DUSHANBE, January 12, 2013, Asia-Plus – Tajikistan and the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) have signed an agreement to finance the vocational literacy program for reduction of poverty.

According to the Secretariat of the Tajik Finance Ministry, the document was inked by Tajik Finance Minister Safarali Najmiddinov and IsDB Vice-President (Corporate Services) Dr Ahmet Tiktik in Dushanbe on January 11.

A total cost of the project designed for the period until 2016 is 11 million U.S. dollars, the source said.

According to information posted on the website of the Islamic Solidarity Fund fro Development (ISFD), which is the poverty alleviation arm of the Islamic Development Bank, the Vocational Literacy Program (VOLIP) was established in line with the recommendations of the 3rd Extraordinary Session of the OIC Islamic Summit held in Mecca in December 2005, which mandated the Fund to reduce poverty through the eradication of illiteracy, building capacities and skills.  The VOLIP is among the first programs launched under the Strategy of the ISFD.  

The main objective of the VOLIP is to reduce poverty in the rural populations, particularly among women, by equipping them with relevant functional literacy competencies and national skills, and by giving them access to microfinance resources to help increase households’ income.  The program contributes through notional functional literacy projects linked to the achievement of the education-related to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).