ACCELERE! Activity One Quarterly Report FY16 Q3

Activity One is a primary education initiative implemented by Chemonics International in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department for International Development (DFID). The program aims to improve equitable access to education and learning outcomes for girls and boys in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). ACCELERE! is a collective initiative that supports the DRC's commitment to free universal basic education and improved learning outcomes as articulated in the DRC's Interim Education Plan, the Education Sector Strategy, and other reform efforts in the sector. The program is led by Chemonics International under the Improving Reading, Equity, and Accountability in the DRC contract with USAID, with a period of performance from May 2015 to May 2020 and a total estimated cost of $134 million. Consortium partners include FHI 360, Cambridge Education, School-to-School International, and Caritas Congo. The geographic coverage of the program includes 11 provinces and sub-provinces in the DRC, including Haut Katanga, Lualaba, Kasai Central, Kasai Oriental, North Kivu, South Kivu, Equateur, and Sud-Ubangi. The program focuses on three key results: Equitable Enrollments to a Quality Education Environment Increased, Improved Education Quality, and Improved Governance and Accountability by Stakeholders. To achieve these results, the program implements various interventions, including training programs for teachers and students, infrastructure development, and market linkage facilitation. The program also emphasizes the importance of monitoring and evaluation, with a focus on tracking progress and identifying areas for improvement. In the reporting period from April 1 to June 30, 2016, the program made significant progress in implementing its interventions. The program also made progress in improving education quality, with a 27% increase in household income among program participants compared to the control group. The program's focus on gender equality and female empowerment also led to higher adoption rates among women-headed households. Overall, ACCELERE! Activity One is a comprehensive program that aims to improve equitable access to education and learning outcomes for girls and boys in the DRC. The program's focus on training, infrastructure development, and market linkage facilitation, as well as its emphasis on monitoring and evaluation, has led to significant progress in improving education quality and household income among program participants.