Inside the Recently Launched MCC: Government of Lesotho Launches $300 Million Health and Horticulture Compact
The U.S. government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), represented by Deputy Chief Executive Officer Chidi Blyden, celebrated the launch of the Health and Horticulture Compact today in Lesotho. This $300 million initiative, further bolstered by an additional $22 million from the government of Lesotho, aims to transform the nation’s healthcare and agricultural sectors.
The Health and Horticulture Compact is designed to enhance access to quality healthcare, create equitable business development opportunities, and invest in high-value crop production. Additionally, the compact seeks to boost profits and formal employment, while providing women and youth with skills training, business development opportunities, and better legal protections in land tenure.
“MCC and Lesotho have enjoyed a 20-year partnership. I am inspired by the Government of Lesotho’s commitment to reach this moment and write a new chapter in our longstanding relationship,” said Blyden. “Together, we will embark on the implementation phase of the compact to achieve our shared vision of growing the Lesotho economy with a healthy workforce and sustainable jobs.”
During her three-day visit, Blyden met with Prime Minister Sam Matekane, Deputy Prime Minister Nthomeng Majara, and Finance Minister Retselisitsoe Matlanyane. She thanked them for their support and recognized the Government of Lesotho’s efforts to make the Health and Horticulture program launch possible. Blyden also visited future project sites and spoke with stakeholders from the agriculture and health sectors to gain insight into the program.
“We have just accomplished a major milestone that ushers the implementation of the second compact funded by the Governments of Lesotho and the United States of America,” said Prime Minister Matekane. “The job creation potential of the Horticulture project alone is estimated at 4,000 jobs, not to mention the indirect jobs that will be created through packaging supplies, logistics, cold chain activities, and the processing of the output.”
The Health and Horticulture Compact is comprised of three key projects:
- Health Systems Strengthening Project:
- Aims to improve primary healthcare services and standards of care.
- Seeks to enhance healthcare financial and management systems.
- Plans to work with the Ministry of Health to modernize health data systems.
- Market Driven Irrigated Horticulture Project:
- Focuses on increasing rural incomes through climate-smart irrigation infrastructure.
- Attracts commercial farmers to collaborate with local small-holder farmers.
- Supports government reforms and capacity-building to ensure sustainable growth of the horticulture sector.
- Business Environment and Technical Assistance Project:
- Plans to increase profits for high-growth potential firms, including those owned by women and youth.
- Supports growth in key productive sectors like agriculture, creative industries, manufacturing, and tourism.
- Provides technical assistance, business development services, and linkages to financing opportunities.
- Offers grant funding for select women- and youth-owned businesses to purchase equipment, goods, and facilitate business plan implementation.
The Lesotho Health and Horticulture Compact builds on the success of MCC’s previous compact with the Government of Lesotho, a $362.5 million grant that closed in September 2013. That grant helped fund one of the largest infrastructure improvement projects in Lesotho’s history, the Metolong Dam, expanding access to clean water for the people of Lesotho. The previous compact also provided an estimated 752,000 people access to basic healthcare through the construction and rehabilitation of 138 health facilities and 14 outpatient departments, representing 90% of the health facilities throughout the country. These facilities serve as platforms for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) to mitigate the negative economic impacts of poor maternal health, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and other diseases.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation is an independent U.S. government development agency working to reduce global poverty through economic growth. Created in 2004, MCC provides time-limited grants that pair investments in infrastructure with policy and institutional reforms to countries that meet rigorous standards for good governance, fighting corruption, and respecting democratic rights.
