The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank has approved a grant of US $ 11.26 million to the government of Chad to finance the project Project for girls' education and literacy for women– the first bank grant exclusively for women and girls.
The project is funded from the Bank's Transitional Support Facility and implemented over a five-year period by the Chadian Ministry of National Education and Citizenship in coordination with partners from the education sector, civil society organizations and youth organizations. The Chadian government will make a non-monetary contribution of USD 713,000 to the program.
“With this funding, the African Development Bank is helping the Chadian government reduce inequalities through access to education – especially for girls. This enables the development of professional skills and the improvement of women's productivity potential through literacy, professional training and the development of income-generating activities,” said Solomane Koné, deputy director of the Bank for Central Africa.
The project aims to improve access to high quality secondary education in a safe and healthy school environment for 5,000 girls and to train 2,200 teachers and administrators. More than 7,500 women are also expected to receive literacy programs in the Hadjer Lamis, Ouaddaï and N'Djaména regions of Chad. The bank-funded project has a component to raise awareness among residents of the target region about reducing the incidence of gender-based violence. and the importance of girls' education in reducing early marriage and pregnancy. In Chad, 67% (link is external) of girls are married before the age of 18, and 30% (link is external) of girls are married before the age of 15, according to the NGO Girls Not Brides.
The “Girls Education and Literacy of Women” project plans to renovate or rebuild school buildings and facilities such as the Amriguébé school complex in N'Djamena, which teaches preschool, elementary and high school children, and a new women's college in Massakory , Hadjer Lamis Region, which would receive educational, scientific and digital equipment. The project components contain provisions for the supply of both schools with clean drinking water, solar energy, school clinics, the construction of girl-friendly latrines and the establishment of computer and science laboratories.
The girls' education and women's literacy project is integrated into the government of Chad's interim education plan, which aims to improve the country's education system and strengthen human capital – the education, health and wellbeing of children and adolescents who are today working people of Chad will be tomorrow.
Contact:
Amba Mpoke-Bigg, Communication and External Relations Department, African Development Bank, email: a.mpoke-bigg@afdb.org