The joint PRODEGE project was celebrated in a ceremony attended by the president

President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo and First Lady Constancia Mangue de Obiang led a ceremony celebrating over 1,000 teachers earning new qualifications as part of the PRODEGE project on 1 July 2019.

The presidential couple handed out diplomas to 1,347 newly qualified prescool and primary school teachers in the city of Bata, northwest Equatorial Guinea. The ceremony was also attended by other government officials, oil company representatives, and teachers.

PRODEGE, the Program for Education Development of Equatorial Guinea, is a public-private partnership between the government and Hess Corporation, a US oil company. It aims to develop the country’s education system by focusing on training teachers. The program is managed by FHI 360, a US non-profit organization dedicated to human development.

The project is just one of many social initiatives the Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons helps organise along with the government and oil companies. Oil accounts for 80 percent of Equatorial Guinea’s exports and 90 percent of its revenues, making the industry a key pillar of the national economy. For these reasons, both the government and oil companies are keen to reinvest these profits to benefit of the local population.