The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a
grant of $11.26 million to the Government of Chad to finance the Girls’
Education and Women’s Literacy Project– the first Bank grant exclusively
targeting women and girls.
The project will be financed from the Bank’s Transition Support Facility and
will be implemented over a five-year period by the Chadian Ministry of National
Education and Civic Promotion, in coordination with partners involved in the
education sector, civil society organisations, and youth organisations. The
Chadian government will contribute a non-monetary contribution of $713,000
towards the program.
“Through this financing, the African Development Bank is providing support
to the Chadian government to reduce inequalities through access to education –
especially for girls. This enables the development of job skills and the
improvement of women’s productivity potential through literacy, job training
and the development of income-generating activities,” said Solomane Koné,
the Bank’s Deputy Director for Central Africa.
The Project aims to help improve access to quality secondary education in a
safe and healthy school environment for 5,000 girls as well as train 2,200
teachers and administrative officials. It is also expected to provide literacy
programs to more than 7,500 women in Chad’s Hadjer Lamis, Ouaddaï and N’Djaména
regions, The Bank-funded project has a component to raise awareness among
target-area residents about reducing incidence of gender-based violence, as
well as on the importance of girls’ schooling to reduce early marriage and
pregnancy. In Chad, 67% of girls are married before the age of 18, and 30%
of girls are married before the age of 15, according to non-governmental
organization Girls Not Brides.
The Girls’ Education and Women’s Literacy Project plans to renovate or rebuild
school buildings and institutions, such as the Amriguébé school complex in
N’Djamena that educates pre-primary, primary and high school children, and a
new women’s high school in Massakory, Hadjer Lamis region, which would receive
educational, scientific and digital equipment. Project components have provisions
to help supply both schools with safe drinking water, solar power, school
clinics, build girl-friendly latrines, as well as establish computer and
science laboratories.
The Girls’ Education and Women’s Literacy Project is integrated into the
Government of Chad’s Interim Education Plan which is working to upgrade the
nation’s education system and strengthen human capital –education, health and
well-being of children and youth today who will become Chad’s working
population of tomorrow.
Leave a Reply