The KIX Africa 19 hub is organizing a roundtable discussion between policymakers, education experts, and researchers to exchange critical knowledge about gender-inclusive and gender-responsive strategies to reach and teach the girl learner in the COVID-19 era. The roundtable will be held on Thursday, November 25, 2021 at 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. East Africa Time (UTC +3) on Zoom.
Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the closure of hundreds of thousands of schools across sub-Saharan Africa, affecting the learning of approximately 250 million girls and boys. Girls in particular, and especially disadvantaged, poor, and rural girls, have been some of the most profoundly affected learners during the pandemic.
Throughout the region, country-level campaigns have been adopting strategies for the girl child, including engaging frontline organizations to promote school return for pregnant girls and school-age mothers (Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda); spreading girl-friendly messaging in rural and remote settings through local mass media (Ghana and Nigeria); lifting some policies and developing more inclusive policies for pregnant learners and young mothers (Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Malawi, and Zambia); and designing responses that fit girls’ contextual needs – scholarships (Nigeria), sanitary pads (Kenya), feeding programs (Zambia), and cash transfers (South Sudan). This roundtable will facilitate the exchange of knowledge on the implementation and effect of programs needed to reach and teach girls and teen mothers who are at risk of dropping out.
The UNESCO International Institute for Capacity Building in Africa (IICBA) is organizing this roundtable in coordination with UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office (ESARO) and the African Union (AU).
Registration:
Click here to register for the virtual meeting and receive the link and password to join.
