The Organisation of African First Ladies for Development (OAFLAD) and the United Nations- UN Africa invites you to the launch of “Education Plus Inititiative”  during the AU Mid-Year Coordination Meeting, Hosted by First Lady of Zambia under the Patronage of H.E the President of Zambia.

Education Plus initiative is a High-Level advocacy drive for the Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Young Women in sub-Saharan Africa.

WHAT:           Side Event - Hybrid Luncheon Session: Launch of the High-Level Initiative for the Empowerment of Adolescent Girls and Young Women in sub-Saharan Africa: ‘Education Plus’, 2021-2025 by  OAFLAD in partnership with UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNFPA, UNESCO, UN Women   

WHEN:  17 July 2022

TIME:    Luncheon

 WHO:   The event is hosted by the First Lady of Zambia under the Patronage of H.E the President of Zambia. The Initiative will be launched by the AU Chair.

WHERE:  Mulungushi International Conference Centre, Lusaka, Republic of Zambia

WHY:   The Initiative builds on A.U. policy frameworks and binding agreements in the spirit of global solidarity, including the A.U. Agenda 2063, the Maputo Protocol on African Women’s Rights; the African Union Youth Charter; Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 16-25); the A.U. Roadmap on Harnessing the Demographic Dividend Through Investments in Youth;  and the Addis Ababa Declaration on Accelerating Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. In the context of the 25^th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the Initiative (Education Plus 2021-2025), aspires to turn the promise of gender equality into a reality, through providing equal opportunities and equitable access to education for adolescent girls and young women.  

EXPECTED OUTCOME: The expected outcome will include:

• A call to action for increased investments in gender transformative secondary education.
• Member States receive insights from Young Women and recommendations for the country and regional level to address these needs.
• Education Plus package popularized across the Member States, highlighting the role of education in keeping girls safe and protecting them from HIV to reach their highest potential.

FORMAT AND PARTICIPATION:            The launch event will feature the President of Zambia, the First Lady of Zambia, the Chair of the African Union, and UNAIDS Executive Director.

BACKGROUND :  

The ‘Education Plus’, 2021-2025 is a game-changing initiative that will be launched on the margins of the 2022 AU Mid-Year Summit to empower adolescent girls and young women and achieve gender quality in sub-Saharan Africa. The Initiative will focus on accelerating HIV prevention among adolescent girls and young women, among the other multiple social and economic benefits which countries stand to gain from heeding the call for political action and leadership as embedded in the Education Plus’, 2021-2025. This also calls for stepped-up policies and investments that work best, not only for adolescent girls and young women but also for countries’ social and economic growth and prosperity. It places girls at the center, from a holistic, human rights-based, and gender-responsive approach. It focuses on enabling all girls to complete a free, quality secondary education—a major protective factor against HIV; and through secondary education systems, enabling their access to a core essential package of supports and services for their safety, health, social and economic inclusion as they navigate their passage into adulthood.

The Initiative has 16 front runner champion countries – Benin, Cameroun, Gabon, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Ghana, Ethiopia, Eswatini, Uganda, Malawi, Senegal, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda, and Namibia.

JOURNALISTS ARE INVITED TO COVER THE SIDE EVENT ON 17 JULY IN LUSAKA, ZAMBIA.

 Attached is the agenda of the event .

For facilitation of interviews, please contact:

Esther Azaa Tankou, Head of Information Division, Directorate of Information and Communication, Tel: +251911361185, Email: yamboue@africa-union.org