Dubai Cares and UNICEF launch joint programmes to reach 2 million children in Yemen

Its latest venture, which will benefit two million children, takes Dubai Cares beyond its declared goal of educating one million children in developing nations, demonstrating the charitable establishment's relentless drive to reach out and give hope to millions of children around the world.

Dubai Cares, in a multi-year partnership with UNICEF, will support efforts that promote girls' education in rural areas, both through policy formulation and direct involvement in rural communities. A standard monitoring and evaluation system for guiding schools will be developed to monitor progress and identify focused interventions.

The standards will be within UNICEF's Child Friendly School approach, which promises inclusive schools for both boys and girls, irrespective of their background, while creating a protective and tolerant environment for children, teachers, parents and others to express their views freely.

Her Excellency Reem Al Hashimy, Chairperson of Dubai Cares Board of Directors, said: "Dubai Cares realizes that prioritizing girls' education is the prime responsibility for all sectors of society. It also underlines that getting all Yemeni children to school, especially girls, is a national obligation."

"Despite an increase in gross enrolment rates from 73% in 2000/01 to 76% in 2004/05, the rate for girls was only 63% in 2004/05. While the gender parity has been improving, with this pace of progress is it will be challenging for Yemen to achieve its Millennium Development Goals for gender equality in education by 2015."

As its key focus areas in Yemen, Dubai Cares and UNICEF will work towards, improving the quality of education, renovating damaged school premises, distributing school supply materials, supporting extra-curricular activities and ensuring the supply of safe drinking water and proper sanitation. The programme will also ensure the delivery of a series of training initiatives to adequately empower teachers.

Approximately two million children, 400 female teachers and more than 1900 teachers of the Child Friendly Schools will benefit from the Dubai Cares-UNICEF joint programmes in Yemen. As part of the programme, school kits including notebooks will be distributed to children in the 6-14 age group throughout the country, providing them the basic tools and materials required for school.

The Dubai Cares-UNICEF partnership will in a direct manner cover more than 30,000 children in 60 Child Friendly Schools, with an additional 50 Child Friendly Schools in the second year, doubling the number of beneficiaries.

The programmes will provide training and institutional support to school management committees, fathers and mothers' councils, women's associations in nine focus districts, as well as the Ministry of Education at the central, governorate, and district levels.

UNICEF said the Dubai Cares contribution adds a new dimension to education programmes and motivates the UN aid agency to strive harder for reaching more children. Aboudou Karimou Adjibade, UNICEF Representative in Yemen, said:

"The contribution comes at the most opportune time as Yemen's efforts for promotion of girls' education are gaining ground. The contribution will go a long way in sustaining the momentum and ensuring that not only girls get into schools but stay on to complete their education."

Dubai Cares, a charitable establishment with the aim of educating one million children in developing countries, has prioritized its phase one grants to countries that demonstrate the highest gap in primary education. Last month, Dubai Cares announced 12 beneficiary countries including Bangladesh, Bosnia, Chad, Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Maldives, Mauritania, Niger, Pakistan, Occupied Palestinian territories, Sudan, and Yemen; and Palestinian refugees (in Lebanon and Jordan).

Launched in September, 2007 by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Dubai Cares has evolved into one of the world's largest charitable establishments solely devoted to improving primary education around the world.