Zambia: The Campaign for Female Education – CAMFED Zambia has brought laurels to the nation with their contribution to female education. The organization has been recognized for their efforts by the UNESCO.
CAMFED has won the UNESCO Prize for Girls and Women’s education. The prize consists of an impressive sum of USD$50,000 for the organisation’s exceptional work.
The organization was also honored for the innovations that they have done for the female  education in Zambia. The award ceremony, where the organization received this award was hosted at the headquarters of UNESCO.
Zambian Embassy in Paris has also expressed their delight on the organization’s achievement. First Secretary for Press, Naomi Mweemba issued a statement for the media to celebrate the achievement.
CAMFED Zambia is known for implementing a comprehensive support system targeting the most marginalized girls. The organization was applauded for its all-inclusive support for girls to complete as well as succeed in secondary education.
Mweemba stated that the organisation’s Association Development Executive Director, Fiona Mavhinga has since received the award on behalf of the organisation’s National Director, Namenda Malupande during a ceremony held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.
CAMFED Zambia operates in 1, 408 schools across 50 districts in the country. The organization supports about 617,875 girls and young women in rural areas.
So far, the non government funded organization has provided the girls skills needed to transition into leadership roles.
The nomination for the organization was submitted by the Permanent Delegation of Zambia to UNESCO. The nomination letter featured several highlights on how CAMFED revolutionizes girls’ education delivery.
They have implemented a three-tier model that supports girls’ empowerment in addition to life opportunities.
“The organisation’s second level focuses on enabling girls to transition from school into further education or meaningful work. The third level involves CAMFED partnering with governments to embed their proven approaches for supporting marginalized girls into national school systems,” she noted.
Mweemba further added that the prize which was established in 2015 is being supported by the Government of the People’s Republic of China who present the prize to two winners dubbed laureates every year to enhance their work.
UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay, in a speech read for her by Assistant Director General for Education Stefania Giannini commended the laureates’ nominations in highlighting the power of girls education as a channel for equality plus enduring change.