The World Bank approved a fresh loan of $700m for Nigeria to scale up the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment programme.
It disclosed this in a statement published on its website on Friday.
The new loan is to provide additional funds for an ongoing project known as the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment.
The statement read, โThe 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.
โThe 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.โ
It was noted that Nigeria had over 12 million to 15 million out-of-school children in the school-age group, with many of them in Northern Nigeria.
It was also noted that an estimated one million children were affected by increased insecurity around schools in 2020-2021.
The statement added, โIn the seven AGILE programme implementing states โ Borno, Ekiti, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, and Plateau โ the number of girls in secondary schools has increased from about 900,000 to over 1.6 million.
โUnder the programme, over 5,000 classrooms have been renovated and over 250,000 eligible girls have received scholarships.
โThe 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 girlsโ education.โ
The World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, stated, โClosing the gender gaps in economic empowerment by ensuring girls have access to education and skills is key for Nigeriaโs development and economic prosperity.
The statement noted that aside from the girls that would benefit from the financing, others included over 15 million students and beneficiaries, such as teachers, administrators, families, communities, and staff in existing and newly constructed 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.
