Regional Partners Join Efforts in West and Central Africa to Increase
Access to Quality Education for Girls
UNICEF | Press Release
Thursday 13 April 2006
Dakar - The United Nations Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI)
Regional Network for West & Central Africa was launched today in Dakar,
Senegal by a wide partnership of UN agencies, national and local
governments and non-governmental organizations. UNICEF Goodwill
Ambassador, Yvonne Chaka- Chaka, participated in the launch of the
network. "The challenges we face in terms of access to education for
girls in this region are enormous, but they are achievable when we join
all our efforts," she said at the launch.
Girls' education and quality education in West & Central Africa face
many challenges, from emergencies and HIV/AIDS, to deepening poverty and
persistent gender disparities. The result is that approximately 1 child
out of 2 is out of school - most of these are girls from poor, rural
areas. 81% of children out of school have mothers with no formal
education, and region-wide only 86 girls are in school for every 100
boys.
For countries in the region to reach the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs), MDG 2: to achieve universal primary education and MDG 3:
to promote gender equality and empower women, there is a need for
increased attention and programs to promote girls education. The launch
of the regional UNGEI network is an important step in making that
happen.
The complexity of the issues preventing girls from accessing school
requires a diverse group of partners to address them with the goal of
moving girls' education forward at every level and in every setting. To
reach the 2015 MDGs related to girls' education, countries in the region
must increase the enrolment rate by 3.5% per year. However, the annual
increase observed between 1980 and 2001 has been only 1%. Oxfam
predicts that "at the current rate of progress, gender parity will not
be reached until 2038".
The launch of the regional network United Nations Girls' Education
Initiative is an important tool to help government to keep their
promises in achieving the MDGs. The Regional Director, (acting
interim), for UNICEF in West & Central Africa, Mr Theophane Nikyema,
stressed the significance of girls' education in the region: "There is
so much at stake, economically and politically for this region, that we
simply cannot trifle with the contribution of women and girls. The
sooner we give more attention to gender equality and equity, to prepare
the foundation for girls through a quality, empowering education, the
better for both the region and the continent as a whole."
The United Nations Girls' Education Initiative (UNGEI) partnership
comprises UNICEF, ILO, World Bank, UNFPA, UNAIDS, UNDP, UNDESA, UNESCO,
UNPF, UNHCR, UNIFEM, WFP, WHO and UNDG, along with other key partners
including national and local governments, ministries of education,
grass-roots organizations, local and international NGOs and donor
governments. Partnerships already struck with the African Union (AU)
and the Economic Commission for West African States (ECOWAS) are
critical in mobilizing country ownership for the UNGEI objectives and
outcomes so that girls' education programs can be scaled up and gender
gaps reduced. These are prerequisite conditions for attaining the MDGs.
At a regional consultation in Dakar with participation of 30
regional partners in education in November 2005, a regional action plan
and strategy for girls' education in West & Central Africa was
developed. The guiding documents were endorsed today April 13 at the
official launch of the regional network.
All partners agreed to join their efforts in a biennial plan
(2006-2007) to scale up access to quality education for girls in the
region. The partnership will work to increase systematic interventions
in education through advocacy, research, monitoring of progress,
developing norms for intervention in girls' education and mobilization
of funds.
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