It said that number is triple the global rate and girls are at the biggest disadvantage when it comes to getting an education.

[contextly_sidebar id=”rmL3zJduUQb8YpwuAkPL257ITaHvmNWV”]UNICEF said four impoverished African countries with a long history of instability have the highest rates of young people unable to read or write — Niger with 76 percent, Chad with 69 percent, South Sudan with 68 percent and the Central African Republic with 64 percent.

Henrietta Fore, new Executive Director of UNICEF, said “these numbers are a stark reminder of the tragic impact that the crises has on children’s education, their futures, and the stability and growth of their economies and societies.”

“An uneducated child who grows into an illiterate youth in a country ripped apart by conflict or destroyed by disasters may not have much of a chance.”

UNICEF said it used the last data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics to calculate illiteracy rates among young people aged 15 to 24 in 27 of the 32 countries where the children’s agency has launched humanitarian appeals. Comparable data was not available for the five other countries, it said.

UNICEF said that despite the critical importance of schooling for boys and girls, only 3.6 percent of humanitarian funding goes toward providing education for children living in emergencies, making it one of the least-funded sectors in humanitarian appeals.

Overall, the agency estimates it will spend approximately $1 billion a year on education programmes over the next four years.

UNICEF urged governments and other partners to provide young children with access to quality early education programs, offer illiterate young people the opportunity to learn to read and write, and increase investment in education, particularly for the most disadvantaged.

“For all children to fully reap the benefits of learning, it is key that they get the best quality education, as early as possible,” Fore said.

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Source: GNA

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During a media briefing on Thursday, the Volta Regional Minister and Chairman of the Council, Dr. Archibald Letsa, sought to in the meantime, isolate the killings from the long-standing land dispute between the Alavanyo and Nkonya communities.

[contextly_sidebar id=”x4Ov9kVH31ot0f5JfHclL3g9Qo6PA74c”]Initial reports indicated that some unknown assailants opened fire on five farmers from Nkonya-Ahenkro who were returning from their farm on Wednesday.

This led to the death of the two persons, aged 40 and 31, with one other person, 21-year-old, sustaining injuries.

The Minister, who said he was taken aback by the killings, said the Alavanyo and Nkonya factions have in recent times shown enough commitment towards the peace building process.

No arrests have been made so far, but the security agencies are closely monitoring the situation to avert further attacks and “are very much committed to getting to the bottom of this crime,” Dr. Letsa said.

“We are treating it as a crime. It is not about land. It is about people killing others unlawfully so we are looking at the criminal aspect, whilst we are working in consultation with the regional peace council to look at the peace aspect… We take it that there was attempted murder and murder.”

Dr. Letsa urged any witnesses to come forward with any information for the police, and assured that the identities of such persons will be protected.

“We are only hoping that those who were witnesses will come forward because they know each other in the area, and they will be able to help the police to identify those who are responsible for this crime.”

“As much as we are talking about it being a land issue, we are looking at it essentially as a crime being committed and the law enforcement agencies would have to get to the bottom of it and identify those responsible.”

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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On Thursday, 15 people died in clashes between Muslim fighters of the former Seleka militia and the Christian vigilante anti-Balaka group, it said.

Six police officers and four civilians died in an ambush on Friday.

The Central African Republic has been wracked by conflict along religious and ethnic lines since 2013.

In a statement on Saturday, the Minusca mission said “clashes between elements of the anti-Balaka and ex-Seleka caused 15 deaths and a number of wounded” in the town of Bambari, about 250km (150 miles) north-east of the capital Bangui.

It added that “six gendarmes and four civilians lost their lives on Friday morning in an ambush on the Bambari-Grimari road”.

The UN mission urged all armed groups to end “the cycle of attack and reprisal”.

Seleka rebels briefly seized power in March 2013 and deposed the Christian President Francois Bozize.

The Seleka group was itself then ousted, leading to a wave of violent reprisals against the Muslim population by the Christian anti-Balaka militia.

Thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in the CAR since 2013.

More than 12,000 UN peacekeepers are deployed in the country.

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Source: BBC

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