MCC and the President’s State of the Union address
Posted on February 15, 2013 by Daniel W. Yohannes, Chief Executive Officer
In the State of the Union address earlier this week, President Obama highlighted the urgent need to make progress in the world’s most impoverished countries. He spoke about empowering women and youth, helping communities feed and educate themselves and connecting more of the world’s poor to the opportunities of a thriving global economy. The President’s eloquent statement that “progress in the most impoverished parts of our world enriches us all” is what motivates much of MCC’s work as we partner with developing countries to reduce poverty through economic growth. Take for example the enormous strides MCC continues to make in advancing gender integration and food security for the world’s poor so that economic growth can be as inclusive and sustainable as possible.
I am also proud of the ways MCC supports the President’s agenda to boost American exports and create opportunity for American businesses. Our own economic prosperity is linked inextricably to economic prosperity around the world. MCC's goal is not only to lift poor countries out of poverty but also to create stable trading and investment partners for the United States over the long term. By making investments targeted at unlocking the constraints to growth in developing markets, MCC serves as a gateway to opportunity for local and American companies eager to invest, tap new consumers and grow. The day after the President’s State of the Union address, MCC hosted a number of private sector companies for a comprehensive discussion on finance, investment, trade, and collaboration opportunities throughout MCC partner countries.
The President also spoke about the need to “stand with citizens as they demand their universal rights, and support stable transitions to democracy.” MCC is already a strong catalyst for incentivizing policy reforms that help create an enabling environment for trade and investment. In addition, our focus on sound democratic governance and on standing up to corruption highlights MCC’s most distinctive approach to development: We only partner with those poor countries that have objectively demonstrated their commitment to sound policies focused on ruling justly, investing in their people and pursuing economic freedom.
The President’s vision for creating economic opportunity and well-being at home is furthered as we open markets and reduce poverty around the world. In pursuit of this vision, MCC will continue to contribute in tangible ways to advancing our common prosperity. By creating real change in the lives of the world’s poorest, focusing on markets of opportunity for trade, investment and job creation and supporting policy reforms that promote fundamental rights and values, we are doing our part at MCC to deliver on the President’s vision to “remember that today’s world presents not just dangers, not just threats, it presents opportunities.”
MCC hands over new blood transfusion center in Lesotho
Posted on February 14, 2013 by Alice Riedel, Lesotho Deputy Resident Country Director
I had the honor of taking part in handing over the newly constructed Lesotho Blood Transfusion Services Center last month. MCC invested in the new center—which is expected to collect 5,000 blood units in 2013, compared to 3,381 in 2008—to help improve health services in Lesotho.
The country’s former blood transfusion center was too small; it lacked proper equipment and operated from a rented property in Maseru that was not designed to provide transfusion services. The new center, part of MCC’s five-year, $363 million compact with Lesotho, provides a dedicated central facility for collecting and processing blood to supply nearby hospitals.
MCC also invested in a mobile blood collection vehicle that will collect and transfer blood to the new center for screening.
“The new center is a huge achievement for the Ministry of Health,” said Maleqhoa Nyopa, manager of the Lesotho Blood Transfusion Service.“We have been struggling to implement our activities effectively,” Nyopa said. “Now that we have been given this new building, which is bigger than the one we have been using, our work is going to improve tremendously. The building is large enough to allow us to store as much blood as possible, which will help save lives.”
In addition to this center, the compact’s Health Sector Project is designed to mitigate the negative economic impacts of poor maternal health, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and other diseases. MCC is strengthening Lesotho’s health care system through the construction of up to 138 health centers spread across the country, hospital outpatient departments, staff housing, and a central laboratory and residences to accommodate National Health Training College students.
The infrastructure investments are so numerous and complex and cover such a vast geographic area, that it can be difficult to remember the real impact in the lives of individual Basotho. A colleague’s friend who works in a hospital in Lesotho recently shared with me some of the challenges of managing the blood supply here. He told me that having enough blood to serve all patients is extremely challenging because of the testing required, given the 24 percent rate of HIV prevalence. He is confident that the new blood center, along with blood drives, will alleviate some of these challenges.
I am proud to be part of an initiative that is helping improve health care in Lesotho in practical ways like making sure that there is adequate blood supply when a woman needs an emergency operation while giving birth. We are leaving behind tangible results.
Toward a healthier Mongolia
Posted on February 14, 2013 by Tim Clary , Director, Division of Technical Services
For decades, most international health projects have focused on addressing communicable diseases that were major causes of morbidity and mortality in developing countries.
But now, many countries are facing a double burden as non-communicable diseases and injuries (NCDIs) have become more prevalent. More than five years ago, when the Government of Mongolia chose to focus on NCDIs as part of its MCC compact, it probably did not foresee that it would become a leader in providing lessons for other countries seeking to address NCDI issues.
The compact’s $39 million Health Project, geographically covers the entire country and 95 percent of the Mongolian population. It addresses the issue of NCDIs through a multi-pronged approach and on several different technical levels.
Last month, I visited Clinical Hospital No. 3 in Ulaanbaatar, where compact funds will be used to refurbish and provide equipment to help the hospital become the nation’s primary center for diagnosing, caring for and treating Mongolians suffering from strokes and acute myocardial infarctions. In Khentii aimag, I visited hospitals that typically provide primary care services and that now provide both secondary and tertiary health care, such as diagnosing cervical cancer and providing ongoing treatment for diabetes and hypertension. At both levels, health care providers have received extensive training on NCDIs, ranging from emergency care to counseling patients on healthy lifestyles and behaviors. This helps the community by preventing diseases which will help them live longer and healthier lives.
Compact funds have also been used to sponsor a small grants program in the community so NGOs, private clinics and non-health organizations (such as elementary and secondary schools) can receive funding for innovative ideas to support the reduction in NCDIs.
Policy changes and partnerships for sustainable change.
Fundamental to the support for health care workers and their patients have been policy changes within the public and private sectors. Millennium Challenge Account-Mongolia has worked with the Government of Mongolia to revise tobacco and alcohol laws, as well as establishing a health promotion fund to address NCDIs.
Within the private sector, MCA-Mongolia has worked with organizations such as Talkh-Chikher bakery to reduce the salt content within its Atar bread, Mongolia’s leading brand of bread.
The main lesson from my site visit to the Talkh-Chikher bakery in Ulaanbaatar is that advocacy is bringing change.
A weekend to remember
Posted on January 22, 2013 by Daniel W. Yohannes , Chief Executive Officer
Albert Einstein once said, “Only a life lived in the service to others is worth living.” I couldn’t help thinking about this correlation over the course of this past weekend. As millions gathered in Washington, D.C.—or watched from around the country and world—Americans marked a peaceful presidential inauguration that demonstrates the proudest American traditions of democracy and public service. The fact that the inauguration coincided with the commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day reminded us of the extraordinary power that we all can have to stand up, get involved and generate meaningful change through acts of genuine service in ways both big and small.
This commitment to service defined the weekend.
Saturday’s National Day of Service saw record attendance at the Service Summit on the National Mall. I was so pleased that the Millennium Challenge Corporation had a booth at the Service Summit, along with other federal agencies and over 100 service organizations from across the country. Those who visited the MCC table learned more about our unique approach to economic development. We value our partnerships with the world’s poor because we recognize that our own prosperity and economic strength here at home are linked to the prosperity and economic strength of countries around the world.
I was also pleased to join USAID Administrator Raj Shah for a service project at the DC Armory. There, I joined other volunteers in an effort to assemble 100,000 care kits for members of the military, veterans, those wounded in service, and first responders. It was humbling to contribute in such a small, yet meaningful, way to those who exemplify the best principles of selfless service.
Serving others and doing our part to make our families, communities, country, and world better is more than a cliché. It is what truly motivates so many of us working in government and in international development. When I report to work each day, MCC’s dedicated and passionate employees remind me of this reality. Their stories are proof that lives lived in service to others can make all the difference in the world.
Celebrating Ghana’s presidential inauguration
Posted on January 8, 2013 by Daniel W. Yohannes , Chief Executive Officer
Yesterday, I had the great honor of representing the American people at the inauguration of John Dramani Mahama as Ghana’s next president. President Barack Obama asked me to lead our country’s official delegation to the inauguration. It was a privilege to stand alongside the other delegation members--U.S. Ambassador to Ghana Gene Cretz, Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Donald Teitelbaum—and witness a peaceful transition of power in Ghana.
Ghanaians traveled from every corner of Ghana to participate in Monday's inauguration; some arrived as early as Sunday night in order to secure a coveted place in Independence Square. In his inauguration speech, President Mahama talked about how a farmer named Tetteh-Quarshie introduced the cocoa bean to Ghana, and today Ghana is the second largest cocoa exporter in the world. The president’s point was that every Ghanaian can contribute in a meaningful way to Ghana’s economic development.
I am proud that MCC too played a part in furthering Ghana’s economic development goals. I had been to Ghana previously to assess progress on MCC’s $547 million compact partnership with the country and later to celebrate that compact’s successful completion. The strong political will to deliver on the compact’s promise for sustainable development that would improve the lives of Ghanaians impressed me from the start. As Ghana continues to work on a second MCC compact under the Mahama administration, I welcome this level of engagement and dynamic leadership.
Meeting with President-elect Mahama right before his inauguration as well as with Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Dr. Kwabena Duffour during my brief stay in Accra reaffirmed such engagement. I remain encouraged and excited by the commitment to inclusive economic growth and self-sufficiency these leaders envision for Ghana. President Mahama said that the U.S.-Ghana relationship is close and he is looking forward to making it even closer. His administration is hoping to keep Ghana’s economy growing at 8 or 9 percent per year between 2013 and 2016. This will require investments in areas such as infrastructure and energy (the focus of a proposed second MCC compact) as well as agriculture (the focus of Ghana’s first MCC compact) in order to create opportunities for Ghana’s youth.
As the United States prepares for our own presidential inauguration later this month, I recognize that the freedom to choose our leaders and hold them accountable is what unites so many of us around the world in a journey toward democratic values, pluralism and civil liberties. Witnessing what happened in Ghana on Monday with President Mahama’s inauguration affirms our common humanity united by such shared principles.
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