In 2015, UNESCO former Director-General Irina Bokova stated that “the future starts with the alphabet”, We dare say that the future starts with learning.

The International Literacy Day is observed every 8 September, to remind people that literacy is a right. The day raises awareness about the importance of literacy as a matter of human rights and dignity across the world. The day is marked to advance the literacy agenda that enables human beings to march towards a more cultured, literate, and sustainable society. As per the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), there are at least 773 million people who lack basic literacy skills presently. International Literacy Day seeks to remind the world to make efforts to bridge the literacy divide.

About 40% of Nigerians are illiterates, which poses a huge threat to both Human and National development. There is a strong connection between illiteracy and poverty, and the countries with lower levels of literacy are usually the poorest economically. Poverty breeds illiteracy by forcing children to drop out of school. Likewise, illiteracy sustains poverty; most illiterates are engaged in menial jobs and earning less than their literate counterparts contracted to white-collar jobs or running their businesses. The number of illiterates in Nigeria is increasing daily due to the increasing poverty level and vice versa. There is a vicious circle around poverty and illiteracy with both reinforcing each other.

Illiteracy affects all areas of life, living conditions, belief system, values, and health, amongst others. It is hard to change the mind of an illiterate about something majorly because it is what he is used to. With illiteracy come little communication and comprehension skills, difficulty to improve employment skills which lead to underemployment, and then poverty. Understanding a new skill for the first time can sometimes be a daunting task for an illiterate due to the limited ability to read instructions, books, and resources that would guide the learning process. Literacy as part of education is a fundamental human right; it is also integral to ending poverty.

According to the World Literacy Foundation, illiteracy costs the global economy $1.5trillion annually. Increased literacy can help illiterate adults to read, write and equip them with income-generating skills to either start a business or get a good job. Literacy shows that learning is a journey and that the more we learn the more we adapt to a fast-changing world, which in turn helps us continually improve our standard of living, leading to a longer, healthier, and more creative life.

Through our scholarship program ICF aims to break this seemingly unending cycle. ICF aims to have at least one member of each family in our most impoverished societies be literate enough to change their lives, the family, and their community. It is time to eschew illiteracy and embrace literacy as a driver of poverty eradication in our society.

“New technologies, including mobile telephones, also offer fresh opportunities for literacy for all. We must invest more, and I appeal to all Members States and all our partners to redouble our efforts – political and financial – to ensure that literacy is fully recognized as one of the most powerful accelerators of sustainable development”…..Irina Bokova former UNESCO Director-General