On Chibok anniversary, World Bank commits $2.5bn to girl-child education

On the second year anniversary of the kidnap of over 200 girls from Government secondary school, Chibok, Michelle Obama, first lady of the United States, has called for the education of every girl child.

The call was well received, alongside a commitment from the World Bank Group to invest $2.5 billion on the education of the girl-child.

Speaking in Washington on the sidelines of the World Bank/IMF meeting, Obama said the drive to educate all girls is not just about resources, but about whether “we truly believe that girls are worth educating in the first place”.

“That’s where this issue becomes personal for me…When I travel the world and I meet girls who are so bright and so hungry to go to school, I see myself in these girls,” she said.

“I see my daughters in these girls. Make no mistake about it. These girls are our girls. Every last one of them. These girls are our responsibility.”

“If half the population cannot read, write, or count, if half the population cannot lift themselves or their families out of poverty, if half the population is devalued, abused, and oppressed, it won’t matter how many water systems we build or how many agricultural or entrepreneurship programs we start.

“If half the population is unable to contribute fully to their society, then meaningful, sustainable development simply will not be possible.”

Also speaking at the event, Jim Yong Kim, World Bank Group president, unveiled the banks $2.5 billion commitment to educating the girl-child.

“You don’t have to be an economist here at the World Bank to know that unleashing the full economic potential of half the population can drive the growth and prosperity of nations,” he said.

“Imagine the potential growth that countries can unleash if we level the playing field — and if every adolescent girl can complete a full 12 years of education.

“On this I stand with Nobel Prize Winner Malala Yousafzai: 12 years of quality education should be the norm to which we aspire for every child in every country.”