The World Bank has granted a fresh $700m loan to strengthen education and empowerment programs for teenage girls in Nigeria.
The information was revealed in a statement on Friday on the institution’s website.
The new loan aims to provide additional funds for an ongoing project known as the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment.
The statement read, “The World Bank approved additional financing of $700m for Nigeria to scale up the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment programme whose goal is to improve secondary education opportunities among girls in targeted states.”
“The additional financing will scale up project activities from the current seven states to eleven additional states and increase the targeted beneficiaries to include out-of-school girls, those who are married, and those who have disabilities.”
Per the statement, Nigeria had over 12 million to 15 million out-of-school children in the school-age group, with many of them in Northern Nigeria.
Also, an estimated one million children were affected by increased insecurity around schools in 2020-2021.
The statement added, “In the seven AGILE programme implementing states – Borno, Ekiti, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, and Plateau – the number of girls in secondary schools has increased from about 900,000 to over 1.6 million.”
“Under the programme, over 5,000 classrooms have been renovated, and over 250,000 eligible girls have received scholarships.”
“The AGILE programme has supported the construction and rehabilitation of WASH facilities in secondary schools and the installation of computers and solar panels, which make attending school more convenient and conducive for both girls and boys. Life skills, systems strengthening, and advocacy are other key aspects of the program which address social norms impeding girls’ education.”
Shubham Chaudhuri, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, stressed that “Addressing gender disparities in economic empowerment through ensuring girls’ access to education and skills is a fundamental element of Nigeria’s progress and economic well-being.”
“Nigeria’s working population will soon be one of the youngest and largest around the world, which means that investing in adolescent girls is imperative when addressing overall economic prospects and growth,” she stated.
According to the statement, the financing would benefit girls and extend its impact to more than 15 million students and other beneficiaries, encompassing teachers, administrators, families, communities, and staff within existing and newly established schools.
It added that the new fund would push the project to 18 states and help Nigeria achieve better education and health outcomes for girls.
This marks the third loan facility sanctioned during the tenure of Bola Tinubu’s administration.
The initial loan was approved on June 9, 2023, with a loan of $750m to boost Nigeria’s power sector.
The second was a loan of $500m to help Nigeria drive women’s empowerment, and was approved on June 22, 2023.
