making smart and innovative investments in countries that are focusing on positive policy reform and delivering tangible results in the fight against poverty.

In the end, fighting global poverty is about good policies, not politics.   It is a fight based on partnership.  Our partners know this; and we know this.  MCC’s effective, results-driven collaboration with partner countries to replace poverty with prosperity is something we can all be proud of as Americans and as responsible and concerned citizens of an increasingly connected world.

The boardroom at the General Electric Company at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City is a long way from villages in Ghana or rural communities in El Salvador. I was reminded this week, however, that the expertise, technologies, and resources of corporate America are important bridges to these faraway places. The private sector offers exciting, real options for growth for the poorest people of these countries, and MCC is partnering with the private sector to make our mutual efforts more effective and take this responsibility to heart. MCC signed an agreement with GE to explore areas of mutual cooperation and ways to leverage financing and technical know-how to help MCC countries find long-term solutions for reducing poverty and sustaining growth. From clean air and water technologies to corporate best practices, GE is willing to help our partners maximize their MCC funding to fulfill their own development priorities. GE Vice Chairman and CFO Keith Sherin and I spoke to a group of business leaders and opinion makers about the urgency for private sector engagement. MCC’s approach to foreign assistance—using a results-driven, corporate model —is encouraging the private sector to move beyond “charity” to a strong sense of corporate social responsibility in developing countries where they do business. I hope others will join the growing list of corporations that are engaging with our MCC partner countries. We’re creating a conversation about how these companies can and should provide the technologies, employment opportunities, and investments that will make MCC’s roads, bridges, ports, schools, and irrigation projects something that is much more than just stand-alone infrastructure. With the private sector’s involvement, they become real opportunities for sustainable development.

MCC countries must demonstrate a commitment to democracy to be eligible for our grant funding. Democracy is multifaceted—it’s not just about elections or governance—and we believe that well functioning democratic institutions provide an environment that leads to sustainable economic growth. Last week, MCC hosted an expert panel at our Washington headquarters to address this issue and to look at the links between a free press and economic growth. Our panelists agreed that raising the profile of this important issue is a cornerstone of what MCC helps partner countries strive for, and achieve. Keeping corruption in check requires a free press that can investigate, uncover, and report. Only when the press functions as a viable, independent institution can it truly fulfill its role in society. MCC programs in developing countries are training journalists, strengthening institutions that fight corruption, increasing transparency, and helping build democracies.

MCC continues to bring people around the table to talk about global poverty. Earlier this week while in New York to sign the memorandum of understanding with GE, I was reminded of how much interest there is in the United States to address this problem. From prominent members of the Philippine-American community, to business leaders, to the media, to promising students at places like Manhattan’s Hunter College, we are a nation that takes development assistance seriously. The U.S. taxpayer investment that MCC represents is a symbol of this commitment, but so is the urgency with which the private sector in America—through philanthropic efforts, involvement in critical issues like gender, the environment, human rights, and increased investment—has taken on this responsibility. Poverty is a problem that merits this serious contribution from public and private sector America, and MCC is proud to be part of this conversation and commitment.

(Technical edits were made to this post on April 9, 2008 at 5:13 p.m. —Ed.)