Alison Cohen's blog

Teaching literacy is difficult in war-torn, impoverished countries such as Liberia, where an alarming number of youth dropped out of school before grade three – or never attended school at all. But improving literacy among those who missed the chance to learn to read and write early on can be a critical part of improving their abilities to earn a sustainable livelihood.

Teachers and students in Rwanda are learning to write their own stories, creating culturally relevant materials for other young readers to share. A similar literacy program in Mali is creating a culture of reading supported by oral and written storytelling in thousands of classrooms. While both approaches put writing at the heart of reading instruction, each program has been customized to meet its country’s specific literacy education needs.

On July 9, 2011, a historic vote resulted in southern Sudan seceding from the north. The Republic of South Sudan, Africa’s newest nation, was born.

Students who aspire to enter the National Autonomous University of Honduras (UNAH), one of the major institutions of higher education in Honduras, have three chances to pass the admissions exam. But a novel collaboration between EDC and UNAH is opening doors to many students who have struggled to pass the admissions test.

Twenty years ago, the education system in the small West African country of Benin was in a state of near collapse. Today it is rebounding, emerging from decades of political strife and little government support.

A Conversation with Cornelia Janke, Senior International Technical Advisor, Education Development Center (EDC).

Radio is used in dozens of countries as a communications tool - and a tool for learning. In South Sudan, radio is key to reaching a broad and diverse audience with news and information, and it is also a critical teaching tool for both children and adults who have limited learning opportunities. Read more from the latest USAID Frontlines about how radio is being used for communication - and education - in the world's newest nation.

Sometimes it takes a public figure to drive home the suffering an illness can cause. This time, it was Kjell Magne Bondevik, former prime minister of Norway, who shared his personal struggle with depression at the Sixth World Conference on the Promotion of Mental Health and Prevention of Mental and Behavioral Disorders, co-hosted by Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC).

“I was sad all the time. I was not able to get out of bed,” he said. By 1998, he felt ashamed and thought he wanted to step down from office.