To increase access to quality education in the Northeast Nigeria, the German Government has announced a new contribution of 15 million euros to the United Nations Children’s Fund Nigeria, to support the provision of quality and equitable basic education in the conflict region.
The fund will be used to strengthen the resilience of the most vulnerable communities, especially children, in Adamawa and Yobe states.
A statement by UNICEF said the new contribution provided through the German Government’s Development Bank – Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), will enable it to support the Government of Nigeria to provide 1,060,000 conflict-affected children and adolescents with increased access to quality education in a safe and healthy learning environment.
The education fund, according to the statement, will also provide 8,200 teachers with increased capacity to deliver quality learning at pre-primary and primary levels and support 500 school-based management committees to plan and maintain a safe and healthy learning environment in schools, with increased community participation.
The statement further said the KfW contribution will also support UNICEF’s work to link humanitarian needs and long-term development opportunities in target conflict-affected communities in north-east Nigeria.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs had in 2018, said that an estimated 2.8 million school-age children affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa States were in dire need of educational assistance.
The agency, in a report titled 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan for Nigeria, noted that the sum of $60.9m would be required to reach the out-of-school children with the necessary educational support.
Speaking on the contribution, UNICEF Representative, Mohamed Fall, said: “All children, regardless of their situation, must be supported to access all their basic rights.
Investing in education is perhaps the best investment any nation can make for its children.
“This investment is timely, as it comes at a moment when we are redoubling our efforts to improve both access and quality of education for conflict-affected children.”
The statement affirmed that the German Government is a long-standing partner of UNICEF Nigeria, having contributed over 21 million euros towards the humanitarian and development response in Nigeria since 2016.
