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WILMA MORAA ISABOKE CHALLENGES CONFRONTED BEFORE AND DURING THE PANDEMIC Challenges of education access for girls in sub-Saharan Africa is not a new phenomenon. Before the pandemic, poverty and socio-economic and cultural factors contributed heavily to these challenges. In addition, several countries had yet to fully recover from the Ebola epidemic in 2014, even when the 2019 outbreaks hit.* Many learners were affected by the Ebola lockdowns, especially linguistic minorities, persons with disabilities, and those living in poor and remote areas.’ Girls in these groups are uniquely affected due to the intersectionality of many of these issues. Many of the 130 million girls who were not in school before the pandemic come from low-income countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. UNESCO estimates that 11 million girls may not return to school due to the “unprecedented education disruption.” Analysis indicates “girls will be less likely to return to school when they are needed at home for income-generating and caring responsibilities, or if their families can no longer afford school fees and other associated costs such as uniforms, school materials, and transportation.”’ Moreover, “some may be forced into an early marriage or resort to transactional sex to cover basic needs [or] some may face early or unintended pregnancy.”® Evidence from the past indicates that girls are particularly vulnerable in the face of prolonged school closures like the times of Ebola or conflict. “School closures have been found to exacerbate girls’ and women’s unpaid care work, limiting the time available to learn at home.”? Also, “the gender digital divide and girls’ reduced access to information and communication technology (ICT), even in contexts with high mobile and internet coverage, also translates into reduced learning opportunities during school closures.” * Global Business Coalition for Education, Ebola Emergency: Creating Safe Schools and Preventing a Long-term Crisis, Global Business Coalition for Education, 2014, 1, https:// gbc-education.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/EbolaEducationReport1232014.pdf. 5; UNESCO, Keeping Girls in the Picture, 5. ® UNESCO, Keeping Girls in the Picture. 7 UNESCO, Keeping Girls in the Picture, 7. 8 UNESCO, Keeping Girls in the Picture, 7. ° UNESCO, Building Back Equal Girls Back to School Guide, UNESCO, 2020, 3, https://www. unicef.org/media/75471/file/Building-back-equal-Girls-back-to-school-guide-2020.pdf. 10 UNESCO, COVID-19 Education Response- Addressing the Gender dimensions of COVIDRelated School Closures, Issue Note 3.1 (2020), 2. s 302 "
