Shaping the Sahel’s future in today’s schools: a commitment to provide quality education in Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Chad

Over the past 15 years, the Sahel countries have virtually doubled primary school enrollment and tripled secondary school enrollment.

Despite these significant strides, a host of challenges still need to be addressed if the region hopes to achieve universal access to education and provide quality education for all its youth. Decisive action in this area is crucial for paving the way for future generations to build the future that they desire and the region to produce the human capital critical to its economic transformation.

In partnership with the World Bank, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and the G5 Sahel leaders will convene a Summit on Education in the Sahel on December 5, 2021 in Nouakchott.

This summit aims to underscore the importance of quality education for human capital development in the region, secure the buy-in and support of policy makers to implement the reforms and investments needed to address learning poverty, and develop a road map for more effective investment in primary education over the next 10 years.

• Time	Session
  11:00 a.m.	Participant Registration
  11:30 a.m.	"Youth Voices" session
  12:00 p.m.	Arrival of heads of state and welcome video
  12:05 p.m	Welcoming video
  12:10 a.m.	Opening address by the World Bank Vice President for Western and Central Africa, Ousmane Diagana
  12:20 p.m.	Address by the President of the Republic of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani
  1:00 p.m	Presentation of the World Bank White Paper on Education in the Sahel Countries
  1:15 p.m.	Discussion among Heads of State on the White Paper as a prelude to the signing of the Nouakchott Declaration
  2:00 p.m.	Signing by the Heads of State of the Nouakchott Declaration on Education in the Sahel Countries
  4:00 p.m.	Thematic discussions, led by the Ministers of Basic Education, for the operationalization of the Nouakchott Declaration
  5:00 p.m.	Report on the thematic discussions
  5:30 p.m.	Closing address

• • H.E. Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania
  • H.E. Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, President of Burkina Faso
  • H.E. Mohamed Bazoum, President of the Republic of Niger
  • Ousmane Diagana, World Bank Vice President for Western and Central Africa

  The summit will be attended by education stakeholders:

  • The G5 Sahel Secretariat;
  • The Sahel Alliance and other donors;
  • United Nations Agencies;
  • Civil society partners;
  • Media.
• • Press Release: Sahel Leaders Commit to Ambitious Reforms to Support Access to Quality Education
  • Statement: Nouakchott Declaration on Education in the G5 Sahel Countries