Project profile — UNdaunted: Educating Girls with Disabilities in Somalia

• Somalia (100.00%)

• Education, Level Unspecified: Education policy and administrative management (11110) (60.00%)
• Basic Education: Primary education (11220) (20.00%)
• Secondary Education: Secondary education (11320) (20.00%)

• Gender equality (significant objective)
• Environmental sustainability (cross-cutting) (not targeted)
• Participatory development and good governance (significant objective)
• 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 (principal objective)
• Nutrition (not targeted)
• ICT as a tool for development (not targeted)

This project aims to remove barriers to girls’ education in Somalia, particularly those with disabilities. It builds on the positive experience of Canadian philanthropic engagement via UNICEF Canada’s UNdaunted Initiative already established in Sub-Saharan Africa. This project works to improve learning outcomes for girls, including those with disabilities, by increasing their equitable access to safe, quality, inclusive, education within an education system that recognizes their needs, and provides innovative and quality gender-responsive formal and non-formal education. The project aims to target 156 schools in up to 20 districts of the Federal Government of Somalia and Federal Member States: the Puntland State of Somalia and Somaliland. Project activities include: (1) facilitating public awareness around disability and gender issues through activities such as community outreach, and providing training to education stakeholders on developing policies on the protection of girls from gender-based violence in schools and to foster safe learning spaces; and (2) providing technical assistance to Ministries of Education and educational officials to strengthen capacity on data collection, as well as to integrate adolescent girls with disabilities into their education systems. This project is expected to reach 22,500 girls, including 7,500 girls with disabilities in the formal and informal education systems. The project is also expected to benefit 1,248 teachers; 1,092 members of community education committees; and 70 government officials.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) increased equitable access to safe, quality, inclusive education and learning by girls, including those with disabilities; and (2) improved equitable and coordinated provision of innovative, safe, quality, gender-responsive, and evidence-based formal and non-formal education for girls with disabilities.

Results achieved as of December 2022 include: (1) trained 1,716 community education committee members and government officials (564 women and 1,152 men) to build and strengthen their capacity to promote girls’ access to inclusive, quality education; (2) increased the capacity of 2,407 education stakeholders (750 women and 1,657 men), including community education committees, government officials and teachers, to implement quality non-formal education and alternative basic education; (3) conducted 168 community outreach sessions on girls’ education, including remote learning; (4) provided cash grants to 1,093 girls in formal schools, including girls with disabilities; (5) conducted 305 community outreach sessions and trainings for women and girls; (6) conducted 293 awareness campaigns and produced 13 radio shows to address COVID-19 prevention measures, access to girls’ education, female genital mutilation and early and forced marriage and their harmful effects on access to education; (7) enrolled 1,833 children with disabilities (870 girls) in alternative basic education; and (8) provided 172 schools with Safe School Reopening protocols.

• Proactive disclosure
• Related activities: UNdaunted: Educating Girls with Disabilities in Response to Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Somalia