World Bank ties Somalia insecurity to illiteracy‏

A huge proportion of illiterate youthful population and slow economic growth poses security challenge in Somalia even as foreign peace-keeping forces, including Kenya’s troops, prepare to exit the Horn of African state by 2021.

The World Bank Group says in its latest Economic Update report the war-torn country also faces major problems in providing social services and creating jobs for an ever-expanding youthful population even with access to external resources in the medium term.

“Too few jobs in the future and too few educational opportunities for children in the present may cloud Somalia’s prospects for reducing poverty and boosting shared prosperity,” the bank says in the report published last week.

“Forty percent of Somalia’s population is aged 6 to 18; this crucial demographic must have the opportunity to acquire the knowledge, health and skills to become productive contributors to the national economy.”

The report notes only half of the population is literate, and women have less educational attainment than men across virtually all age-groups. It adds Somalia’s school system will need to be rebuilt from the ground up after years of conflict.