Despite the progress made in recent decades, gender disparities between girls and boys, in all their diversity, are deepening. According to a recent United Nations report, the interconnected crises: armed conflict, climate change and COVID-19 are putting the 2030 Agenda in “grave danger, along with the very survival of humanity”. These multiplier challenges are “generating side effects on food and nutrition, health, education, the environment, peace and security, and impacting all of the Sustainable Development Goals. ”
The COVID-19 pandemic has deepened the global learning crisis. About 147 million children miss more than half of face-to-face learning in 2020 and 2021 and it is estimated that 50% of refugee girls attend secondary school may not return, when their classrooms reopen after COVID-19, while 222 million girls inaccessible by distance learning during the pandemic.
Shocking new estimate Published by Education Cannot Wait (ECW) indicates that 222 million school-age children in crisis globally are in urgent need of access to a quality education. These include 78.2 million people who are out of school – the majority (54%) of whom are girls – and 119.6 million who are in school but have not achieved minimum proficiency in math or reading.
Girls affected by the horrors of war and displacement in places like Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Mali, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen They also face greater risks such as gender-based violence, child marriage and unwanted pregnancy.
The prohibition of the education of high school girls in Afghanistan especially intolerable. In the last year, more girls are estimated twice the risk of dropping out of schooland nearly twice as likely to go to bed hungry than boys.
This is the global picture as we approach, Transformational Education Summit, and why it is such an important time for girls’ education around the world.
ECW Investment Case
ECW’s new investment case is our case for humanity. It speaks out for girls’ right to a 12-year education everywhere, especially in the context of a humanitarian crisis. Our collective responsibility is to deliver on our promises 222 million dreams and the Sustainable Development Goals.
According to recent ECW’s Annual results reportConflict, forced displacement, climate-induced disasters and the dual effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have fueled increased education in emergencies with funding reaching $2.9 billion USD in 2021, compared to USD 1.4 billion in 2020. While 2021 hits a record- $645 million in education funding – the overall funding gap increases by 17%, from 60% in 2020 to 77% in 2021.
Funding for education does not match the ever-increasing need. The gap is widening.
Only by closing this gap can we protect girls, advocate for gender equality and empower the next generation of female leaders, teachers, lawyers, doctors and nurses.
Investing in 50% of the population of a country, the girls of the country, is the best investment we can make. For every dollar invested in girls’ education, we get $2.80 back. And a World Bank research estimates that “limited educational opportunities for girls and barriers to completing 12 years of education cost countries between $15 and $30 trillion in lost productivity and lifetime income.”
The UK is a leading sponsor of Education Can’t Wait and its support has allowed Education Can’t Wait and its strategic partners to reach close 7 million won children and young people since 2016. In 2021 alone, the Foundation reached 3.7 million children across 32 countries and an additional 11.8 million through COVID-19 interventions. Of all the children invested by ECW to date, more than 48% are girls and 92% of programs have demonstrated improvements in gender equality.
This year’s Transformation Education Summit and United Nations General Assembly will be critical times to address these challenges, while assessing effectiveness, effectiveness, scalability, and sustainability. and the overall return on investment of new and ongoing streams of activities and initiatives to increase girls’ access to quality education.
Fulfill our promise
Hosted by Switzerland and Education Can’t Wait – and co-convened by Germany, Niger, Norway and South Sudan – ECW’s 2023 Financial Summit provides an opportunity for transformative leaders these commitments into action.
We call on people everywhere to support # 222MillionDreams and #Everygirleverywhere with posts on social, personal donationsLetters to your elected officials and calls to action through a broad group strategic partnership.
Now is our chance to deliver on our promise of universal, equal education. Now is our chance to transform girls’ education to transform the world. Now is our chance to be free with humanity and for humanity.
About the author
Helen Grant is a Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom and UK Special Envoy for Girls’ Education, leading the UK’s international efforts to ensure all girls receive quality education for 12 years. Before entering politics, Helen was a children and family lawyer for 23 years.
Yasmine Sherif is the Director of Education Can’t Wait (ECW), the United Nations’ global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises. As a lawyer specializing in International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights Law (LL.M), she has over 30 years of experience with the United Nations and international NGOs.
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