The program was inspired by a 1-hour class delivered in Kenya and shown through a randomized control trial to reduce adolescent pregnancy rates, a proxy for unprotected sex and HIV transmission, by 28 percent.
Teaching students at their ability rather than grade level curriculum is shown to be one of the most cost-effective interventions at improving basic literacy and numeracy.
Worldwide, an estimated 617 million school-age youth are unable to reach minimum proficiency levels in basic reading and mathematics (UIS, 2017).
Less than 40% of households in low- and middle-income countries have internet capacity or 3G mobile networks required of typical ‘high-tech’ distance learning options (Center for Global Development 2020).
Given that 70–90% of low- and middle-income households own at least one mobile phone, Youth Impact developed a remote numeracy intervention that leverages this widely available, yet previously underutilized, platform for educational support.
The approach has been adapted and trialed in six countries to date (Botswana, Kenya, India, Nepal, the Philippines, and Uganda) reaching over 25,000 students and generating some of the fastest, largest-scale multi-country evidence in education.