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U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
FACT SHEET
WASHINGTON, DC 20523
PRESS OFFICE
http://www.usaid.gov
(202) 712-4320FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 20, 2002
African children are the future of the continent. Their education is key to sustaining democracies, improving health, increasing per capita income and conserving environmental resources. Recognizing the importance of basic education, the United States, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), is committing 200 million dollars over the next five years to improve basic education for Africa's children.
The multi-year basic education initiative, Strengthening Basic Education in Africa, challenges African education professionals to find new ways to quickly provide children with opportunities to learn and become productive members of their society. To address the devastation of the HIV epidemic, this initiative will assure that enough teachers are trained to address the wide variety of student needs. With the assistance of U.S. Historically Black Colleges and Universities, African students will be provided with the textbooks they need in their local languages. Local organizations will receive funding to help communities create parent teacher associations to ensure that parents and communities have a school they can be proud to send their children to. An important result will be an increase in the number of girls graduating with the life skills they need.
The Initiative will focus on making certain that children have a quality education by:
- Training 160,000 new teachers and providing in-service training for over 260,000 teachers;
- Developing and distributing 4,500,000 textbooks and other learning tools;
- Increasing the number of girls attending school by providing more than a quarter million scholarships and mentoring
- Increasing the role of parents and communities in their children's education;
- Increasing African Education Ministries' capacity to address the impact of HIV/AIDS on education systems.
Read more about USAID's education-related efforts in Africa.
Read the White House Fact Sheet on the Africa Education Initiative.
Read the White House Fact Sheet on the U.S. Commitment to Africa's Growth and Prosperity
"Literacy and learning are the foundation of democracy and development…. [T]oday I am directing the Secretary of State and the Administrator of the Agency for International Development to develop an initiative to improve basic education and teacher training in Africa, where some countries are expected to lose 10 percent of the teachers to AIDS in the next five years."
-President George W. Bush,
July 17, 2001
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