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Building Healthy Futures for Nigeria’s Youth
Date Published: 7 February 2011 Document Type: Briefs & Fact Sheets Issue: Education (including Non-formal), Youth Languages: English Country: Nigeria Purchase Method: Download |
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Nigeria is the tenth largest country in the world and the most populous country in Africa. However, according to the 2007/2008 Human Development Report, only 68 percent of children who are primary-school age attend school. In secondary school, enrollment drops even further, to 27 percent. Although the percentage of literate female youth has greatly increased in the last decade, there is still a significant disparity between literacy rates for men and women (60 percent of women vs. 78 percent of men). This is largely due to the fact that over four million Nigerian girls of primary school age do not attend school. Of the girls who do attend primary school, the UNESCO Institute for Statistics has estimated that 32 percent drop out before they finish the fifth grade. The Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) is improving the lives of Nigerian girls and boys ages 10–19 in Akwa Ibom State through the Better Life Options (BLO) project. This program provides girls and boys who are out of school with participatory life skills training and encourages participants to enroll or re-enroll in the formal school system. Note: Save file onto your computer to download publication. Opening directly in your internet browser will result in an unreadable file.