Media Advisory

Venue: Hilton Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

WHAT: 6th High-Level Dialogue on Gender Equality in Education

THEME: Developing Africa's human, social and economic capital by increasing resilience of African girls through quality nutrition and education

WHEN: 5th of February 2022

TIME: 07:45 am – 09:30 am (EAT)

WHO: African Union International Centre for Girls and Women’s Education in Africa

(AU/CIEFFA)/ESTI Department and the Republic of Sierra Leone

Key Speakers

• Representative of the AUC Chairperson

• H.E. Prof. Mohamed Belhocine, Commissioner, ESTI, AUC

• Hon. Dr David Sengeh, Minister, Basic & Secondary Education of the Republic of Sierra Leone

• Bjørg Sandkjær, State Secretary for International Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway

• Dr Hameed Nuru, Director of WFP to AU & UNECA

• Representative of the Canadian Embassy in Ethiopia

• Representative of AUC ARBE (Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy, and Sustainable Environment)

Background information

On the 05th February 2022, the African Union International Centre for Girls’ and Women’s Education in Africa (AU/CIEFFA in conjunction with the African Union Commission’s Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation (AUESTI) and the

Republic of Sierra Leone will host its 6th High-Level Dialogue (HLD) on Gender Equality in Education in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on the margins of the 35th African Union Summit.
This 6th HLD will run under the theme; Developing Africa's human, social and economic capital by increasing the resilience of African girls through quality nutrition and education and will explore the correlation between quality education and quality nutrition.

There is evidence to show the positive impact of school feeding programs on school attendance and students’ retention, especially girls’ retention in school, in impoverished communities. However, the COVID-19 pandemic and other humanitarian crises have contributed to undermining the progress of African countries in accomplishing their school feeding programs.

The HLD, therefore, offers stakeholders committed to enhancing education in Africa, especially for girls, an opportunity to share experiences and best practices on effective national school feeding policies and programs.

Objectives: The 6th High Level Dialogue (HLD) has the following objectives:

• To share the experience of Member States on their existing policies on School Feeding Programs and their impacts on girls' and women's enrolment, training and resilience;

• To present the AU “School Feeding” Program for use as a strategy to retain girls in school in all AU Member States that do not yet have a school feeding policy and to propose educational measures that build the nutritional resilience of Africans;

• To share and develop strategies for creating agri-food chains with incentives for girls and young women in educational institutions;

For more media inquiries please contact:

AU/CIEFFA | Email: MarindireA@africa-union.org

Ms. Faith Adhiambo | Communications Officer-Agenda 2063 | African Union Commission | E-mail: OchiengJ@africa-union.org|

Directorate of Information and Communication | African Union Commission I E-mail: DIC@african-union.org I Website: www.au.int I Addis Ababa | Ethiopia Follow Us: Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Youtube