Education Needs Assessment for Kisumu City, Kenya

The current needs assessment report takes stock of recent achievements in the education sector and highlights remaining challenges that need to be addressed in order for Kisumu to achieve the United National Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the target date of 2015, which means ensuring that all children have access to primary education and reducing gender disparities at every level. Data and information gathered during the mission indicate that the demand for education in Kisumu has surged since the introduction of free primary education (FPE) in 2003 and that there has been progress towards greater parity between boys and girls at the primary school level. However, this needs assessment finds that the city still faces several challenges that threaten to undermine the attainment of the MDGs in education

Education Needs Assessment for Kisumu City, Kenya

The current needs assessment report takes stock of recent achievements in the education sector and highlights remaining challenges that need to be addressed in order for Kisumu to achieve the United National Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the target date of 2015, which means ensuring that all children have access to primary education and reducing gender disparities at every level. Data and information gathered during the mission indicate that the demand for education in Kisumu has surged since the introduction of free primary education (FPE) in 2003 and that there has been progress towards greater parity between boys and girls at the primary school level. However, this needs assessment finds that the city still faces several challenges that threaten to undermine the attainment of the MDGs in education

A Water and Sanitation Needs Assessment for Kumasi, Ghana

Kumasi, Ghana’s second largest city, is located in south-central Ghana and is a commercial, industrial and cultural center with a rapidly increasing population. The city is making progress towards Target 7C of the Millennium Development Goals, which mandates that the number of people without sustainable access to water and sanitation be reduced by half by 2015. However, while access to piped water in Kumasi has increased from 66.2 percent in 2000 to 80 percent in 2008, and solid waste collection is improving, resident endure irregular water supply and about 40 percent of the city’s residents still rely on public and shared toilets. Since public and shared toilets are not considered to be “improved sanitation facilities” by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP), the city today, with little more than four years to go, remains far from attaining the sanitation target

Education Needs Assessment for the City of Louga, Senegal

This needs assessment evaluates progress made by the city of Louga, Senegal, towards the attainment of the education-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). It analyzes the current situation and presents the results of a costing exercise conducted by Millennium Cities Initiative (MCI) and the mayor's office in the city of Louga. The education sector in Louga is constantly evolving, with significant recent progress. The number of students and teachers has increased, with the primary school gross enrollment rate (GER) growing from 100 to 122 percent between 2002 and 2009. Disparities between girls' and boys' enrollment are also decreasing. The municipality recently identified several neighborhoods in need of educational improvements, including Montagne Nord, Artillerie Nord, Keur Serigne Louga Est and Santhiaba Nord. The city's suggestions include building 18 classrooms, rehabilitating schools and providing learning materials. The goal is to ensure that all the children in Louga have access to education and complete five or six years of quality primary education by 2015. The lack of financial resources, as well as insufficient schools, classrooms, books and water points are the main constraints on achieving universal primary education by 2015. Some public schools are still relying on temporary shelters--makeshift classrooms often made of thatched straw and tree branches--until permanent classrooms are built. Despite collaborative efforts undertaken by the central government and local authorities, classrooms, as well as administrative and staff units require rehabilitation, and separate bathrooms for girls and boys need to be built. Although several secondary schools have been built in recent years, enrollments have not increased significantly, leaving this as an ongoing challenge. Education quality and internal efficiency also need to improve. Teachers are not properly trained, not well paid, and repetition and drop-out rates remain high. Many primary schools students are therefore poorly educated, and some do not complete the primary school cycle. The results from the needs and costs assessment model utilized in this assessment show that an annual per capita investment of $30 (15,165 CFA) between 2012 and 2015 can help the city of Louga to achieve education-related Millennium Development Goals by 2015. This report is divided in three sections. The first, a general description of the education system in Louga and Senegal, also defines the objectives, methodology and limitations of this needs assessment. The second section analyzes the data collected in the field and from city and national publications. The third section presents the costs of the interventions necessary to achieve the education-related MDGs, and the fourth section offers MCI's conclusions and recommendations

Education Needs Assessment for the City of Kumasi, Ghana

This needs assessment presents the financial, human resources and infrastructure requirements needed to provide universal primary education to all children in the city of Kumasi, Ghana. It also addresses some of the challenges facing pre-primary, primary, secondary and tertiary institutions, as well as the informal education sector. The latest available data show that, in terms of primary school enrollment and completion, Kumasi is doing relatively well. Gross enrollment rates (GER) improved from 71 to 85 percent between 2001 and 2008. Primary school completion rates (PCR) are also improving. In 2008/09, 84 percent of students completed primary school, as compared to a national average of 78 percent. Yet, while gender parity has almost been attained in terms of enrollment, there is still a gap in terms of completion, with 87 percent of boys completing the primary school cycle in 2008 as against 81 percent for girls

Water and Sanitation Needs Assessment for Blantyre City, Malawi

Malawi is a country endowed with a large network of surface water bodies, including Lake Malawi (28,750 km2), Lake Malombe (303 km2), Lake Chilwa (683 km2) and numerous rivers. Yet, the Blantyre Water Board (BWB) has been struggling to provide regular water supply to the residents of the country’s commercial capital, Blantyre, mainly because rapid population growth is outstripping supply. The city of Blantyre relies on two extraction and treatment plants for water supply, Walker’s Ferry and Mudi Dam, but these two plants were designed to produce water for a much smaller population than the estimated 2012 population of 783,296 people. Sanitation is particularly problematic in low-income areas where pit latrine and septic tank emptying services have until recently been irregular. The introduction of some promising new pumping technologies is alleviating this situation

A Water and Sanitation Needs Assessment for Kisumu City, Kenya

The city of Kisumu is located in Western Kenya, on the shores of Lake Victoria, the second largest fresh water lake in the world; yet the city is characterized by chronic water shortages. Research on the water sector in Kisumu City also shows that water and sanitation services are not keeping pace with the rapid population growth. Many low-income residents living in informal settlements and peri-urban areas lack access both to clean water and to safe and environmentally sound sanitation facilities. The city desperately needs an efficient water supply system and improved sanitation services. Hygiene education also needs to be accorded priority, mainly because water-borne diseases such as cholera, dysentery and typhoid contribute to numerous deaths every year

Health Needs Assessment for Blantyre City, Malawi

Blantyre City, located in Southern Region, Malawi, is characterized by high rates of malaria, HIV/AIDS, maternal mortality and an increasing burden of non-communicable diseases, such as cancer. Despite progress in reducing child mortality, children in Blantyre and Malawi are still dying of preventable causes such as neonatal complications, pneumonia and diarrhea. Malnutrition levels are also high. Additional challenges facing the health care delivery system in Blantyre include persistent stock-outs of drugs and medical supplies, insufficient essential medical equipment and an inadequate number of ambulances

Gender Needs Assessment for Kisumu City, Kenya

The women and girls of Kisumu face an array of challenges that hinder their rights to gender equality and empowerment. For instance, girls have limited access to postprimary education and do not participate in formal employment, mainly because they do not have the necessary education and experience. Approximately 57 percent of the unemployed are female. Women also have a much higher HIV prevalence rate than men (13.8 percent and 8.4 percent respectively). Adolescent girls are particularly at risk of being withdrawn from school to care for HIV-positive family members. Women in the city also experience gender-based violence and are victims of harmful traditional practices such as polygamy, wife inheritance and coerced adolescent marriages

Education Needs Assessment for Mekelle City, Ethiopia

This study provides an overview of the education system in Mekelle, Ethiopia, and assesses prospects for achieving education-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), specifically ensuring universal primary education (MDG 2) and gender parity in schools (MDG3), by 2015. Mekelle is on its way toward achieving universal primary education by 2015; however, improvements in educational quality are needed. Concerning MDG 3, gender parity has been achieved at the primary level, and Mekelle is on target to achieve this goal by 2015 at the secondary level. Yet promoting gender parity through public programs and campaigns, providing sufficient private toilet facilities for girls and increasing the number of female teachers are necessary