Debt Default Restriction Bars Ghana from Accessing Support under the Millennium Challenge Compact for 2026
Ghana has been declared ineligible to receive foreign assistance from the United States for the 2026 financial year under the Millennium Challenge Compact (MCC) programme.
This follows the application of the debt default restriction in section 7012 of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act (SFOAA), which applies pending the conclusion of a debt restructuring agreement.
The restriction was detailed in the Millennium Challenge Corporation’s (MCC) Candidate Country Report for FY2026.
“Ghana is ineligible to receive foreign assistance pursuant to the debt default restriction in section 7012 of the FY 2025 SFOAA pending a debt restructuring agreement,” the report stated.
It added that Ghana is among 18 countries considered as candidate countries for MCC compact assistance in FY2026, but which remain ineligible to receive U.S. economic assistance under part I of the Foreign Assistance Act due to binding legal prohibitions effective August 6, 2025.
The report further noted that such restrictions may evolve in the future, depending on statutory provisions or shifts in country circumstances that affect legal eligibility for U.S. assistance.
Other countries barred from MCC foreign assistance include Burma, Burkina Faso, North Korea, Syria, Sri Lanka, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
