Ambassador DeLisi Launches Country-Wide Book Donation

Trained Teachers and Over 400,000 Pupil Books to Increase Literacy in Uganda

On Thursday, June 12, 2014, U.S. Ambassador to Uganda Scott H. DeLisi visited Lake Victoria Primary School in Entebbe to highlight the United States Agency for International Development’s (USAID) School Health and Reading Program.  The School Health and Reading Program promotes increased literacy in Uganda by supporting early grade reading. Implementation of the program includes a contribution of 400,000 supplementary reading or library books in eight local languages as well as English that will be distributed to 352 schools by end of 2014.

Speaking at the donation ceremony, Ambassador DeLisi stated: “Improving teaching skills and ensuring that each child has access to a grade appropriate reading text are key elements to improving the reading skills of one million Ugandan children.”

The School Health and Reading Program is a five-year reading and health education program designed to support the Ministry of Education and Sports (MOES) in the dual challenges of low reading skills and high HIV prevalence by improving reading outcomes in primary grades and strengthening HIV/AIDS interventions in schools.