Ghana has been declared ineligible to receive aid from the U.S.-backed Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) for the fiscal year 2026 after being flagged under U.S. debt‑default restrictions, the MCC’s Candidate Country Report submitted to Congress reveals.
Under the relevant law — namely the debt‑default provision in Section 7012 of the FY 2025 U.S. State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act — countries with unresolved sovereign debt defaults or pending restructuring agreements are prohibited from receiving new U.S. foreign assistance. Ghana’s inclusion on the barred list is thus automatic under that legal framework.
Although Ghana satisfied the income and performance thresholds typically required for MCC eligibility, the legal restriction took precedence.
As a result, the country was among 18 nations disqualified from the 2026 candidate list despite otherwise qualifying on conventional criteria such as governance, economic policy or development metrics.
The MCC, established to support economic and infrastructure development via large-scale grants, historically financed major Ghanaian projects — including road construction, agricultural support and power-sector reforms.
In a statement summarising the outcome, the MCC is quoted as saying: “Ghana is ineligible to receive foreign assistance pursuant to the debt default restriction… pending a debt restructuring agreement.”
As of 2025, Ghana remains in the process of restructuring its external debt, following a default declared in 2022.
Although early progress has been made under bilateral agreements and negotiations with creditors, the process remains incomplete — leaving the country still under the default restriction.
The decision could hinder Ghana’s access to valuable development funds, potentially affecting planned infrastructure, social‑development, and investment programmes that usually rely on external support.
However, the MCC report leaves open the possibility that Ghana could regain eligibility in the future — if and when it successfully concludes its debt restructuring process and clears its arrears.
