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In our early years, our efforts were focused on advocacy to place girls’ education on the policy agenda at national and international levels . Our focus thereafter went beyond advocacy and moved towards influencing action on the ground to reduce gender disparities in access, retention and performance.
Today, FAWE sits on various global education forums, including the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) Global Advisory Committee and the Global Campaign for Education.
We have a strong operational base in 32 countries from which to address female education as it relates to long-term economic development and its centrality and urgency in education sector planning.
Our organisation has influenced governments to review and reform policies that hinder girls’ access to education. Countries in which we operate have adopted gender-responsive policies and subsequently experienced improved enrolment, retention and performance of girls in school.
FAWE has thus grown to become an integral part of the education movement in sub-Saharan Africa, and an authority on girls’ schooling in the region, earning respect and recognition at international, regional and national levels.
We have received international awards that recognise our influential role in the campaign for gender equity in education. The first of these was the UNESCO Comenius Medal in 1994 and the most recent, the 2008 Henry R. Kravis Prize in Leadership in recognition of our exemplary work in championing the cause for girls’ education in Africa.