In a 
significant development aimed at bolstering education and empowerment initiatives for adolescent girls in Nigeria, the World Bank has recently approved a substantial loan of $700 million. The announcement, made through an official statement posted on the World Bank’s website last Friday, sheds light on the expansion of the ongoing Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) program.
The statement from the World Bank reads: “The World Bank approved additional financing of $700 million for Nigeria to scale up the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment program whose goal is to improve secondary education opportunities among girls in targeted states. The additional financing will scale up project activities from the current seven states to eleven additional states and increase the targeted beneficiaries to include out-of-school girls, those who are married, and those who have disabilities.”
Nigeria has been grappling with a substantial number of out-of-school children, estimated to range from 12 million to 15 million within the school-age group, with a significant concentration in the northern regions. Furthermore, the security situation in the country has adversely affected education, with approximately one million children impacted by increased insecurity around schools in 2020-2021.
Under the AGILE program’s implementation in seven states – Borno, Ekiti, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, and Plateau – the number of girls in secondary schools has surged from approximately 900,000 to over 1.6 million. This initiative has also led to the renovation of more than 5,000 classrooms and the provision of scholarships to over 250,000 eligible girls. Additionally, AGILE has contributed to the construction and rehabilitation of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) facilities in secondary schools, as well as the installation of computers and solar panels to enhance the learning environment.
Shubham Chaudhuri, the World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, emphasized the importance of bridging gender gaps in economic empowerment through education and skills development: “Closing the gender gaps in economic empowerment by ensuring girls have access to education and skills is key for Nigeria’s development and economic prosperity. Nigeria’s working population will soon be one of the youngest and largest around the world, which means that investing in adolescent girls is imperative when addressing overall economic prospects and growth.”
Furthermore, it was highlighted in the statement that the financing will extend its impact beyond girls, benefiting more than 15 million students and other stakeholders, including teachers, administrators, families, communities, and staff in both existing and newly established schools.
This newly established fund is expected to expand the project’s coverage to 18 states in Nigeria, with the overarching goal of enhancing education and healthcare outcomes for girls. Notably, this marks the third loan facility approved under the administration of Bola Tinubu. The first loan of $750 million was approved on June 9, 2023, to boost Nigeria’s power sector, followed by a $500 million loan to support women’s empowerment on June 22, 2023.
