World Bank supports education and rural women in Afghanistan

Afghanistan and the World Bank signed new grant agreements worth $403 million to finance improvements in primary, secondary and higher education as well as advancing the economic and social standing of rural women.

Speaking about the new financing package, acting Finance Minister Humayon Qayoumi said: “Investing in women empowerment and education programs sets the direct path towards gender equality, poverty reduction, economic growth and higher income. Women are a remarkable part of the society; empowering them will enormously contribute to economic and social advancement. I am thankful to our ARTF partners and the Global Partnership for Education for their usual cooperation to our development efforts in Afghanistan.”

The new financing package includes:

• a $298 million grant to the EQRA (education) Project, which is expected to benefit some 7 million children, aims to increase equitable access to primary and secondary education, particularly for girls, in selected lagging provinces, and to improve learning conditions in Afghanistan.
• a $100 million grant to the Women’s Economic Empowerment Rural Development Project (WEE-RDP), which aims to increase the social and economic empowerment of poor, rural women in selected communities.
• a $5 million additional grant to the existing $50 million grant Higher Education Development Project (HEDP) from the ARTF aims to increase access to higher education in Afghanistan, as well as improve its quality and relevance.

“Investing in the next generation of Afghans, ensuring that boys and especially girls in all parts of the country have access to a quality education, and unlocking the latent potential of Afghanistan’s women through women’s economic empowerment programs, are probably the two most important initiatives we could support to secure a better future for Afghanistan,” said Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank Country Director for Afghanistan. “I am grateful that our ARTF partners and the Global Partnership for Education share this commitment and have contributed to the financing package we signed today.”

Original source: World Bank
Published on 23 October 2018