AUN's outstanding work in promoting literacy has received commendations from the United States Government. In a social media post to mark this year's World Literacy Day, the US' major international aid and intervention agency, USAID, identified its partnership with AUN in literacy work in the Northeast region as a worthy contribution to Nigeria's human development.
"USAID partners with the American University of Nigeria to help 265,000 primary school children in 335 schools learn to read with quality materials and specially trained teachers following global best practices. Teachers create supplemental classroom materials via community teacher resource centers to facilitate more dynamic and higher-quality instruction."
USAID, which sponsors the AUN-Atiku Institute for Development (AUN-AID) 's Strengthening Education in Northeast Nigeria (SENSE) program, says it has spent $135million since 2015 in development assistance to help Nigerian children and youth improve their lives through higher quality basic education.
AUN's Chief of Party for the USAID-SENSE Project, Dr. Audu Liman, expressed gratitude to the US Agency for its commitment to literacy and livelihood support in Nigeria.
Dr. Liman affirmed that children learn best when they start reading in their mother tongue. "This was why when USAID offered an opportunity for the development of Hausa language readers to support learners to read, AUN applied for the grant. Through this award, under the Read to Reach project, AUN was able to develop 200 Hausa language decodable and leveled readers of international standards, currently being used to encourage learners whose mother tongue is Hausa, to practice reading".