Awareness campaign for girls is set ahead of 5th girls’ day

AS Tanzania joins the rest of the world to mark the Fifth International Day of the Girl Child next week, stakeholders are set to strengthen awareness campaigns to ensure that girls have access to education, economic opportunities and have the opportunity to influence decision making. Plan International Tanzania, said on Wednesday that throughout the week from October 11, this year, they would conduct different activities ensuring that Tanzanian girls become visible like never before and inspire others to join the global movement to ensure that they get their rights. The Country Director of the organisation, Mr Jorgen Haldorsen, said that they would commemorate the day in collaboration with the districts authorities and there will be different events - debates on barriers for girls’ education, causes of child marriage, early pregnancies and the launching of new ending child marriage projects. He said the celebrations will be held in various areas including the regions of Dar es Salaam, Mwanza and Geita as well as districts of Nkasi, Ifakara, Kibaha and Kisarawe . He noted that during the day, in each country, there will be 50 girls participating in the event. This year’s theme for International Day of the Girl Child focuses on adolescent girls and the Sustainable Development Goals; ‘Girls’ Progress-Goals’ Progress: A Global Girl Data Movement’ which set a range of international targets, including on gender equality, to be achieved by 2030. He said ending abuse and inequality that afflicts millions of girls around the world will not be realized without better statistics on the realities of their lives. “When we rally behind girls, everybody wins. Let’s have all our efforts towards giving the girls the chance to learn, lead, decide and thrive, and illustrate that the world needs to value them, help release their potential by ensuring they have equal opportunities,” he said. Governments will not end the abuse and inequality facing millions of girls without better statistics on the realities of their lives, says a report by Plan International.