Written by Ousmane Diagana
Less than half of adolescent girls in Western and Central Africa – which has the highest fertility rate in the continent, are enrolled in secondary school. This has massive economic and social implications. As the world marks the International Day of the Girl Child this month, the World Bank is scaling up its investments in empowering adolescent girls.
As we mark the International Day of the Girl Child (October 11), it is sobering to realize that only 16m out of more than 37m adolescent girls in Western and Central Africa are currently enrolled in secondary school. Of these, fewer than half will complete lower secondary school, and many will enter early marriage or childbearing before they become adults. These numbers reflect lost potential and futures limited by circumstances beyond their control.
The good news is that every dollar invested in educating and empowering adolescent girls can generate several lifetimes of impact with profound economic and societal benefits. This investment is not just about equal opportunities – it’s about building dynamic, resilient economies and inclusive societies. No country can afford to leave girls behind if it hopes to succeed in today’s global race for development.
Here are five reasons why investing in girls is a game-changer for transforming the region:
Breaking the cycle of poverty
Educating girls is one of the most effective ways to break the cycle of poverty. We know that for every additional year a girl spends in school, her future earnings increase by 14%, enabling her to support her family and invest in her children’s education and health.
In Nigeria, more than three million students including 1.7m girls were able to access and complete secondary school education through the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning and Empowerment (AGILE), with the goal of reaching 8.6m girls.
Similarly, in Benin, free upper secondary schools for girls, combined with life-skills programs, are creating a new generation of educated and empowered women.
Social safety nets have also proven effective in helping girls stay in school. In Mali, the Sahel Adaptive Social Protection program helped increase by 56% the chances for teenage girls to enroll in school and make it into the next grade.
From a challenge to a potential demographic dividend
Western and Central Africa has the highest fertility rates and a vast proportion of adolescents. Without urgent action, this rapidly growing youth population could become a demographic challenge creating ever greater pressures on employment opportunities for young people.
Keeping girls in school significantly reduces child marriage and fertility rates. Each additional year of education reduces child marriage by 6% and fertility rates by 0.26 children per woman. This not only improves health and economic outcomes for girls, but it has lasting impacts on future generations. Children born to adult mothers’ face significantly lower risks of cognitive impairments, illness, stunting, and mortality compared to those born to adolescent mothers.
In Niger a scholarship-based intervention under the Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographics Project (SWEDD) supported by several governments in the region and the World Bank, reduced by half the number of school dropouts and early marriage rates among adolescent girls, a shift that can change the course of nations.
Educated girls help build inclusive, resilient economies. Women reinvest up to 90% of their income into their families and communities, boosting health, education, and stability. Programs like SWEDD are equipping girls with entrepreneurial, digital, and life skills.
Young girls and boys want jobs, and it is critical to provide skills training and apprenticeship opportunities, particularly for girls who have never been to school. In Cote d’Ivoire, over 65,000 young Ivorians have found employment through skills training, internships, or entrepreneurship programs, and an additional 100,000 youth are benefiting from job-focused interventions to enhance their skills and employability.
Leveraging digital innovation
Africa has an opportunity to leapfrog educational barriers through digital technology. In Nigeria, the EdoBEST initiative has trained more than 15,000 teachers, equipped them with tablets, and reached over 300,000 children through tech-enabled lessons. Edo State is now pioneering the use of generative AI tools for senior secondary students attending after-school English classes.
As Africa’s youth look to the future, the demand for innovation and digital skills, especially for girls, has never been more urgent. The World Bank’s ambitious goal of training at least one million young people in digital skills by 2025 in Western and Central Africa, with 60% of them obtaining better jobs, is an example of the potential we see by unlocking and prioritizing girls’ education.
Creating future African leaders
Countries like Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, and Togo are making strides toward greater political and economic inclusion as highlighted in the latest Women, Business, and the Law report which tracks countries’ progress on gender reforms. However, a wide gap persists between what the laws promise and the everyday realities women and girls face. Much more needs to be done to accelerate equality across the continent.
A business-as-usual approach will not be sufficient. It will require working across sectors and institutions to promote more gender reforms, adopting more innovative and evidence-based strategies and operations at scale that address barriers which are keeping women and girls from reaching their full potential.
The cost of neglecting this challenge is too high—especially in a region already facing fragility and conflict. This is why the World Bank is committed to scaling up investments in adolescent girls through a new platform to support adolescent girls’ resilience through education and empowerment. Together, we can build a future where every girl can thrive and lead the transformation of Western and Central Africa – Join us!