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World Bank pulls $300m Tanzania loan over pregnant schoolgirl ban
Source: The Guardian
World Bank pulls $300m Tanzania loan over pregnant schoolgirl ban
Policy that denies schooling to young mothers cited among key reasons for withdrawing education fund
Karen McVeigh
Thu 15 Nov 2018 06.00 GMT Last modified on Thu 15 Nov 2018 12.36 GMT
The World Bank has withdrawn a $300m (£232m) loan to Tanzania amid concerns about the nation’s policy of expelling pregnant girls from school.
The money, a significant proportion of funding totalling $500m awarded to Tanzania by the bank in 2018, was scheduled for approval last month. It was intended to help Tanzania’s education ministry to improve access to secondary education.
In a double blow for the country, the World Bank announcement came on the same day that Denmark, Tanzania’s second biggest donor, said it was withholding $10m (£7.7m) of aid funding due to unease over human rights abuses and “unacceptable homophobic comments” by a government official.
Tanzanian schools routinely expel girls who become pregnant, who are thought to number about 8,000 a year. The practice dates back several decades but has intensified since President John Magufuli took office in 2015. Some schools have imposed compulsory pregnancy tests on girls.
The president went a step further in June, announcing that students would not be allowed to return to school after giving birth.
-snip-
Policy that denies schooling to young mothers cited among key reasons for withdrawing education fund
Karen McVeigh
Thu 15 Nov 2018 06.00 GMT Last modified on Thu 15 Nov 2018 12.36 GMT
The World Bank has withdrawn a $300m (£232m) loan to Tanzania amid concerns about the nation’s policy of expelling pregnant girls from school.
The money, a significant proportion of funding totalling $500m awarded to Tanzania by the bank in 2018, was scheduled for approval last month. It was intended to help Tanzania’s education ministry to improve access to secondary education.
In a double blow for the country, the World Bank announcement came on the same day that Denmark, Tanzania’s second biggest donor, said it was withholding $10m (£7.7m) of aid funding due to unease over human rights abuses and “unacceptable homophobic comments” by a government official.
Tanzanian schools routinely expel girls who become pregnant, who are thought to number about 8,000 a year. The practice dates back several decades but has intensified since President John Magufuli took office in 2015. Some schools have imposed compulsory pregnancy tests on girls.
The president went a step further in June, announcing that students would not be allowed to return to school after giving birth.
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/nov/15/world-bank-pulls-300m-tanzania-loan-over-pregnant-schoolgirl-ban
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