The World Bank’s financing of the Basic Education Quality and Equity Improvement Project (PAQEEB) has provided more than 2,000,000 basic education students, including 1,100,000 girls, with new classrooms; 76,965 girls from the most disadvantaged areas received school uniforms for the start of the 2022-2023 school year; 15,280 primary school teachers were trained in the use of the new reading and mathematics textbooks.

This year, Amana is enjoying school even more than usual. The little schoolgirl with the mischievous smile has seen her new classroom in the village of Lavié Péniel take form in just a few months. This was a blessing for this community in the Plateaux region, where children had to walk more than two kilometers and even to cross over a river to get to school.

“Before the construction of this new building, many children had abandoned our school because the classrooms were made of tree trunks, sheet metal and foliage, and provided no shelter from the rain. When it rained, we had to send them home and so the school day was cut short. Today, I am proud to have a school with a solid structure, one worthy of being called ‘school!’ Some students have gradually returned, and the number of students will increase further at the start of the next school year,” said Dabitora Saguintaah-Tiwarka, the principal of the Lavié Péniel Public Primary School.

For Deborah Tchané, the mother of Komla and Amivi, this new building is also a source of joy. Her two children are both very happy with their new school.

“I have noticed that Komla’s teacher is more motivated since the new building has gone up. And I can see the difference in my son’s academic performance,” she noted. Plus, my daughter Amivi told me that the new latrines allow her to change her sanitary napkins discreetly when she is having her period. Before that, she never liked to go to school at such times, for fear of staining her clothes and being laughed at by her classmates.”

Brand-new buildings under the watchful eye of the students’ parents

This new school was built in the village of Lavié Péniel in October 2022, thanks to the World Bank-financed Basic Education Quality and Equity Improvement Project (PAQEEB). With 101 new schools currently under construction under the project, a total of 164 new classrooms have already been completed across the country. Similarly, of the 7,290 bench desks planned for the first two phases of the project’s construction, 2,200 of them have already been delivered.

The new infrastructure developments are closely monitored by Primary School Management Committees (COGEP), which bring together parent representatives and community leaders, all of whom are actively involved in the affairs of the schools.

“I am very proud to have been trained under the auspices of COGEP to monitor the construction of the new classrooms,” said Yayra Amédomé, a 40-year-old COGEP treasurer, whose child attends the Zébévi public primary school in Aného. A total of 495 COGEP members and school principals were trained to monitor school construction work.

Today, to the delight of the communities involved, work is continuing in the rest of the country under Phase 1 of the project, with the construction of 153 new classrooms on 51 sites (45 at the primary level and six at the lower secondary school level).

The same is true for the teacher training programs, which are critical for enhancing and strengthening the quality of teaching. To date, PAQEEB has already trained 7,780 school principals and 7,500 primary school teachers in the use of the new textbooks. “I have seen an improvement in my students’ ability to read. In math as well, the children are stimulated by the new methods we learned during the training program and they are more motivated than before,” noted Atcha Affo, a teacher at the public primary school in Tchamba.

New school uniforms, a source of pride and confidence for girls

Elsewhere, at the Toklo school in southern Togo, a few kilometers from Aného, young Koudaya Sarah is, like many girls in the region, happy to have received a new school uniform for free. “This uniform couldn’t have come at a better time, as my old one didn’t fit anymore and was torn,” the young student explained.

Her mother, Mariama Boureima, president of COGEP, added: “The school uniforms we received for our girls are a financial relief. As mothers, we find that our daughters are more comfortable and self-confident. They are beautiful, clean, and all dressed the same, with no noticeable differences between them. Since then, my daughter has been really dedicated to her studies and it is a pleasure for her to go to class.”

Like Sarah, nearly 80,000 other girls from vulnerable families in Dankpen, Keran, Kpendjal, and Lacs prefectures have received school uniforms for the 2022-2023 school year.

As Anani Agbélé, the Lavié Peniel village chief, explained: “Our village has other development needs, including roads, electricity, et cetera, but the new school is a real treasure! The principal teaches two grades in addition to his work as head of the school, but we hope that the government will assign us additional teachers soon.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The World Bank Group.

The President of the Republic of Liberia, H.E. Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., will lead the Official Liberian delegation to the US-Africa Business Summit scheduled to take place in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, from May 6-9, 2024. 

The Summit which is an annual event, brings together key business and government leaders from across Africa and the United States to hold discussions on enhancing trade and economic partnerships. The event will provide a vital platform for Liberia to showcase its business potential and to explore opportunities for increased investment in key sectors such as energy, agriculture, and technology. 

The delegation accompanying the President includes senior government officials who will participate in various panels and networking events. Their goal is to attract tangible investments and partnerships that will contribute significantly to Liberia’s economic development. Liberia’s participation in the US Africa Business Summit will expand and strengthen its bilateral relations with the United States and will highlight the country as a leading destination for business in West Africa. 

The President’s participation underscores Liberia’s commitment to engaging with global partners to drive economic progress and improve the livelihoods of its people.

The Official Delegation accompanying the President to the USA-African Summit is constituted as follows:
1.    Honorable Sara Beysolow Nyanti, Minister of Foreign Affairs
2.    Honorable Amin Modad, Minister of Commerce&Industry
3.    Honorable Alexander Nuetah, Minister of Agriculture
4.    Honorable Wilmot Paye, Minister of Mines and Energy
5.    Honorable Jerolimek Piah, Minister of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism
6.    Honorable Jeff Blibo, National Investment Commission Chairman
7.    Honorable Richardson Ndorbor, Liberia Telecommunications Corporation Managing Director
8.    Honorable Antionette Wolo, Acting Chief of Protocol
9.    Honorable Sahr Johnny, Sr. Economic Advisor

The President will also travel to Atlanta, Georgia from May 10-13, 2024, to meet with investors, business leaders and friends of Liberia.  He and his delegation are expected to depart the country on May 3, 2024 and return on May 15, 2024.

While the President is away, the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and Chief of Staff, Honorable Sylvester M. Grigsby will act in consultation with the Vice President and in telephone communication with the President.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of Liberia: Executive Mansion.

Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amirabdollahian, leading a delegation, left Tehran for the Gambian capital Banjul earlier on Friday to take part in the 15th Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The OIC summit, slated to be held on Saturday and Sunday, is mainly themed “Promoting Unity and Solidarity Through Dialogue for Sustainable Development.”

Various issues and challenges in the Muslim world, especially the issue of Palestine and the status quo in in the Gaza Strip will be discussed.

Three documents, including the draft of a resolution on Palestine, the draft of the Banjul Communique and the draft of the final document of the summit will be presented to the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers and afterwards to the summit.

During the meeting, Amirabdollahian will clarify the Islamic Republic of Iran’s stance on the developments in the Muslim world, the region and other parts of the world.

On the sidelines of the summit, he will also meet with and hold talks with officials of Islamic states.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Islamic Republic of Iran.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warns that time is running out to prevent starvation in Darfur as intensifying clashes in North Darfur’s capital El Fasher hinder efforts to deliver vital food assistance into the region.

Civilians in El Fasher and the wider Darfur region are already facing devastating levels of hunger, yet deliveries of food assistance have been intermittent due to fighting and endless bureaucratic hurdles. The latest escalation of violence around El Fasher has halted aid convoys coming from Chad’s Tine border crossing – a recently opened humanitarian corridor that passes through North Darfur’s capital.

Meanwhile, restrictions from the authorities in Port Sudan are preventing WFP from transporting assistance via Adre, the only other viable cross-border corridor from Chad. The route can serve West Darfur and other locations in Central, South and East Darfur. These access constraints are jeopardizing WFP’s plans to provide vital assistance to over 700,000 people ahead of the rainy season when many roads across Darfur become impassable. 

“Our calls for humanitarian access to conflict hotspots in Sudan have never been more critical: WFP urgently requires unrestricted access and security guarantees to deliver assistance to the families struggling for survival amid devastating levels of violence. We must be able to use the Adre border crossing and move assistance across frontlines from Port Sudan so we can reach people throughout the Darfur region,” said Michael Dunford, WFP’s Regional Director for Eastern Africa. 

The recent surge in violence in El Fasher is exacerbating critical humanitarian needs in Darfur, where at least 1.7 million people are already experiencing emergency levels of hunger (IPC4). El Fasher had been a relative safe-haven for families, hosting many IDP camps that pre-date the current conflict. Yet conditions were already critical with reports of children dying of malnutrition.

Now many are being forced to flee El Fasher and surrounding areas – some for the second or third time – and are becoming increasingly vulnerable. On top of the impact of the escalating violence, WFP is concerned that hunger will increase dramatically as the lean season between harvests sets in and people run out of food.

“The situation is dire. People are resorting to consuming grass and peanut shells. If assistance doesn’t reach them soon, we risk witnessing widespread starvation and death in Darfur and across other conflict-affected areas in Sudan,” said Dunford.

Over the last six weeks, WFP has delivered emergency food and nutrition assistance to over 300,000 people in North, West, and Central Darfur using the Tine and Adre border crossings and a crossline route from Port Sudan. These breakthroughs followed lengthy negotiations. But the progress appears to have been short-lived with all routes now blocked. WFP and the rest of the humanitarian community needs to be able to deliver humanitarian assistance consistently and at scale to prevent a worsening of the crisis.  

One year of conflict in Sudan has created an unprecedented hunger catastrophe and threatens to ignite the world’s largest hunger crisis. With almost 28 million people facing acute food insecurity across Sudan, South Sudan, and Chad, the conflict is spilling over and exacerbating the challenges already faced by its neighbours. The window to avert the worst is rapidly closing. A concerted diplomatic effort by the international community is needed to push the warring parties to provide access and safety guarantees and adhere to their obligations under International Humanitarian Law.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).