UNESCO vows to fight illiteracy

JAKARTA: In an attempt to halve illiteracy rates in more than 30 countries where the problem is most severe, the United Nations has launched a major initiative, a UN body says.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) said that the Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) would focus on 34 countries, where more than 50 percent of the population or over 10 million people, cannot read and write.

"The important thing is to bring new resources and fresh energy to address the literacy challenges and for everyone to work together toward the same end, namely the progressive eradication of illiteracy," UNESCO director-general Koichiro Matsuura said in a statement sent to The Jakarta Post through the UN Information Center in Jakarta.

It said that two-third of illiterate people are women, while the largest group of those without access to education are women and out-of-school girls.

The program will be launched in Bangladesh, Egypt, Haiti, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal and Yemen next year. --JP