2009 Articles

The African Millennium Villages

Sanchez, Pedro A.; Palm, Cheryl A.; Sachs, Jeffrey D.; Denning, Glenn L.; Flor, David Rafael; Harawa, Rebbie; Jama, Bashir; Kiflemariam, Tsegazeab; Konecky, Bronwen; Kozar, Raffaela; Lelerai, Eliud; Malik, Alia; Mutuo, Patrick; Niang, Amadou; Okoth, Herine; Place, Frank; Sachs, Sonia Ehrlich; Said, Amir; Siriri, David; Teklehaimanot, Awash; Wang, Karen; Wangila, Justine; Zamba, Colleen

We describe the concept, strategy and initial results of the Millennium Villages Project (MVP) and implications regarding sustainability and scalability. Our underlying hypothesis is that the interacting crises of agriculture, health, and infrastructure in rural Africa can be overcome through targeted public-sector investments to raise rural productivity, and thereby to increased private-sector saving and investments. This is carried out by empowering impoverished communities with science-based interventions. 78 Millennium Villages have been initiated in 12 sites in 10 African countries, each representing a major agroecological zone In early results, the research villages in Kenya, Ethiopia and Malawi have reduced malaria prevalence, met caloric requirements, generated crop surpluses, enabled school feeding programs, and provided cash earnings for farm families.