​​Generation Reader 

By 2030, over a third of the world’s young people will be in Africa. Millions of them will have no books at all.

That’s an estimated 733 million children and young people who could become future doctors, teachers, business leaders, writers and more.

But, for millions of children and young people in Africa there is a real risk they will not realise their potential and be able to lift themselves out of the cycle of poverty, because they lack access to books and quality education.

Together, we can get them the books they need.

Through Generation Reader we will work with our partners to scale up our vital work, creating access to books in even more schools, more public and community libraries and more universities across sub-Saharan Africa.

We must act now to have an impact on the next generation of young people in Africa.

We are at the most critical juncture for Africa’s children. Get it right, and we set the foundation for a demographic dividend, which could lift hundreds of millions out of extreme poverty, and contribute to enhanced prosperity, stability, and peace.

Leila Pakkala, UNICEF’s Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa UNICEF Generation 2030 Africa 2.0 Report