The website itself is organized around a 3-day event called Global Pulse 2010 (held on March 29-31) in which participants will take part in a series of online forums structured around addressing some of the key problems confronting the international community. Topics range from “Empowering Women and Girls” to “Promoting Global Health” to “Advancing Entrepreneurship, Trade & Economic Opportunity”.

You can register and learn more about Global Pulse 2010 here.

It’s a great, insightful piece. Give it a listen:

Now the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s CEO has weighed in on his blog, stating that the increase would allow the MCC to “pursue partnerships with Malawi, Indonesia, and Zambia, with the hope of signing compacts with each of these countries” as well as a second compact with Cape Verde.

You can read his full take here.

On a related note, Reuters has an interview with Daniel Yohannes in which he elaborates a bit more on corporate investments in developing nations. Worth a read.

Investment in the transportation, infrastructure, and agriculture sectors will enable Moldova to make the most of their agricultural production and use it to enhance economic growth. The high-value agriculture project is intended to increase production of and marketing opportunities for lucrative produce like fruits and vegetables. This project could help increase farmers’ incomes and generate opportunities in Moldova’s rural areas. Farmers could also benefit from improved access to credit as well as a technical assistance scheme co-financed by USAID, which will help farmers transition to higher-value agriculture, post-harvest processing, storage, and marketing.

The irrigation project is slated to repair 11 large irrigation systems which irrigate 15,500 hectares of land, while the road rehabilitation project includes repairs to a 93 kilometer stretch of highway that is a key link for passenger travel as well as trade.

Moldova previously completed an MCC Threshold program in which they focused on combating corruption in the country. As MCC CEO Daniel Yohannes mentioned, “I commend Moldova’s commitment to poverty reduction and economic development opportunities. Moldova’s MCC threshold program has already created an environment where innovative technologies, productivity, and increased access to markets can flourish. Now, with this Compact, MCC looks forward to deepening our partnership with the people of Moldova to foster long-term economic growth.”

Moldovan Prime Minister Filat commented that the Compact will greatly assist Moldova in moving from a difficult past towards a successful future.

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Investments in agricultural development are integral to MCC’s commitment to sustainable poverty reduction in rural Georgia. The Millennium Challenge Georgia Fund (MCG), implementing Georgia’s $395 million MCC compact, is nearing completion of the Agribusiness Development Activity (ADA), a $20 million program designed to strengthen commercial linkages among agricultural service providers, producers, processors, wholesalers/distributors, and markets. The 287 targeted matching grants already awarded to Georgian agribusinesses and farmers are supporting sustainable, long-term growth.

In addition to providing grants focused on enterprise and value chain development, MCG responded to a request from the Georgian Ministry of Agriculture to support the introduction of new agricultural machinery into the country by developing a new ADA component. The inability of small farmers to access machinery has been cited as a major constraint to agricultural development in Georgia. To meet the needs of Georgian farmers for increased mechanization of their agricultural techniques, MCG is providing grants up to $150,000 to a number of farm service centers. Over the past 4.5 years, ADA has focused, in part, on the creation of a privately-owned retail network of farm service centers to provide a complete range of agricultural goods and services for Georgian farmers.

You can read some background on Dr. Shah here and here.

We’ll be at the ceremony and will report back to you shortly after it’s concluded. Stay tuned!

You can read ONE’s analysis of this pick here and here.

The first half of his op-ed is below. You can read the full piece on the Roll Call site.

In most years, Senate deliberations over a nomination for administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, which leads American efforts to fight poverty and disease in the developing world, would pass without note.

Bill Frist, Special to Roll Call This year is different. American efforts to improve the lives of the world’s poorest people have never been so important. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted last week to refer the nomination of Dr. Rajiv Shah for USAID administrator to the floor for a full vote, which is expected soon. Dr. Shah should be confirmed without delay for three key reasons.

First, successful outcomes to our most pressing national security challenges, including the war in Afghanistan and instability in Pakistan, depend just as much on our ability to provide health services and economic opportunity to struggling people as on our combat operations or diplomatic efforts. Both President Barack Obama’s new Afghanistan strategy and the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Pakistan aid package make substantial new commitments based on this idea.

Second, the global fights against HIV/AIDS and other deadly diseases have reached a turning point. U.S.-led programs such as former President George W. Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, have helped poor families and communities move from a moment of crisis toward a moment of opportunity. We need to work twice as hard to maintain and build on this progress.

Third, the Obama administration and bipartisan Congressional leaders are in the midst of a transformative debate about how to make U.S. foreign assistance more effective and accountable. The unprecedented momentum in this debate is on the side of those who believe we need a new development strategy and a more efficient foreign assistance system that produces greater returns for recipients and taxpayers alike.

Read former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s full op-ed here.

At the event yesterday to discuss the Board’s decisions, we heard from new MCC CEO Daniel Yohannes, who was on his ninth day on the job. Yohannes outlined his priorities for the MCC: a renewed commitment to innovation, increasing private sector engagement, like leveraging MCC monies to generate additional funding, working effectively and efficiently with other U.S. agencies, and with country-governments to reform their economic policy.

A panel of MCC Vice Presidents further explained the Board’s decisions. Cape Verde was selected as eligible for a second compact. As one of the first countries to complete a compact, Cape Verde has demonstrated results. Cape Verde will pioneer the second-compact process, which is never a given for compact countries. Countries not only have to pass the indicators to be eligible for a second compact, but they have to have a proven track record for effective implementation, show early results from the first compact, and embrace policy changes that will enable further successes. The ambassador from Cape Verde spoke briefly, expressing gratitude for the second compact and determination to further poverty reduction and economic growth in Cape Verde.

Zambia, Jordan, Malawi, Indonesia, and the Philippines were deemed eligible to continue with their processes of compact development. Indonesia and the Philippines graduated from the low-income country category and did not pass the indicators in the new, more competitive, lower-middle income country category. Considering that there was no evidence of policy deterioration, and they would have met the targets in the low-income category, the Board approved them to continue with compact development. The Moldova compact was also recently approved, and will likely be signed early in 2010.

The Board voted to suspend the Threshold program in Niger due to significant policy reversals by the Government of Niger since the Threshold program began. The MCC will work with USAID, who are implementing the Threshold program, to responsibly wind-down the program. The Board did not select any new Threshold program partners, but Liberia and Timor Leste are in the process of finalizing their Threshold programs.

The Board also approved several new projects in the Mongolia compact. The government began working with the MCC to design an alternative energy program and road-rehabilitation project after it became clear that they would be unable to complete the rail project originally in the compact.

We here at ONE are very excited about working with the MCC—and their new CEO—in the New Year.