UNESCO vows to fight illiteracy

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