How can we revive girls’ education post-pandemic?

So, we must hear young women like Tanaka who see their peers struggling and Daniella Asare, a Children Believe youth ambassador, engineering student in Ghana and webinar panellist, who sees the need to “bridge the gap” between people who can make change and adolescent girls.

The good news is Canada is listening. Our government has formed the three-year #TogetherforLearning initiative aimed at putting education at the top of the international agenda. “I want to reinforce Canada’s commitment … to dismantling the barriers to quality education for women and girls,” said Leslie MacLean, deputy minister of international development in a video announcement from the online event.

Support is growing, but there’s still much to do. “It’s a human-rights issue, it’s a diplomacy issue…. it’s about influence,” Antoine Chevrier, director general, Pan-African affairs, Global Affairs Canada noted.

There is also a need for infrastructure, access to technology to connect young people to digital learning and holistic policies to make education accessible for all. We need a recovery plan to:

• accelerate access to affordable COVID-19 vaccines
• invest in a resilient education system, so children and teachers return to school safely
• strengthen child-protection systems to prevent sexual exploitation, abuse and gender-based violence

Girls facing barriers to education will guide our direction at Children Believe, so we can make sure they have the essentials they need to go to school. Last year, we provided financial support, counselling, medical and nutritional support as well as school supplies to nearly 6,000 girls in Ethiopia. In India, our partners prevented more than 50 child marriages since the pandemic began. Overall, we supported more than 680,000 children and their family members through the pandemic, so far.

Children Believe, governments, local partners and civil-society organizations understand education changes everything, and together we can empower girls so they will not only change their lives but ours, too.

“The unleashing of their potential will allow themselves, their families, and their communities to enjoy greater economic vibrancy and will have long-lasting benefits around breaking cycles of inter-generational transfer of poverty,” said Leila Akahloun, special advisor to Graça Machel of the Graça Machel Trust during the webinar.

Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director, United Nations Women, added, “Once [girls have] an education on their side, they have something to use to defend themselves…. something that truly belongs to them.”

There’s a lot we have to learn from them. May their voices continue to guide their futures, and ours.

About Children Believe

Children Believe works globally to empower children to dream fearlessly, stand up for what they believe in — and be heard. For 60+ years, we’ve brought together brave young dreamers, caring supporters and partners, and unabashed idealists. Together, we’re driven by a common belief: creating access to education — inside and outside of classrooms — is the most powerful tool children can use to change their world.

About Childfund Alliance

A member of ChildFund Alliance, Children Believe is part of a global network of child-focused development organizations working to create opportunities for children and youth, their families and communities. ChildFund helps nearly 23-million children and their families in 70 countries overcome poverty and underlying conditions that prevent children from achieving their full potential. We work to end violence against children; provide expertise in emergencies and disasters to ease the harmful impact on children and their communities; and engage children and youth to create lasting change and elevate their voices in decisions that affect their lives.