Nigeria breaks world record with more girls out of school – Malala

NaijaAgroNet:

The Pakistani activist, student and United Nations UN Messenger of Peace and the youngest person ever awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Malala Yousafzai, has revealed that Nigeria has broken world record with more girls out of school than anywhere else in the world, reports NaijaAgroNet.

Malala made this disclosure during a working visit to Abuja and Maiduguri on Monday, lamenting that despite Nigeria riches, its record of girls child out of school remain alarming.

“Nigeria is the richest country in Africa, but has more girls out of school than any country in the world,” said Yousafzai. “Studies are clear — educating girls grows economies, reduces conflict and improves public health. For these girls and for their country’s future, Nigeria’s leaders must immediately prioritise education.”

According to UNICEF sources, over 2,295 teachers have been killed and 19,000 displaced and almost 1,400 schools destroyed since the start of the Boko Haram insurgency in 2009. Three million children in the northeast are in need of support to keep learning.

While in Maiduguri, the epicenter of the crisis in northeast Nigeria, Malala visited schoolchildren in a camp for displaced families and secondary school girls at Yerwa Government Girls School.

NaijaAgroNet gathered that while the 90 camps and camp-like settings in Maiduguri house thousands of families, more than three-quarters of the 600,000-plus displaced people are living with family, relatives or friends in host communities, placing an additional burden on local schools.

Beyond the crisis in the northeast, she noted that Nigeria already had the largest number of children out of school in the world – over 10.5 million. Among primary school-aged children not in school, only five per cent are dropouts: three-quarters of them will never step foot in a classroom, and the majority are girls.

Across West Africa, 46 per cent of primary school-aged children not in school are Nigerian. Globally, one in five children not enrolled are Nigerian.

“We will do everything in our power to make sure all children can keep learning. We believe that education – especially for girls, is the single most important way to bring hope, peace and prosperity not just for this generation, but for also for future generations,” said Mohamed Malick Fall, UNICEF’s Representative in Nigeria.

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Malala honoured as youngest UN Messenger of Peace

NaijaAgroNet:

The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, has designated children’s rights activist and Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai as a UN Messenger of Peace with a special focus on girls’ education, reports NaijaAgroNet.

“You have been to the most difficult places […] visited several refugee camps. Your foundation has schools in Lebanon, in the Beka’a Valley,” said Mr. Guterres at a ceremony in the Trusteeship Council chamber at UN Headquarters, in New York.

“[You are a] symbol of perhaps the most important thing in the world, education for all,” he highlighted.

Ms. Yousafzai, who was shot in 2012 by the Taliban for attending classes, is the youngest-ever UN Messenger of Peace and the first one to be designated by Secretary-General Guterres since he assumed office in January this year.

Accepting the accolade, Ms. Yousafzai underscored the importance of education, especially education of girls, for advancing communities and societies.

“[Bringing change] starts with us and it should start now,” she said, adding: “If you want to see your future bright, you have to start working now [and] not wait for anyone else.”

UN Messengers of Peace are distinguished individuals, carefully selected from the fields of art, literature, science, entertainment, sports or other fields of public life, who have agreed to help focus worldwide attention on the work of the global Organization.

Backed by the highest honour bestowed by the Secretary-General on a global citizen, these prominent personalities volunteer their time, talent and passion to raise awareness of UN’s efforts to improve the lives of billions of people everywhere.

Nkem Nweke/GEE 

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SDG: Shakira, Angélique Kidjo, Malala add voices to Pope Francis in support of children

NaijaAgroNet:

The Grammy Award-winning singers, Shakira and Angélique Kidjo both UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors, Friday’s celebrated adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals with powerful performances before an audience at the United Nations General Assembly that included over 130 heads of state and government, reports NaijaAgroNet.

This follows an address from His Holiness Pope Francis, with Shakira taking to the stage to sing “Imagine”, John Lennon’s iconic anthem of love and peace.

“We live in a world in which many who are born poor will die poor. It is up to us to be the first society to eradicate poverty and bring justice and equality to the most disenfranchised people on earth,” Shakira, a passionate advocate of children’s rights, told the assembled world leaders before her performance. “Our children have the right to equal opportunities; to thrive, to be happy, healthy, and safe.”

Angélique Kidjo, who has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2002, sang a moving version of ‘Afirika’ – her hymn to the continent she calls home.

“Africa and its children have the most to gain from the Sustainable Development Goals, but they also have the most to lose if our leaders do not fully commit to this new agenda for peace and prosperity,” Kidjo said. “As an artist I want to use my voice to make sure that people around the world understand the new global goals and why they matter, so that they can hold their leaders accountable for their success or failure.”

Flanked by a group of young people from across the world, Malala Yousafzai then delivered a message of hope for today’s children before the SDGs were ratified by world leaders.

The Sustainable Development Goals represent an ambitious plan of action that aims to eliminate extreme poverty and hunger, provide quality lifelong education for all, protect the planet and promote peaceful and inclusive societies.

These new global goals offer a historic opportunity to provide children with the fair start in life they deserve, UNICEF said, cautioning that this opportunity will be wasted if the world does not focus efforts and investments on the most disadvantaged and vulnerable children.

Video and photos are available for download

here.
 

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