Age Africa, a Washington based organization advocating for girls’ education has applauded efforts the Malawi government is making towards promotion of girls’ education.
Age Africa Executive Director, Aubryn Allyn Siddle said she had talked with the First Lady of Malawi, Madam Getrude Mutharika, about the girl child in Malawi and how critical it is to support young women who are the future of Malawi.
Siddle was speaking to the Malawi media Monday after having an audience with Malawi’s First Lady Madam Getrude Mutharika at Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York.
“We are supporting scholarships and extracurricular programming for girls in Malawi and we think Malawi is very well positioned to be able to achieve everything laid out in the Girl Declaration,” she said.
The girl declaration is a call to action to put girls at the heart of the post-2015 development agenda.
Girls were left out of the original Millennium Development Goals. The Girl Declaration has been written to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
Bringing together the thinking of 508 girls living in poverty across the globe with the expertise of more than 25 of the world’s leading development organizations, the Girl Declaration is the tool to stop poverty before it starts.
Siddle said the Ministry of Gender has already put forth the growth education strategy which is progressive and unique among other African countries in the region thereby giving it an edge over others in its efforts to achieve the Girl Declaration.
Commenting on what transpired during the meeting Siddle had with the First Lady, Minister of Gender, Patricia Kaliati said government greatly appreciates the assistance Age Africa renders to Malawian girls especially the needy to enable them further their education.
“Age Africa is doing a lot to our girls. It is paying bursaries for a number of girls that carter for school fees, school uniforms and other basic necessities.
“We have however requested them to include provision of sanitary pads so that girls don’t drop out of school because they are shy with their menses,” Kaliati said.
She said government has also requested Age Africa to include in their programmes propagation of life skills among the girls to enable them make informed decisions.
She said: “Once they are imparted with life skills they will be able to decide what to become when they finish school besides being able to decide when to marry and who to get married to.”
