Project profile — Supporting Distance Learning in Response to COVID-19 in Sierra Leone and Liberia

• Liberia (50.00%)
• Sierra Leone (50.00%)

• Education, Level Unspecified: Teacher training (11130) (6.00%)
• Basic Education: Primary education (11220) (88.00%)
• Basic Health: Health education (12261) (6.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (significant objective)
• Participatory development and good governance (not targeted)
• Trade development (not targeted)
• Biodiversity (not targeted)
• Climate change mitigation (not targeted)
• Climate Change Adaptation (not targeted)
• Urban issues (not targeted)
• Desertification (not targeted)
• Children's issues (principal objective)
• Youth Issues (principal objective)
• Disaster Risk Reduction(DRR) (not targeted)
• Indigenous Issues (not targeted)
• Disability (not targeted)
• Nutrition (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

The project aims to support education for marginalized populations in Sierra Leone and Liberia in response to school closures and learning losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The project’s innovative approach harnesses proven resources from traditional education programs with proven communication methods used in the agricultural sector through rural radio. Project activities include: (1) developing and distributing family literacy kits, including books and a parent’s lesson plan to households in the target regions; (2) providing up-to-date and evidence-based information about COVID-19 transmission prevention; and (3) developing and transmitting radio programs including gender-responsive and learner-centred content for primary school students and their families. Project beneficiaries include approximately 70,000 children (50% of whom are girls), approximately 350,000 members of their families (of whom 50% are women), and 2,100 teachers (840F; 1,260M). The project will indirectly reach up to 637,837 Liberians (of whom 50% are women) and 687,989 Sierra Leoneans (of whom 50% are women) who live in the districts covered by the program and with access to the radio broadcasts.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) increased provision of gender-responsive learning materials for primary school students and their families, including information about the COVID-19 crisis and preventative health measures; (2) increased interaction through radio between the education sector and community groups of parents and caregivers, that includes information about the COVID-19 crisis and preventative health measures; and (3) improved attitudes expressed towards gender equality and girls’ empowerment by girls, boys and their families.

Results achieved as of the end of the project (July 2022) include: (1) reached 202,000 students (63,468 households or 946,383 people overall) through an innovative combination of family learning materials and interactive radio programming, aired by 10 radio stations in Liberia and Sierra Leone; (2) trained 4,258 teachers who worked with 59,797 students in grades three to six in 400 schools; and (3) provided 1,200 solar and manually chargeable MP3 players with radio functionality and 60,000 supplementary reading materials designed to teach teachers and students about COVID-19, public health and gender to 400 schools. As a result of the outcomes, the participating students fared better in their reading assessments than national “reading and grade level” average scores.

• Proactive disclosure
• Related activities: Supporting Distance Learning in Response to COVID-19 in Sierra Leone and Liberia