Malawi and United States of America (USA) governments on Tuesday launched a $90million Secondary Education Expansion for Development (SEED) program to increase access to secondary schools and reduce risk to HIV across the country.
President Peter Mutharika said in the capital Lilongwe during the launch of the program that his government will expand the program to all corners of the country so that the youths benefits through education.
“We need more girls and boys to be educated so that they can make right decisions in life and also be economically self sufficient,” he said
In his remarks, US envoy to Malawi, Robert Scott said investing in young people is a priority because educated youth especially girls enjoy greater economic prosperity.
“There is growing evidence that keeping girls in school can reduce HIV infection by delaying sexual debut, preventing child marriages and early pregnancies,” he said.
He said his government is committed to working with Malawi to bring secondary schools closer to where girls and boys live.
However, through the initiative over 250,000 secondary schools will be constructed across the country.
FT/APA