World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, has disclosed that the World Bank was set to inject the sum of $700 million for adolescent girls education in 19 states of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He made the disclosure on Monday, during a parliamentary summit on fast-tracking Nigeria\u2019s demographic transition, organised by the Office of the Speaker, House of Representatives and the National Population Commission, supported by the World Bank in Abuja.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to him, the World Bank was committed in supporting Nigeria in empowering adolescent girls and youths, adding that it would help the nation in achieving its demographic transition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In his words, \u201cThe key in some ways to helping realise Nigeria\u2019s demographic dividend is to make sure that the girl-child stays in school. We have already provided $500 million in financing and we are about to put in another $700 million consensual financing for adolescent girls. Now it\u2019s going up to 19 states from 7 states across Nigeria.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s all about keeping adolescent girls in school. It\u2019s about the primary health care, ensuring that maternal, child and reproductive health services are provided. All of these will require support from the government.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Chaudhuri further disclosed that Nigeria ranked lowest in the world in public spending and revenues, explaining that states would need more in offering basic services for their indigenes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In his statement, \u201cNigeria has the lowest level of public spending in the world. 11, 12 percent of GDP, that\u2019s not enough to sustain the basic services that every state needs to provide for its people. Basic law and order, primary health care, investing in its people and providing basic infrastructure.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPart of the reason that\u2019s not there, is because Nigeria has the lowest level of revenues. A big part of that is there isn\u2019t a trust among citizens, that if citizens pay taxes the states will not use it properly.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe National Assembly can play such an important role to ensure accountability. To ensure that every funds or resources that gets past them to the states, are used directly to translate into services for ordinary Nigerians.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEspecially in these basic areas, keeping girls in school. 5,000 communities across Nigeria, there\u2019s no junior secondary school within walking distance. Would you send your teenage girl to a school far away where they are at risk of getting kidnapped? So how is Nigeria going to pay for those additional 5,000 schools so that adolescent girls stay in school.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n On his part, the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, noted that fast-tracking Nigeria\u2019s demographic transition in providing jobs for youths, primary health care services and keeping adolescent girls in school, was a matter of urgency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In his welcome remarks, Chairman, National Population Commission, Nasir Isa-Kwarra, said harnessing demographic dividend in Nigeria would not be automatic but would require each nation to meet certain conditions that starts with achieving \u201ca rapid and speedy fertility decline, holistically to permit sufficient demographic transition for economic transformation to occur.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said, \u201cAchieving this feat will facilitate the emergence of a population age-structure that host fewer dependents\u2019 (for Nigeria of the young), but with a large cohort of productive\/working age population that will breed prosperity.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis achievement, can happen, only if Nigeria makes the right choices now in adopting targeted sound social policies and interventions in key sectors (education, health, women empowerment, job creation\/productive and decent employment), guided by good governance that is built on strong and responsive institutional structure.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n #PressPayNg#EduSAVINGS#EduLOANS#EduSURE#INTERNSHIP#SCHOLARSHIP#EduHEALTHMAINTAINANCE#ENTERPRENUERSHIP#TERTIARY#EDUCATION#TUITION#FEES#UNIVERSITY#POLYTECHNIC#MONOTECHNIC#FELLOWSHIP#COLLEGEOFEDUCATION#HOLIDAYJOBS#SOFTSKILLSTRAINING<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, has disclosed that the World Bank was set to inject the sum<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"colormag_page_container_layout":"default_layout","colormag_page_sidebar_layout":"default_layout","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n