World Bank Approves $170m for Females in Africa

The World Bank Group’s Board of Executive Directors has approved $170.2 million for women and adolescent girls to expand their access to reproductive, child and maternal health services in five countries in Africa’s Sahel region and the Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS).

The Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend Project would also help promote regional knowledge and data on proven gender development programmes.

“To end poverty across Africa and promote greater prosperity for families, we know that the answer involves improved access to health services for women and educating adolescent girls,” World Bank Vice President for the Africa Region, Makhtar Diop said.

“Meeting these objectives is even more critical for countries in the Sahel, which have some of the world’s highest birth rates. Improving access to maternal and child health, and family planning services, will create more economic opportunities for women and girls in the region.”

The approval came one year after World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim visited the Sahel with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and pledged $1.5 billion for regional development priorities such as social safety nets to help families weather the worst effects of economic adversity and natural disasters, infrastructure development and creating increased economic opportunities for families living in rural areas.
Africa’s Sahel region suffers from multiple development challenges: too little economic growth and opportunity, a harsh climate, hunger, high fertility rates, and the world’s highest number of maternal and child deaths.

The Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend Project would work across the sub-region to improve the availability and affordability of reproductive health services, strengthen specialised training centres for rural-based midwives, improve nursing services, and pilot and share knowledge on adolescent girls’ initiatives.

“High fertility, rapid population growth and poor health services are preventing Sahelian countries from taking advantage of their demographic dividend which could bring greater prosperity. “This project supports a much-needed multi-sectoral approach to women and girls’ empowerment and their access to health services. It will work across borders to help overcome barriers to empowering women and girls, and give them the tools to shape their own future,” Task Team Leader for the project, Christophe Lemière added.

He pointed out that empowering women and girls means helping them to continue their education, improving their knowledge of reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child health, nutrition and increasing the number of young women who participate in life-skills programs.

Source: THISDAY