Zambia

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No money, no schoolbooks

Noticias

Zambia/Mayo de 2017/Autor: Humphrey Nkonde/Fuente: Development and Cooperation

Resumen: El Sindicato de Docentes de Educación Básica de Zambia (BETUZ) informa que Zambia no ha alcanzado el punto de referencia que la Comunidad de Desarrollo del África Meridional (SADC) ha fijado para el gasto en educación. El punto de referencia es el 20% del presupuesto nacional. Cuando BETUZ celebró su reunión general anual en Livingstone a finales de febrero, los líderes sindicales señalaron que el gobierno ni siquiera había asignado el 17% del presupuesto a la educación. El año pasado, la participación fue un poco más del 17% (véase también Frank Masanta Jr. en D + C / E + Z e-Paper 2017/05). Para empeorar las cosas, el gobierno ha transferido la responsabilidad financiera de las escuelas básicas del Ministerio de Educación a los gobiernos locales con escasez de dinero. La mayoría de los consejos municipales, incluyendo el de la ciudad de Ndola, no están arreglando incluso obligaciones básicas tales como sueldos.

The Basic Education Teachers’ Union of Zambia (BETUZ) reports that Zambia has failed to reach the benchmark the Southern African Development Community (SADC) has set for spending on education. The benchmark is 20 % of the national budget. When BETUZ held its annual general meeting in Livingstone in late February, union leaders pointed out that the government had not even allotted 17 % of the budget to education. Last year, the share was a little more than 17 % (also see Frank Masanta Jr. in D+C/E+Z e-Paper 2017/05).

Making matters worse, the government has transferred the financial responsibility for basic schools from the Ministry of Education to cash-strapped local governments. Most municipal councils, including the one of Ndola City, are failing to settle even basic obligations such as  salaries.

Basic (primary) schools now depend on private help. During a Parent-Teacher Association meeting at Perseverance Basic School in Ndola’s Hillcrest neighbourhood in late February, parents were asked to pay for fencing and the repair of the sewer and water system.

“Isn’t this the responsibility of the Ndola City Council?”, one parent asked. A representative of the teachers responded that the school only gets the equivalent of  $ 100 for school infrastructure, including textbooks.

BETUZ also disclosed that government is contemplating abandoning hard copy pay slips and issuing electronic (e-pay) slips to teachers instead. The idea is to save the money needed to print pay slips. One implication, however, is that teachers would be required to create e-mail accounts so they can receive pay slips by e-mail. This should be no problem for teachers in urban areas, but many colleagues in rural areas cannot access the internet easily.

Zambia’s school crisis has international dimensions. The reason the government has had to reduce spending is that the copper price has dropped on the world market. Demand from China is particularly weak. This matters as China accounts fro about 40 % of global copper purchases. Zambia is now awaiting a bailout from the International Monetary Fund. Public debt has climbed to 60 % of GDP.

Fuente: https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/zambias-cash-problems-affect-education-sector-negatively

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World Bank says world is experiencing a ‘learning crisis’ for school leavers

Noticias

Africa/Abril de 2017/Fuente: Devex

Resumen: El mundo está experimentando una «crisis de aprendizaje», con muchos niños pobres y vulnerables aún siendo excluidos de la escuela, y muchos de los que asisten, emergen con bajos niveles de alfabetización y aritmética que hacen que sea difícil encontrar trabajo, de acuerdo con un informe del Banco Mundial. A los educadores globales se les dio un vistazo preliminar del próximo Informe de Desarrollo Mundial 2018 durante una sesión en el Foro de la Sociedad Civil, una serie de eventos paralelos que forman parte de las Reuniones de Primavera del Banco Mundial en Washington, DC. El informe se centrará por primera vez en la historia del estudio insignia de la institución. Los investigadores que trabajan en el informe dijeron que optaron por centrarse en la educación porque las persistentes deficiencias que identifican son en gran parte no reconocidas por los gobiernos y el sector de desarrollo. «Queremos dejar claro para la comunidad de desarrollo en su conjunto este problema de la exclusión ocultada y la educación de aquellos que necesitan el impulso de la educación», dijo Halsey Rogers, co-directora del próximo informe.

The world is experiencing a “learning crisis” with many poor and vulnerable children still being excluded from school, and many of those who do attend emerging with low literacy and numeracy levels that make it hard to find work, according to a forthcoming World Bank report.

Global educators were given a sneak preview of the upcoming 2018 World Development Report during a session at the Civil Society Forum, a series of side events part of the World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C. The report, titled “Learning to Realize Education’s Promise,” will focus on education for the first time in the history of the institution’s flagship study.

Researchers working on the report said they chose to focus on education because the persistent shortcomings they identify are largely going unacknowledged by governments and the development sector.

“We want to make it clear for the development community as a whole this problem of the hidden exclusion and education failing those who need the boost from education the most,” Halsey Rogers, co-director of the forthcoming report, said.

The WDR2018, which will be officially launched at the next set of World Bank meetings in October, will address what World Bank Senior Economist Shwetlena Sabarwal described as a “learning crisis” in low- and middle-income countries, where many students are leaving school with low literacy and numeracy levels and without the skills needed to get jobs, she said.

These deficits are likely to be felt even more keenly as markets continue to globalize and advances in technology and automation transform the workforce, making it even harder for students to catch up, Sabarwal said.

“What this means is that when students finish primary school, having spent 4 or 5 years at great personal and opportunity costs to attend school, they are leaving without literacy or numeracy skills. This is what we call the learning crisis,” she said.

For example, in Malawi and Zambia, more than 80 percent of students at the end of the second grade (aged 7) could not read a single word, while in India three-quarters of grade 3 (aged 8) students could not calculate a simple two-digit subtraction. Among older children across 10 Francophone African countries, studies reveal that nearly half of grade 6 students (aged 12) had only basic maths skills and 71 percent could only make basic inferences from reading, according to a concept note published in January.

Sabarwal also referred to “persistent gaps” between levels of achievement between rich and poor students and also between genders, so much so that in some cases “schooling exacerbates social inequity,” she said.

Middle-income countries are also experiencing the learning crisis, Sabarwal said, with attainment levels failing to keep pace with more developed countries. In some instances the highest performing students in middle-income countries perform worse than the lowest performing students in high-income countries, she said. For example, this occurs in Algeria, the Dominican Republic, Republic of Kosovo, and Tunisia, according to the concept note.

Talking about some of the causes of this learning crisis, Sabarwal referred to insufficiently prepared teachers and high absenteeism rates; education and training systems that are out of date and not linked to the needs of the economy; and funding that never reaches the classroom.

The forthcoming report will argue for an increased emphasis on measuring learning and data, drawing on lessons from within and outside the school system to improve education outcomes, such as looking at health and nutrition of the child and addressing technical and political barriers.

The report’s recommendations draw on new thinking, such as advances in cognitive neuroscience, which better our understanding about how children learn; innovative approaches to teacher management; and recent evaluations about education interventions, Rogers said.

The WDR2018 will emphasize the need for better information and metrics about education levels, saying that the learning crisis is currently not being acknowledged by many governments because of a lack of data — “very few countries have systematically measured learning before it’s too late,” Sabarwei said.

“Counties need to start acting as if learning really matters to them — systematically measuring learning and skills, which will allow them to track progress and find gaps,” she added.

However, focusing on measurement and metrics can actually work against school children as standardized testing and a push for results leads to scripted approaches to teaching and an excessive emphasis on examinations, according to Linda Odour-Noah, research consultant at the East African Centre for Human Rights Education.

Odour-Noah said she “did not see daylight” during her final years at school in Kenya due to the obsession with grades and performance.

“Too much of an emphasis on results can lead to schools engaging in teacher-centric approaches and scripted approaches, which don’t elevate needs for children,” she said.

She also criticized the WRD2018 outline for not focusing enough on financing for education, pointing to a “worrying trend of decreasing education budgets” in Kenya, which dropped from 22 percent to 16 percent over the past few years. “There is no chance we can assure accessible, quality education if we are not financing it sufficiently,” she warned.

Katie Malouf, policy advisor at Oxfam International, agreed that the report needs to focus more on financing. “There is a loud silence on the importance of financing for education and the relationship between financing and learning,” she said, pointing to recent research from the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment showing a “clear correlation between expenditure on education and learning outcomes increasing.”

Fuente: https://www.devex.com/news/world-bank-says-world-is-experiencing-a-learning-crisis-for-school-leavers-90093

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African Climate Technology Center (ACTC) Selects Nine Institutions to Develop Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Research Projects Across the Continent

Noticias

África/27 de Marzo de 2017/Allafrica

Resumen: El Centro Africano de Tecnología Climática (ACTC) tiene la misión de apoyar a los países subsaharianos en la ampliación de la adopción de tecnologías limpias para la adaptación y mitigación a través de actividades que incluyen la creación y difusión del conocimiento, . El ACTC es financiado por el Fondo para el Medio Ambiente Mundial (FMAM) y el Banco Africano de Desarrollo como órgano de ejecución.

The African Climate Technology Center (ACTC) has the mission of supporting Sub-Saharan countries in scaling-up the adoption of clean technologies for adaptation and mitigation, through activities that include knowledge creation and dissemination, support to policies and enabling environment and support to projects. The ACTC is financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), with the African Development Bank as the implementing organ.

At the end of 2016, the ACTC launched a competitive process to support research on the modalities to increase the diffusion of climate friendly technologies in three areas: 1) Integration of Intermittent Renewable Energy Technologies in on-grid and off-grid markets; 2) Market based approaches on the diffusion of Clean Cooking Solutions; 3) Efficient use of climate change adaptation technologies in water usage (e.g. irrigation, supply) (or) storm water/flood management in SSA cities.

The call for proposal raised much interest and seventy-five institutions or consortia submitted their research proposals. Following the review process, nine institutions have been selected (outlined below) and will start their activities in March 2017 for a period of one year. These project will contribute to the objective of creating and sharing knowledge and will strengthen the capacity of African research institutions in these areas.

Integration of intermittent renewable energy solutions

The Sustainability Institute (SI) (South Africa) in collaboration with Shack Dwellers International (SDI) will use transdisciplinary research methodologies to enhance knowledge of the conditions that facilitate the adoption of affordable solar PV electricity by the urban poor. The research will be based on the experiences of the iShack project, which has provided over 1,000 small solar PV panels to residents of an informal settlement in South Africa, and will work on replicating the approach in an informal settlement in Accra, Ghana, with whom SDI is rolling out a solar pilot project.

The Kumasi Institute of Technology, Energy and Environment (KITE) (Ghana) will work on assessing the role of renewable energy-based off-grid mini-grid systems and service delivery schemes in isolated communities in Ghana. The project is expected to gather evidence and provide insights on the extent to which the systems have addressed the energy access challenge, their reliability, cost effectiveness, and the possibility of up-scaling.

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) (US) will explore alternative pathways to improve electricity access in Ethiopia. The project, in collaboration with the Ministry of Water, Irrigation & Electricity and the Ministry of Mines, Petroleum and Natural Gas of Ethiopia, develops evidence based policy recommendations for optimal use of indigenous energy resources to improve electricity access, promote energy security and mitigate GHG emissions in the country.

Clean Cooking Solutions

  The Berkeley Air Monitoring Group (US), in partnership with International Centre for Energy, Environment and Development / University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Project Gaia Prospects Ltd. and Winrock International will conduct a pilot evaluation of diffusion and usage of ethanol cooking technology in urban neighborhoods of Lagos. The pilot evaluation will seek to a) identify consumer triggers and motivations for the uptake and use of ethanol cooking technologies and address barriers to adoption pathway and b) measure the emissions performance of the ethanol cooking system and model its potential impact on climate outcomes.

The University of Liverpool (UK), in collaboration with the Global LPG Partnership (GLPGP) and the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research (Oslo) will work on modelling the health and climate co-benefits of scaled-up Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) adoption in Cameroon. The Country has an established LPG market (around 12% of the population in 2014) and its government recently initiated plans to expand adoption of LPG. The research will describe the impacts of the planned expansion of LPG use for cooking in Cameroon on both population health and climate change mitigation through modelling transitional changes in fuel use patterns.

The Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University for Science and Technology (JOOUST) (Kenya) in partnership with African Technology Policy Studies Network (ATPS), Clean Cookstoves Association of Kenya, University of Dar es salaam, Tanzania and Pennsylvania State University, USA will research on market approaches for the diffusion of clean cooking solutions in Kenya and Tanzania. The project aims to evaluate and develop strategies for catalyzing the diffusion and adoption of clean cooking solutions in East Africa and will will collect both quantitative and qualitative data using mixed methodologies such as desk review, household surveys using questionnaires, key informant interviews and focus group discussions.

Adaptation technologies in water usages

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) (South Africa), together with the University of Malawi and the University of Botswana, will work on a algae-based tertiary treatment that utilizes a specific consortium of algal species to reduce nutrients and create conditions suitable for effective solar disinfection of pathogens and bacteria in Rural Wastewater Treatment plants in the Southern African Development Community countries. The intention is to implement a self-sustaining system that is independent of electricity or expensive chemicals that can be effectively operated within the current financial and capacity constraints of developing SADC countries using existing infrastructure to reduce health risk and improve reclamation of water in water scarce countries.

The ECOWAS Centre for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), in collaboration with the Solar Energy Institute of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (IES-UPM), will work on the dissemination of technical and economical feasible solutions for PV pumping irrigation in the ECOWAS region. The research will focus on the quality of the service of PV irrigation systems, paying attention, first, to the required technical specification which this technology has to meet in the field of agricultural irrigation; second, to the solutions for the intermittent character of solar energy; and third, to the adaptation of PV production to the irrigation needs.

ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability – Africa Secretariat (ICLEI Africa), together with the Climate Systems Analysis Group of the University of Cape Town (UCT) will work on the African Water Adaptation through Knowledge Empowerment (AWAKE) project with stakeholders in Windhoek (Namibia), Lusaka (Zambia) and Maputo (Mozambique). In relation to these cities, the project will explore, identify and assess the social and resource barriers and enablers of the development and uptake of locally applicable climate change adaptation technologies that enhance water supply and management.

Fuente: http://allafrica.com/stories/201703220873.html

 

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La innovación transforma la educación de los estudiantes refugiados en África

Noticias

África/25 de Marzo de 2017/vlcnoticias.com

Gracias a las tabletas y a las redes móviles, los estudiantes en los campos de refugiados se benefician de los últimos avances de la educación on-line,que además estimula su interés por el aprendizaje. Los estudiantes están impacientes por utilizar las tabletas distribuidas en los kits Instant Network School.

DADAAB, Kenia, 14 de marzo de 2017 (ACNUR/UNHCR)- Dekow Mohamed todavía estaba temblando días después de que su ídolo, la ganadora del premio Nobel y activista por el derecho a la educación Malala Yousafzai, visitara el pasado mes de mayo su escuela en el complejo de campos de refugiados de Dadaab, en Kenia.

“No puedes imaginarte lo que contenta estaba cuando la vi frente a mí”, cuenta Dekow, una refugiada somalí de 18 años, apenas un año más joven que la activista pakistaní, quien escapó de un intento de asesinato tras desafiar a los talibanes y su prohibición de que las chicas puedan asistir a la escuela.

La historia de Malala dio la vuelta al mundo e inspiró a millones de personas. Sin embargo, no habría llegado a oídos de Dekow si no fuera por una innovadora iniciativa llamada Instant Network School (INS), que ha logrado llevar la educación online y la conexión a Internet a su campo de refugiados.

Algunas de las escuelas y centros comunitarios han recibido una “caja digital” que incluye un conjunto de tabletas, baterías solares, una red satélite o móvil, así como una serie de programas y apoyo pedagógico para el aprendizaje on-line. Los profesores reciben soporte informático y formación continua.

“Tanto los estudiantes como los profesores dicen que el programa ha aumentado su motivación”.

Desde el lanzamiento del proyecto piloto en el campamento de Dadaab en 2014, el programa se ha ampliado a 31 centros en cuatro países de la región: Kenia, Tanzania, Sudán del Sur y la República Democrática del Congo.

El proyecto ha experimentado un crecimiento orgánico desde que inicialmente surgiera como un acuerdo entre ACNUR, la Agencia de la ONU para los Refugiados, y la Fundación Vodafone, y fuera puesto en marcha en escuelas de los campos de Dadaab. Dadas las enormes lagunas en materia de recursos y la falta de conexión a Internet en el campamento, se vio que las tecnologías móviles podrían mejorar la calidad de la educación en estas zonas tan remotas.

Más de 65 millones de personas se encuentran actualmente desplazadas de sus hogares por las guerras y la persecución, cifra que incluye a más de 21 millones de refugiados. La mitad de ellos son niños y niñas, y son demasiados los que no han tenido acceso a la educación. Según un informe de ACNUR, solo el 50% de ellos se ha matriculado en educación primaria, el 22% en secundaria y el 1% en educación superior.

En África, el continente que acoge a más personas desplazadas que ninguna otra región -sin contar a Oriente Medio-, millones de estudiantes refugiados tratan de proseguir sus estudios. Programas innovadores como el INS contribuyen a garantizar que puedan seguir estudiando durante el mayor tiempo posible.

Incluso cuando son escolarizados, los niños refugiados en África a menudo aprenden en condiciones extremadamente difíciles, en aulas masificadas y sin apenas recursos. A través de programas como INS, la Agencia de la ONU para los Refugiados está contribuyendo a cubrir algunas de estas lagunas y ayuda miles de estudiantes como Dekow.

“Los estudiantes entienden mejor lo que ven que aquello que oyen, y a nosotros nos solían hablar de muchas cosas que no habíamos visto nunca” explica Dekow. “Pero cuando llegaron las tabletas, incluso nuestros profesores se sorprendieron de lo mucho que participábamos. Somos capaces de responder preguntas difíciles sin tener que mirar los apuntes”.

Para Jacqueline Strecker, coordinadora del Laboratorio de Innovación de ACNUR en Nairobi, la idea era introducir la tecnología en las clases a través de un enfoque integral. “Queremos poner la tecnología al servicio de la mejora de la enseñanza, favoreciendo el acceso a materiales pedagógicos adecuados y a información actualizada que los profesores puedan utilizar, así como permitiendo que los estudiantes puedan acceder a fotografías y vídeos educativos”.

“Esta iniciativa se apoya en el compromiso de ACNUR de ofrecer una educación de calidad mejorando las aulas”.

Jacqueline Strecker añade: “Esta iniciativa se apoya en el compromiso de ACNUR de ofrecer una educación de calidad mejorando las aulas y favoreciendo el acceso de los refugiados a material digital. Tanto los estudiantes como profesores dicen que el programa ha aumentado su motivación. Los profesores también se muestran más entusiasmados de venir a la escuela y sienten que están recibiendo más apoyo”.

Gadafi Mohamed, profesor en el campamento de Hagadera en el complejo de Dadaab, señala cómo el acceso a las tecnologías de la información y de la comunicación, o TIC, ha estimulado el interés de todos en las clases. “Antes de tener TIC, muchos estudiantes ni siquiera venían a clase por falta de interés”, afirma. “Desde que empezamos a usar las TIC, se han registrado muchas mejoras. Básicamente se trata de poder visualizar las cosas en vez de enseñar con libros de texto. Esto ha despertado el interés de los estudiantes”.

El programa Instant Network Schools (INS) es uno de los ocho proyectos puestos en marcha en siete países que se han mostrado en África Shares, un fórum de tres días celebrado en Ginebra y que muestra cómo los refugiados pueden constituir una baza importante para las comunidades que les acogen. Organizado a iniciativa de ACNUR, el evento se celebra del 14 al 16 de marzo y tiene como objetivo mostrar que la innovación se está extendiendo por el continente y que los refugiados están muy comprometidos con estas exitosas iniciativas.

Entre el conjunto de proyectos se incluyen: refugiados artesanos de Malí en Burkina Faso; una iniciativa para promover la lectura para niños en Etiopía; el proyecto en Ruanda sobre estufas que ahorran energía; un proyecto de avicultura en Zimbabue; un proyecto de conexión a Internet con Microsoft en Malaui, así como iniciativas para la urbanización y subvenciones para la compra de gas en Níger.

Todos estos proyectos se desarrollan a través del enfoque comunitario puesto en práctica por ACNUR y sus socios. Los refugiados, que son el elemento central de los proyectos, pueden poner en práctica sus habilidades y competencias al tiempo que aprenden otras.

“El principal activo de ACNUR es el hecho de que trabajamos con comunidades con gran resiliencia y creatividad”, dice Strecker. “Lo verdaderamente importante es permitirlas utilizar su creatividad en la gestión de este tipo de proyectos”.

Igual de importante es el hecho de ver cómo los refugiados en África utilizan la innovación para encontrar soluciones propias desarrolladas localmente. Para Dekow, la innovación no solo ha mejorado la calidad de su educación, sino que la ha motivado seguir el ejemplo de Malala Yousafzai, su modelo. “El principal activo de ACNUR es el hecho de que trabajamos con comunidades con gran resiliencia y creatividad”.

“Malala nos animó a hacer oír nuestra voz” afirma. “Me encantó su mensaje, porque se corresponde por completo con mis sueños. En mi caso, mi sueño es llegar a ser abogado y defender la causa de la educación en mi sociedad para que algún día, todos podamos llegar a ser grandes en el mundo”.

“La Educación en Emergencias y Crisis” es el lema escogido para la Mobile Learning Week (semana del aprendizaje móvil), la emblemática conferencia de la UNESCO sobre educación que este año tendrá lugar del 20 al 24 de marzo en París. La conferencia reunirá a expertos y responsables políticos de todo el mundo con el objetivo de explorar cómo promover la inclusión en la educación y preservar la continuidad en el aprendizaje en contextos de conflictos y desastres.

Este año, ACNUR coorganiza la conferencia, haciendo énfasis en el papel de la tecnología para garantizar una educación de calidad a los refugiados, incluso en caso de emergencia.

Fuente: http://www.vlcnoticias.com/la-innovacion-transforma-la-educacion-de-los-estudiantes-refugiados-en-africa/

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Zambia: These Welsh teenagers are helping fight HIV in one of the disease’s African hotspots

Noticias

Zambia/Marzo de 2017/Autor: Will Hayward/Fuente: Wales on Line

RESUMEN: Estos adolescentes galeses están ayudando a combatir el VIH en uno de los puntos críticos africanos de la enfermedad. Es uno de los flagelos del mundo en desarrollo: limitar la esperanza de vida e infectar a millones de personas. Ahora dos adolescentes galeses se están uniendo a la lucha contra el VIH / SIDA en un país con una de las tasas más altas.Dylan Jones de Neath y Raphael Rosin de Cardiff trabajan en Zambia en un proyecto para mejorar el conocimiento y la comprensión de la buena salud sexual. En Zambia, el 60% vive por debajo del umbral de pobreza y la esperanza de vida media es de apenas 62 años, casi 20 años por debajo del Reino Unido. Dylan y Raphael, ambos de 19 años, están cuatro semanas en un período de tres meses en Zambia, trabajando en un Volentry Services Overseas proyecto para ayudar a combatir la propagación de las infecciones de transmisión sexual (ITS), incluido el VIH.

It is one of the scourges of the developing world – limiting life expectancy and infecting millions.

Now two Welsh teens are joining the fight against HIV/AIDS in a country with one of the highest rates.

Dylan Jones from Neath, and Raphael Rosin from Cardiff, are working in Zambia on a project to improve knowledge and understanding of good sexual health.

In Zambia, 60% live below the poverty line and the average life expectancy is just 62- nearly 20 years below the UK.

Dylan and Raphael, both 19, are four weeks into a three month stint in Zambia, working on a Volentry Services Overseas project to help combat the spread of sexual transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV.

More than 1.2 million Zambians currently live with HIV, and there were 20,000 AIDS-related deaths in the country last year.

Working alongside young Zambian and British volunteers, the boys are helping to deliver sex education classes at local schools and youth groups.

They are also organising awareness raising days in the local community, and will be training local volunteers to become Sexual Health Champions who will continue to offer information, advice and counselling about sexual health to young people in Zambia when the volunteers leave.

Dylan said: “Lots of young people in Zambia have little sex education because health services are very limited, and there are loads of myths about sex such as drinking boiled Coca-Cola and paracetamol will stop you getting HIV.

“Those services that exist can be hard for young people to access. This means they don’t know how to use contraception properly or keep themselves safe from any STIs, STDs and HIV, and has led to many young people catching them or girls falling pregnant, which has a big knock on effect on their education and employment opportunities, as they are leaving school at a very young age.

“So far the school sessions have been going really well. The children seem to be very interested to learn about sexual reproductive health.

“I spoke to some of the pupils and they said that they had never been shown how to use a condom, but after our session they told us they’d be confident using them from now on. It’s great to know the work we’re doing is making a difference in the local community.”

The boys travelled to Zambia through the International Citizen Service (ICS) programme, funded by UK aid.

ICS volunteers work alongside young local volunteers in some of the poorest communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America on issues like sexual health, education, women’s rights and economic empowerment.

Raphael believes everyone should try volunteering.

He said: “Volunteering is one of the things that I believe everyone should try at least once. The impact it has is wide reaching, and is vital for development of the world as a whole. To interact with those most in need, and on a personal level, is just something that cannot be achieved in any other way.

“But why did I choose to volunteer to teach sexual health? Well, I would say, you may be surprised on how entangled this specific issue is with the many problems facing Zambia and other developing countries.

Dylan (right) and Rapahel (left) delivering a SRH session
Dylan (right) and Rapahel (left) delivering a SRH session

“Concerns such as early marriage and teenage pregnancy do not just pose problems for the girls affected, but also for the wider economic and social development of the country.

“Having such a large percentage of dependent people puts a strain on both local communities and governments. The predominance of HIV and AIDS, which not only puts immense difficulties on those affected, but also on the health service and on international aid, which provides most of the treatment for the condition.

“Improving sexual health would not just provide immeasurable benefits for those directly affected, but also for the country as a whole on its path for progress.”

After returning to the UK on April 9, Dylan and Raphael will also take on an Action at Home project, to try and use their new skills also benefit their local communities in South Wales.

Felicity Morgan, director of ICS at VSO, said: “ICS volunteers like Raphael are doing amazing work around the world, every day. Our volunteers have helped promote children’s rights in Nigeria, campaign against child marriage in Bangladesh and bring safe drinking water to communities in Nepal.

“We’re incredibly proud that UK Aid is supporting young Brits bring about positive change in some of the world’s poorest communities. As an organisation working on the frontline against poverty VSO see how people across Britain play an important role in delivering UK Aid; from the NHS and Army helping end the Ebola crisis, to the millions who donate, and the contribution we all make through a tiny percentage of our taxes, together we are all making the world fairer.”

For more information about ICS and how to apply, visit http://www.volunteerics.org/

Fuente: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/welsh-teenagers-helping-fight-hiv-12689880

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Zambia: Mushrooming Universities Compromising Quality Education – Catholic Priest

Noticias

Zambia/Febrero de 2017/Fuente: Zambia Reports

RESUMEN: Un cura católico ha observado que la cantidad sin precedentes de las universidades que proliferan en Zambia, compromete la calidad de la educación terciaria. P. Patrick Chilambwe,  Rector de la Universidad Católica de Zambia, dice que hace falta  un marco para ofrecer una educación de calidad, la mayoría de las instituciones de educación superior están por debajo.

A Catholic priest has observed that the unprecedented number of mushrooming universities in Zambia is compromising the quality of tertiary education.

Fr Patrick Chilambwe, the Vice Chancellor of the Zambia Catholic University, says in the absence of a framework to deliver quality education, most higher learning institutions are falling short.

BELOW IS THE STATEMENT ISSUED BY ZCCB COMMUNICATIONS OFFICER MWENYA MUKUKA

Vice Chancellor of the Zambia Catholic University (ZCU) has observed that plurality of Universities without a framework has continued to be a challenge on the quality of tertiary education in the country.

Fr. Patrick Chilambwe said that when the country has a too many higher learning institutions there should be a frame work to regulate quality of education being delivered.

“When you have so many institutions of higher learning, there must be a framework to ensure that that what matters is not the number, but the quality of education being offered. And I am sure that quality is a challenge the education system is facing in Zambia. We are however hopeful that in the coming few years this will be addressed,” he said.

And Fr. Chilambwe has said the Catholic Church strongly believes that education in its truest sense is about giving people orientation, direction and true meaning of life.

He said that it is about opening minds to life long search for wisdom adding that it is deeper than information giving because enables people to be proactive, be in control of their lives and broaden economic, social and other opportunities.

“Education goes beyond the getting of knowledge. It is for an application of the dignity of each and every member of society. The Catholic education believes that education is vital for the integral development of the people in social, economic, cultural, spiritual, political and religious spheres,” he noted.

And the ZCU Vice Chancellor said that there cannot be true and authentic development without well-educated citizens.

“There cannot be true and authentic development without well-educated citizens, therefore education is not a privilege for a few people but is basically a fundamental right for each and every citizen of any given country,” he noted.

Speaking when a conducted Holy Mass at Zambia Catholic University (ZCU), Mass Communications Faculty in Lusaka on Friday, 17th February, 2017, Fr. Chilambwe re-echoed Pope John II’s message that education is above all the communication of Christ and helping to form Christ in the lives of others.

“Education is not a commodity, even if Catholic schools equip its graduates with enviable skills, but rather a Catholic school sets out to be a place of human person and of human persons adding the Catholic University should be grounded on the community of people who believe in Jesus Christ,” he observed.

He further said that specific the purpose of a Catholic education is for the formation of students who will not only be good citizens of today but also for the world to come.

Fuente: https://zambiareports.com/2017/02/18/mushrooming-universities-compromising-quality-education-catholic-priest/


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Zambia: Government scores dividends in girl child education

Noticias

Zambia/Diciembre de 2016/Fuente: Lusakatimes

RESUMEN: El ministro de la Provincia del Sur, Edify Hamukale dice que es notable que el 98 por ciento de las niñas elegibles sean matriculadas anualmente en la escuela primaria en Zambia. El Dr. Hamukale señaló que la educación para las mujeres y las niñas es el motor que tomaría a Zambia en particular y al continente africano en general, en un camino hacia el desarrollo social y económico sostenible. Sin embargo, dijo que en Zambia este logro fue negado por las tasas relativamente altas de deserción y menores tasas de alfabetización, especialmente entre las niñas de entre 15 y 24 años. «De casi el 80 por ciento de las niñas en Zambia que terminan la escuela primaria, sólo el 25 por ciento de nuestras niñas están matriculándose en la escuela secundaria. El efecto resultante es el inicio temprano de la actividad sexual, los embarazos en la adolescencia y los matrimonios tempranos «, dijo. El Dr. Hamukale dijo esto en Livingstone hoy en la inauguración de una conferencia sobre Liderazgo y Prevención del VIH en niñas adolescentes en Zambia, en Avani Victoria Falls Resort bajo el tema: Liderazgo Adaptable de las Adolescentes y Mujeres Jóvenes.
Además, señaló que con un 11,6 por ciento de la población de 11 a 46 años que vivía con el VIH en Zambia, las niñas y las mujeres jóvenes eran afectadas de manera desproporcionada.

Government says it has scored significant achievements in improved access to education for girls in the country.

Southern Province Minister Edify Hamukale says it is remarkable for 98 percent of eligible girls to be enrolled into primary school in Zambia annually.

Dr Hamukale noted that education for women and girls is the engine that would take Zambia in particular and the African continent in general, on a path to sustainable social and economic development.

He however, said in Zambia this achievement was negated by relatively high dropout rates and lower literacy rates especially among girls aged between 15 and 24 years.

“Of nearly the 80 percent of girls in Zambia completing primary school, only 25 percent of our girls are enrolling in secondary school. The resultant effect being early onset of sexual activity, teenage pregnancies and early marriages,” he said.

Dr Hamukale said this in Livingstone today at the opening of a conference on Leadership and HIV Prevention in adolescent girls in Zambia, at Avani Victoria Falls Resort under the theme: Adolescent Girls and Young Women Adaptive Leadership.

He further noted that with an estimated 11.6 percent of the population aged 11 to 46 living with HIV in Zambia, adolescent girls and young women were disproportionately affected.

“Thus, government has prioritized the Prevention of Mother to Child Treatment (PMTCT) service with HIV positive pregnant or breastfeeding mothers receiving lifelong treatment immediately regardless of their CD4 count.

Meanwhile, Dr Hamukale challenged the organizers of the conference to involve adolescents in interventions aimed at preventing HIV among young people.

He said young people did not subscribe to rules but if they could be engaged through sport, theatre, drama, music and social media, they could offer practical solutions to prevent new HIV infections.

“…fit into the matrix of young people as they have solutions to these challenges we are facing. Think like them as they are our partners and relevant to interventions to reduce HIV,” he said.

And speaking earlier, Council of Churches Executive Director Karen Sichinga said the high number of school girls dropping out of school due to pregnancy and contracting HIV was an indication of failed HIV prevention interventions.

Ms Sichinga said young girls acquiring HIV 35 years into the epidemic was unacceptable, adding that either stakeholders implementing HIV prevention interventions were not doing something right or completely missing something during implementation.

The seminar has attracted Government representatives from various ministries such as Health, General and Higher Education Justice and Local Government, civil society, national and international NGOs and financing partners.

It is aimed at raising understanding of the urgent need for practice of leadership at different levels to adapt in order to reduce HIV prevalence among adolescent girls and young women in Zambia.

Fuente: https://www.lusakatimes.com/2016/12/13/government-scores-dividends-girl-child-education/

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