El Salvador Eligible for Second MCC Compact

On December 15, the U.S. Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Board of Directors met in Washington, DC to review progress on its country partnerships to reduce poverty around the world.  Following the meeting, MCC CEO Daniel W. Yohannes informed Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes that the Board had agreed to select El Salvador as eligible to develop a proposal for a second compact grant.

Eligibility for a second compact is not automatic. For those countries selected, a second compact will allow for deeper investment in poverty reduction and economic growth, which is consistent with MCCs mission. Countries must meet a higher hurdle to achieve second compact eligibility because MCC takes into account not only a country’s policy performance as measured by MCCs indicators, but also the effectiveness of implementation on its first compact.

The Board agreed that El Salvador and Benin were eligible to continue the process of developing compacts in fiscal year 2012. Since its inception in 2004, MCC has signed 24 development assistance compacts totaling over $8.7 billion.

MCC signed a 5-year, $461 million Compact with El Salvador in 2007, which will be completed in September 2012. The Compact seeks to improve the lives of Salvadorans through strategic investments in education, public services, enterprise development, and transportation infrastructure. The compact’s Human Development Project is designed to increase employment opportunities for the region’s poorest inhabitants and provide greater access to safe water and sanitation services.

Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is a U.S. government agency that works with developing countries. MCC assistance 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 help eliminate extreme poverty. For more information about MCC, visit www.mcc.gov.