The Millennium Villages Project (MVP) has achieved remarkable results and has demonstrated the impact of greater investment in evidence-based, low-cost interventions at the village level to make progress on the Millennium Development Goals.

The MVP points to, but cannot address given its limited budget, the many upstream investments, rural–urban linkages, infrastructure and institutions required to scale up village-level investments.

Countries need to situate MVP scale-up in the context of a national development strategy. Donors should give special support to at least one country, which, having successfully implemented the MVP, now wants to take it to national scale.

Scaling up rural investment depends on donors living up to their commitments. When plans are vertically linked and adequately  embedded, donors should support them and the MVP to provide facilitation.