The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a grant of US$11.26mn to the government of Chad to finance the Girls Education and Womens Literacy Project – the countrys first AfDB 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 US$713,000 towards the programme.
"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, AfDB’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 programmes 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 gender-based violence, as well as on the importance of girls' schooling to reduce early marriage and pregnancy.
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.
