KNOWLEDGE AREA

Knowledge opens up new possibilities, creates alternatives and has a direct impact on development in all its aspects. It is therefore necessary for this knowledge to be fostered among all of us, placing value on African contributions. Fostering knowledge and education as well as improving their quality, increase people’s life opportunities, especially for girls and women.

African countries invest around 4% of their GDP in education, 0.7% less than the global average. According to UNESCO’s Science 2030 report, the African continent’s total spending on research accounts for only 1.3% worldwide. In fact, countries in the sub-Saharan region spend just 0.5% of their GDP on innovation and research. The continent now faces the challenge of providing quality education in a context of a steadily increasing school-age population and where the demand for teachers will account for two-thirds of global demand by 2030.

According to UNESCO, of all regions, sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rates of educational exclusion in the world. In 2017, 54% of the world’s out-of-school population of primary school age was African. The difficulties of African education systems particularly affect girls and women. For example, 9 million girls between 6 and 11 years of age will never go to school.

Furthermore, the continent’s educational quality suffers because 70% of African countries have a shortage of teachers and because, in Sub-Saharan Africa, only 64% of primary school teachers and 50% of secondary school teachers have received the minimum required training, according to UNESCO’s 2019 report. In addition, only one child in ten reaches a minimum level of proficiency in reading and mathematics at the end of primary school in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Added to this situation are the effects of armed conflicts on education. For example, according to UNICEF, South Sudan has the highest dropout rate in primary education (72%), followed by Chad (50%). In these countries, only 24% and 47% of girls, respectively, are enrolled in school. At the secondary level, 75% of Nigerian girls do not attend school, nor do 66% of Central African girls.

Moreover, women academics and researchers face gender discrimination in pursuing their careers, holding positions of responsibility or publishing in academic journals, and many of them encounter problems in balancing their professional and personal lives due to the lack of co-responsibility policies within the family, according to the WHO.

It is a priority to act towards female access to education and the empowerment of women through knowledge. In addition, the Sustainable Development Goals call us to fight for quality education and gender equality.

The Women for Africa Foundation’s goal is to empower African girls and women through education, research and in general the transfer of knowledge, since the participation of women in the public, scientific and economic life of Africa will be crucial for the development of the continent.

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