Sahel Alliance resolves to enable millions of children to go to school

“The Sahel region has become an epicentre of terrorism. The destabilising threat posed by terrorist groups now goes far beyond Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger,” said German Federal development minister Svenja Schulze at the General Assembly in Berlin on the 16^th July 2024.  “But we know how to counter this threat. Most of the young men are not joining terrorist groups out of conviction but because they need an income. In other words, education, jobs and local authorities that are able to do their job are key elements of the answer to the root causes of terrorism.” 

The ministers pointed out that at the General Assembly, the parties had agreed to jointly stay engaged and give increased support to these forms of counteraction. Germany and the World Bank would therefore be starting a new education initiative. Other donors were pursuing similar avenues. 

Youngest population in the world

 Nearly half of all people in the Sahel region are under the age of 15 years. Giving them access to quality education is vital for the future of the region. But over 11,000 schools have been closed because they are located in regions controlled by terrorist groups or because teachers are directly threatened by such groups. Moreover, terrorism has displaced millions of families within their country or across borders, and local schools have no capacity for the extra children.

The Sahel Alliance is responding to this with a new initiative that was launched by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the World Bank. It will be implemented in Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Niger and Chad. Over the next seven years, education activities are to reach a minimum of two million out-of-school boys and girls, with a special focus on girls aged twelve to 16 years. 

The idea is to create an “open school” with local programmes at existing schools but also at other community centres. The activities will be complemented by school education offered via radio, the Internet and printed materials. Germany is to  provide 60 million euros in support of the joint initiative, which will also mobilise significant financing from the World Bank. Other donors are invited to join it.

Sahel Alliance work must reach across borders

The members of the Sahel Alliance also agreed to take account in their strategies of the spread of terrorism to southern neighbouring countries. Terrorism does not stop at national borders. This means that the work of the Sahel Alliance members on remedies must go across borders, too, in order to be successful. The Alliance will therefore put a focus on increasing its activities in border regions in order to make local people less vulnerable to recruitment by terrorist groups.

The Sahel Alliance has 27 members and observers and is the most important group of supporters for the region. Its members include Germany, other European Union Member States and the UK, the USA, Canada, the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the West African Development Bank. About 150 participants from some 30 countries and organisations took part in the General Assembly.

(BMZ/wi)

More information:

• Further information and the Joint Declaration of the fifth General Assembly of the Sahel Alliance
• Joint Statement by Germany and the World Bank on Strengthening Education and Skills Development in the Sahel
• German development cooperation in the framework of the Sahel Alliance