The United Kingdom has launched a partnership worth £20m with United Bank for Africa Foundation and 10 other organisations to improve girls’ access to education and employment in developing countries.
The Prime Minister of UK, Boris Johnson, disclosed this as part of activities to mark International Women’s Day 2022.
In a statement, UBA Foundation disclosed that the UK government will be working in partnership with UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited to fund this programme. It added that the programme aims to impact one million girls around the world.
Johnson said, “The United Kingdom has long been a proud and mighty champion of this fundamental cause and today we take one leap further through our first Global Partnership of its kind — opening up opportunities for one million girls across the developing world to have access to high-quality skills training.
“Ensuring every girl and young woman across the globe receives 12 years of quality education is the greatest tool in our armoury to end the world’s great injustices. Delivering on this mission will be one of the best defences against ignorance, ensure the greatest protection from prejudice and put a rocket booster behind our hopes and dreams for global development in the years to come.”
According to him, some of the businesses involved will be contributing a range of resources including books, computers and other technology, mentoring, advice and access to their networks, skills and training programmes.
He added that private sector involvement would help ensure that education and learning opportunities provide girls with the skills for the future that employers need.
According to UBA Foundation, itself and other private sector players which includes Accenture, Standard Chartered, Unilever, Microsoft, Pearson, PwC, Coursera, Vodafone, BP, and Cognizant will fund and resource the initiative to the tune of £11m.
It added that the UK government has contributed an initial £9m to the initiative called the Girls’ Education Skills Partnership programme.
The Group Chairman, UBA, Mr Tony Elumelu, said, “We understand first hand the need to empower young women in African communities to catalyse sustainable socio-economic development.
“At the UBA Group, we are committed to women empowerment and we continue to champion women’s causes in our business and through our work in philanthropy. Working together, we must ensure that our girls are properly educated and attain the necessary skills that allow them to effectively compete as the world becomes increasingly global.”
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