Malawi

The Girls’ Education Challenge (GEC) had one project working in Malawi which improved learning opportunities and outcomes for 5,250 of the country’s most marginalised girls. 

Leave No Girl Behind project

TEAM Girl Malawi - completed implementation in October 2023

The TEAM Girl Malawi project supported 5,250 girls and was implemented by Link Education International.

In 2018, 2.3 million children were identified as being out of school in Malawi. The number of out-of-school children further increased by the prevalence of child labour, the aftermath of COVID-19, and the impact of Cyclone Freddy in March 2023. Existing education challenges – such as poverty, poor infrastructure, inadequate teaching and learning materials, and a lack of qualified teachers – were amplified and dropouts increased. The most marginalised girls in project communities were already facing intersecting barriers to learning such as extreme poverty, child labour, early marriage, pregnancy and childcare.

The project supported highly marginalised learners aged 10 to 19 years who had never been to school or who had dropped out of school without gaining functional literacy and numeracy skills. It worked to address the barriers to obstructing their successful completion of education, with a view to not only improve literacy and numeracy skills but also to support their longer-term development and secure their economic independence.