Basic education and gender equality
UNICEF and Nelson Mandela launch child-friendly schools programme
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| Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela recently launched a worldwide campaign in order to build more schools in Sub-Saharan Africa |
“Educating all of our children must be one of our urgent priorities,” said Mr. Mandela, former President of South Africa and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, at a launch event on 6 December. “No child in Africa, and in fact anywhere in the world, should be denied education. I know that we can reach this goal.”
Sub-Saharan African countries are among the few in the world where school enrolments are not increasing. Approximately 45 million children do not go to school – at least 40 percent of boys and 44 percent of girls.
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| © UNICEF South Africa/2004 |
| UNICEF Regional Director Per Engebak (first from left) explains the concept of child-friendly schools |
“Children who are educated grow up to be parents with healthier children who have a better chance of survival, and are in turn more likely to go to school, are more self-assured and can more easily assume a profession. Education is also the only effective ‘vaccine’ against HIV/AIDS,” said Mr. Engebak.
Six Sub-Saharan countries – Angola, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe – will be the first to benefit from the money raised by the campaign. Programmes in each country will construct, rehabilitate and equip schools. The focus will be on providing a basic quality education to the poorest, most vulnerable children, with special emphasis on girls and orphans.
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| © UNICEF South Africa/2004 |
| South African Minister of Education Ms. Naledi Pandor (third from left) meets Peter Kraemer (second from right), Chairman of the Hamburg Society for Democracy and International Law, who initiated the Schools for Africa campaign |
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Related links
Schools For Africa
UNGEI website
