afrol News, 22 October - The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Resident Country Directors from Africa, Eurasia, and Central America have highlighted progress on poverty reduction programmes supported by the US government.

This was said during a forum hosted by the MCC, which was a review of progress to date on MCC compact programmes and best practices in poverty reduction through economic growth. The group focused on MCC’s pace of compact implementation, with a total of almost $1 billion disbursed for projects to date, and another $2 billion in contract commitments.

“MCC knows that smart US assistance depends on expertise in the field. That’s why MCC brings together resident country staff from its 19 partner countries, to share best practices and ideas,” said MCC Acting Chief Executive Officer Darius Mans. “With the majority of countries in full programme implementation, it is critical to ensure that MCC leadership in the field is properly equipped with the skills, resources, and knowledge to further promote growth, open markets, and raise the standard of living for the world’s poorest people,” he added.

MCC resident country directors and deputy resident country directors from Armenia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, El Salvador, Georgia, Ghana, Honduras, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mali, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nicaragua, Senegal, Tanzania, and Vanuatu were in attendance.

The resident country staff discussed best practices in development including policy improvement strategies, measuring results and programme impact, anti-fraud and corruption activities, capacity building, donor coordination, and procuring international contracts.

To date, MCC has signed 19 development assistance grants, totaling nearly $7 billion. Successful implementation depends on local counterparts. In each MCC partner country, a resident country director and deputy resident country director are assigned to oversee the local Millennium Challenge Account team implement its five-year poverty reduction compact. The in-country MCC staff help ensure that US taxpayers dollars are spent judiciuosly and that measureable results are being met throughout the compact term.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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