NEW YORK, Nov 01 (IPS) – Africa Youth Day Statement by Education Cannot Wait Executive Director Yasmine SherifAfrica has the smallest population in the world today. About 40% of the population is 15 years old or younger. They have the non-negotiable right to an inclusive and sustainable quality education, just like young people everywhere in the world.
As we celebrate African Youth Day – and the African Union’s year of education – we are calling on world leaders to significantly increase investment in education across the African continent. We will not leave them behind. It’s time to put them first.
It is impossible that only one in ten 10-year-old children in sub-Saharan Africa cannot read and understand a sentence. This is a sad fact and a cause for real alarm.
The potential of African children and youth is limitless. I have seen their eagerness to learn, their gratitude for every opportunity and their strong desire to get an education – from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa and beyond.
Sadly, another reality remains: needs far outstrip available financial resources – especially in armed conflict, forced displacement and climate change.
The truth is that we can change this together. Between 2000 and 2022 the primary school graduation rate across the region increased from 52% to 67%, and almost half of students were able to complete primary education, according to a UNESCO analysis.
In all 17 million young Africans are in university today, and more girls than ever before are able to go to school.
This progress, however, fails to present the full picture of education in Africa. “Among all regions, sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of out-of-school learning. More than one-fifth of children between the ages of 6 and 11 are not in school, followed by one-third of youth between the ages of 12 and 12. 14. About 60% of youth between the ages of 15 and 17 do not study,” according to UNESCO.
Our collective support is now more urgent than ever. It is a smart thing to do for the economy to grow. It is something that should be done with equality and equity. There is very little we can do for people with such great talents and eagerness to learn, to have a perfect life.
As the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises at the United Nations, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and our strategic partners work tirelessly to create sustainable education and lifelong learning pathways for all children and youth in Africa.
According to our latest Annual Results Report, ECW’s investments have reached more than 900,000 children in East Africa with quality learning support in 2023 alone. In West and Central Africa, we reached over 1.8 million people!
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, young mothers like Meda are achieving their dreams of finishing school. In Chad, where the Sudanese refugee crisis is struggling with budgets and resources, girls like Khadidja Abdoulaye are gaining valuable skills in sewing, mending and gardening.
This is what collective support can achieve. It gives us an opportunity to look at what the African continent of young people can achieve – not just for themselves, but for all of us.
IPS UN Bureau
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