Afghan women and youth to benefit from UN-supported literacy and vocational training scheme

20 Jan 2015

Afghan women and youth to benefit from UN-supported literacy and vocational training scheme

KABUL - The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is supporting some 90,000 Afghans, mainly women, with literacy and vocational training over the next two years.

“WFP’s Food for Training (FFT) project is aimed at helping reduce illiteracy in the country and improving productive capital in communities by enabling the handicapped, school dropouts, widows and others to acquire marketable skills,” said WFP’s communications officer in Kabul, Wahidullah Amani.

The UN agency on Sunday signed an agreement with the Afghan Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, for around 30,000 people in 2015 and another 58,000 people in 2016 to receive vocational skills training. About 70 per cent of recipients will be women, with remainder  being unemployed youth.

Mr. Amani said the project will be implemented in 58 districts of 20 provinces by national and international non-governmental organizations, with “full participation of government partners and civil society.”

The main components of FFT include “functional literacy training and vocation skills training,” under which the beneficiaries will learn basic literacy and life skills in line with the government’s curriculum, as well as marketable and technical skills for income generation, he added.

Under the project, WFP plans during 2015 to support more than 210,000 vulnerable Afghans through the distribution of around 7,200 metric tons of mixed food commodities and vouchers valued at more than 120 million Afghanis (US$ 2.2 million).