The vital relationship between literacy and health is the focus of this year’s International Literacy Day to be celebrated around the world on 8 September. This year, UNESCO’s official celebration of International Literacy Day will be held at the African Regional Conference in Support of Global Literacy, 10 to 12 September, in Bamako (Mali).

In his message for this day, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, says: “Literacy strengthens the capabilities of people to take advantage of healthcare and educational opportunities – for example, by seeking medical help for themselves and a sick child, by adopting preventive health measures such as immunisation, and by acquiring greater knowledge of family planning methods. […]. Educated parents, especially mothers – whether through formal schooling or adult programmes – are more likely to send their children to school and have a better understanding of their healthcare needs.”

Considerable achievements have been made in many countries and progress has been attained through adult literacy and non-formal education programmes but major challenges remain. An estimated 774 million adults, two-thirds of them women, live without basic literacy skills. More than 72 million children are out of school and many more attend irregularly. Moreover, many newly literate people are unable to sustain their skills in the absence of appropriate reading material.

This year, UNESCO’s official celebration of International Literacy Day will be held at the African Regional Conference in Support of Global Literacy, 10 to 12 September, in Bamako (Mali). The laureates of the 2007 UNESCO literacy prizes (from China, Nigeria, Senegal, Spain, the United Republic of Tanzania, and the United States of America) will receive their awards during the celebration in recognition of their particularly effective contributions to literacy and health.

The African Regional Conference is one of six regional and sub-regional conferences organized by UNESCO to support global literacy within the framework of Education for All (EFA), the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD), and UNESCO's Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE).

The Alphabet of Hope: Writers for Literacy, a book* bringing together internationally renowned authors** advocating Literacy for All, will be published by UNESCO on the same occasion. Brothers of Pen and Paper, a documentary co-produced with AMREF, one of the largest African health organizations, and directed by young Kenyans who share their view of the links between literacy and health, will also be released on the day.
.
* Copies are available at the UNLD Coordination Unit, Division for the Coordination of UN Priorities in Education, UNESCO 7, place de Fontenoy, 75 352 Paris 07 SP, FRANCE
Tel: + 33 1 45 68 09 52 Fax: + 33 1 45 68 56 26, e mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

** AUTHORS in the English version: Margaret Atwood, Paul Auster, Paulo Coelho, Nadine Gordimer, Amitav Gosh, Francisco Sionil Jose, N. Scott Momaday, Toni Morrison, Wole Soyinka, Amy Tan, Miklós Vámos, Banana Yoshimoto. FR : Philippe Claudel, Philippe Delerm, Chahdortt Djavann, Fatou Diome, Marc Lévy, Alberto Manguel, Anna Moi, Erik Orsenna, Gisèle Pineau, Abdourahman A. Waberi, Wei Wei.