The World Bank has announced a $1.2 billion investment to boost girls’ education and empowerment across 18 states in Nigeria.
The initiative is part of the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE) programme, relaunched in Abuja.
The targeted states include Borno, Ekiti, Kebbi, Kaduna, Plateau, Katsina, Kano, Adamawa, Kogi, Nasarawa, Niger, Bauchi, Jigawa, Yobe, Kwara, Gombe, Sokoto, and Zamfara.
Speaking at the event on Friday, World Bank Country Director Ndiame Diop, represented by Senior Social Protection Specialist Tina George, explained that the AGILE programme focuses on increasing access to secondary education for adolescent girls and providing them with economic opportunities.
“This $1.2 billion investment is a multi-sectoral programme designed to enhance education and empowerment for over 25 million beneficiaries,” Diop said. “Educating a girl empowers her community, as an educated girl becomes a pillar of progress.”
The programme specifically targets 15.2 million students, including 8.6 million adolescent girls, whether married, unmarried, or living with disabilities. It also supports the broader community by addressing barriers to education and empowerment.
Since its inception, the AGILE programme has built 104 new secondary schools and renovated 3,922 existing ones. It has directly benefited over two million girls and 1.7 million boys.
Diop highlighted the importance of collaboration among government bodies, traditional and religious leaders, schools, and civil society organisations to remove systemic obstacles to girls’ education.
He also reaffirmed the World Bank’s commitment to supporting Nigeria’s educational development.
