Determined to ensure that other emergencies caused by conflict or natural disasters don’t disrupt education for millions of children, Global Partnership for Education (GPE) has committed funds to Africa largest economy Nigeria and other countries a report by GPE has shown.
According to a release by GPE, the states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe (BAY) have been affected by violence and displacement caused by Boko Haram. 3.1 million children are estimated to be impacted by the ongoing conflict in these states, as well as by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The accelerated programme funded by a US$20 million GPE grant will provide learning materials to 500,000 out-of-school children who are repatriated, displaced or from host communities. Up to 100,000 children will also receive psychosocial support, and 100 schools will be built or rehabilitated with separate sanitation facilities for girls and boys.
Read Also: Ondo schools to resume academic activities November 2
Apart from Nigeria, GPE also approved US$11 million in accelerated funding to Burkina Faso to support the education of 170,000 girls and boys aged 6 to 17 in six conflict-affected regions (Boucle du Mouhoun, Center-nord, Est, Hauts-bassins, North and Sahel). The grant will provide them with formal and nonformal education opportunities, build inclusive education spaces, train teachers, including on psychosocial support to children, and provide school meals.
In Somalia, the Federal Government received US$9.17 million to support education efforts for 10,000 children affected by conflict, climatic shocks and population displacement.
The grant is supporting public and community-run primary schools and alternate basic education centers in 4 federal member states and Benadir administrative region. The programme targets children in internally displaced communities, returnees, overaged children who dropped out of school in the most disadvantaged urban host communities and children with disabilities. Up to 100 schools will provide food and water to students, 88 temporary classrooms with sanitation facilities will be constructed, teaching and learning materials will be distributed to 10,000 children, and 400 teachers and 50 head teachers will receive training. Additionally, the program will train and deploy 50 female teachers to promote girls’ enrollments and provide sanitary kits and uniforms to girls in targeted schools.
In Somalia, Puntland also faces natural disasters (droughts, floods, and more recently locusts), protracted conflict and continuous population displacement. GPE provided an accelerated grant of US$2.89 million to support the education of displaced and host community children, with a focus on girls, children with disabilities, hardto-reach rural children and children from minority groups and those in coastal communities in Nugal, Bari, Sool, Mudug, and Sanaag regions.
Sudan received US$11.8 million from GPE to provide rapid support to schools and retain students in the face of deteriorating economic conditions. The project will support 16,500 schools in 18 states to offset the risk of children dropping out of school by providing school grants. An estimated US$2 per child will be allocated to all schools, and will help offset family expenses, thus reducing the burden on them during these hard times.
