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World Bank, partners launch Adolescent Girls Initiative |
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Written by Vivian Gartyn
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Sunday, 12 October 2008 |
The World Bank, partner governments and the private sector have launched the adolescent Girls Initiative in Washington DC.
The initiative is to promote economic empowerment for adolescent girls in poor and post conflict Countries for a three year period.
Liberia will be the first Country to benefit from the initiative, followed by Afghanistan, Nepal, Rwanda, and South Sudan.
The Initiative will identify employment needs in Liberia, and provide relevant skills training to adolescent girls, matched to paying jobs.
The training for girls between the ages of 16 and 24 will focus on technical skills and the integration of life-skills training for economic independence.
The program is initially designed to reach one thousand five hundred adolescent girls and young women.
Speaking at the well attended launch, World Bank’s president Robert Zoellick said investing in young girls would serve as the best catalyst to overcome poverty.
In a televised speech, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf said young women have the potential to ensure economic growth when given the chance.
Partners including Denmark, Norway, the Clinton Foundation, and Nike Foundation have pledged about twenty million dollars to fund the initiative.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary fund and the World Bank have called on industrialized nations not to cut aid to developing countries during this financial crisis.
Mssrs. Dominique Strauss Kahn and Robert Zoellick at separate press conferences noted that aid cuts could hold the poorest countries down.
The two heads said there is already a serious strain on developing countries as a result of the high cost of food and fuel and believe aid cut could lead to a human crisis.
Mr. Zoellick described the situation as a triple jeopardy for countries that are highly vulnerable fiscally like Liberia.
Liberia currently depends largely on bilateral support from several industrialized countries including the US which is experiencing the brunt of the financial crisis.
Also, the IMF Director for Africa Affairs said the critical step for Liberia now is to preserve the microeconomics stability it is enjoying.
Former Finance Minister Antoinette Sayeh wants government to work more to ensure debt relief, and limit inflation to create fiscal space for its recovery.
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