In honour of International Day of the Girl Child, ONE and Black Girls Rock! have announced a partnership to help raise awareness about access to education for girls in Africa. Poverty is already a key factor in girls’ access to education, and now COVID-19 related school closings are exposing girls to heightened risks and increasing their vulnerability to other social issues.
With statistics such as, “More than 130 million girls between ages 6 and 17 are out of school and 15 million girls of primary school age, half of whom are in sub-Saharan Africa will never enter a classroom.” – (UNESCO), the two organizations are collaborating to use their platforms to bring global attention to how access to education impacts girls’ overall well-being and opportunities to lead healthy lives.
“ONE is excited to partner with Black Girls Rock! this year for International Day of the Girl Child. Poverty is both a huge barrier to accessing education as well as a major consequence of not getting an education. It impacts every area of girls’ well being. When girls do not get an education, they are more likely to be married as children, easily contract and transmit HIV, and at higher risk of maternal death. We look forward to working together to bring global awareness to the challenges and inequities of education for girls in Africa.”- Edwin Ihuoria (ONE, Africa Executive Director)
Internationally known for their annual awards show and Black Girls Lead summer intensive for teen girls, Black Girls Rock! is an organization committed to the empowerment of women and girls of colour.
“Black Girls Rock! is happy to announce our partnership with ONE for International Day of the Girl Child. Education for all girls everywhere is essential. Not having access to education is not just inequitable and limiting for girls. It impacts every aspect of girls’ lives and we all need to be concerned. We need people everywhere to amplify the issues of access to education for girls in Africa.”- Beverly Bond (Black Girls Rock!, Founder & Executive Director)
The two organizations will share facts across their social media channels throughout the week and are asking people to take action and help amplify the issue by retweeting and reposting. The campaign will culminate with an Instagram Live conversation between ONE and Black Girls Rock! on Friday 16th October at 12 pm noon EST/16:00 GMT.
For more information please follow ONE and Black Girls Rock on social media:
ONE: Twitter: @ONEinAfrica IG: @ONE
Black Girls Rock!: @BlackGirlsRock