Chad and Mauritania have signed financing agreements worth $137 million with the World Bank and Germany to launch the Regional Engagement for Learning and Collaboration in Education (RELANCE) project.
The initiative seeks to improve education governance and expand inclusive learning opportunities across both countries, directly benefiting over 850,000 young people—half of them girls—with special attention to children with special needs.
The project responds to the region’s rapid population growth and persistent educational inequalities.
RELANCE introduces a new regional approach to education in the Sahel, including the creation of a Regional Institute of Educational Sciences in Nouakchott, under the Association of African Universities, to train education professionals and guide policy with applied research.
A Regional Open School will also be established in each country, offering digital learning, in-person support, and vocational training for youth excluded from the formal education system.
Co-financed by the World Bank and Germany’s KfW through a multi-donor trust fund, the project builds on previous programs in Chad and Mauritania and is designed to expand to other Sahelian nations in the future.
