The Chief Executive of Connected Development (CODE), Hamzat Lawal, has been named as a Malala Fund Education Champion along with 57 others around the world for his advocacy for policy and programmatic solutions in the education sector.

Development Diaries learnt that the Chief Programme Officer at Malala Fund, Maliha Khan, made this announcement on the Malala website, listing Lawal alongside other notable Nigerian campaigners such as Education as a Vaccine’s Olabukunola Williams, and Restoration of Hope Initiative’s Benjamin John.

Khan stressed the importance of Champion-led programmes and advocacy especially as the Covid-19 pandemic threatens to force millions more girls out of school.

In his reaction to this announcement, Lawal said, ‘It is an honour to be listed to contribute to the fight for a right to education, especially for the girl child in Africa.

‘The increasing number of out-of-school children especially in Nigeria’s north continues to be an issue of great concern.

‘Statistics show that for every 100 boys of primary age out of school, 121 girls are denied the right to education, worsening gender-based discrimination and putting girls at a disadvantage.

‘Issues of water, sanitation and hygiene, and in many cases, insecurity affecting the delivery of education in conflict-affected areas, are also factors driving children, particularly girls, away from the classroom’.

Using CODE’s Follow The Money model to train and launch citizen-led teams, Lawal will undertake the task of identifying barriers to girls’ education in Adamawa State.

Hamzat Lawal is also renowned for co-organising and championing other campaigns for girl-child education in northern Nigeria.

Source: Connected Development

Photo source: Connected Development