Somalia

• Increasing awareness within communities. To increase enrolment and retain students, the programmes run awareness campaigns, targeting parents and communities, highlighting the importance of education.
• Strengthening the educational infrastructure. Supports the building and rehabilitation of classrooms and learning labs for young children to play and learn. The aim is to ensure that primary schools are accessible for children with disabilities, including the construction of WASH facilities with gender-segregated latrine blocks. Grantees distribute desks and additional classroom resources to schools, and students receive supplies such as solar lamps, supplementary reading books and textbooks to aid continued learning at home. Teachers are supported with professional development opportunities through a two-year diploma programme.
• Supporting safe and protective learning environments for crisis-affected children. ECW funds community level training sessions for regional education officers, parents and teachers on child-safeguarding and resilience. The programmes connect with children and increase their participation in the system by establishing children’s clubs and distributing learning materials.
• Supporting enhanced gender equality. In collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the Ministry of Women and Family Affairs, the programme supports the new policy on gender in education by guiding gender strategy proposals and offering recommendations. In Somaliland, the Ministry of Education and Science implemented and maintains a safe schools’ framework by providing child safeguarding and protective service manuals to educators and local education committees. ECW funds gender training for teachers and covers the exam fees for female eighth graders. This results in increased attendance, improved exam scores and safer learning environments.

For more information on ECW's work in Somalia, please contact Country Lead Dianah Nelsen (dnelson@unicef.org) and Programme Manager Eddie Dutton (rdutton@unicef.org).