Global Poverty Project calls for action to support education worldwide

by Hugh Evans, Global Poverty Project

This year, the Global Poverty Project is delighted to be staging the Global Citizen Festival in support of the important work of the Global Partnership for Education – a body compiled of developing countries, donors, the private sector, international organisations, civil society and private foundations. Indeed, this is a cause that resonates with me on a very deep and personal level.

Ten years ago, I lived in KwaZulu Natal South Africa for a year, working at a foster care centre that supported children who had been orphaned by HIV/AIDS and violence. It was there that I met an amazing young man named Kweku Zulu. When I first met Kweku he was eight years old, and enrolled at the local primary school just a few miles down the road. Now ten years later, Kweku’s life has turned around. He is about to graduate from high school and start a university education with dreams and opportunities ahead of him that no one would have predicted ever be possible for someone from such background. That was back in 2002 when some 100 million disadvantaged children, like Kweku, did not have the same opportunity to get a primary education.

Despite progress, unmet MDG goals await

Fortunately, Kweku’s story is not as uncommon as it used to be. What people may not realise, is that today – a mere ten years on – nine out of every ten children are enrolled in primary school throughout the world. Universal primary education by 2015 seemed a pretty lofty goal thirteen years ago when the Millennium Development Goals were first formed and presented to the world, but with less than 1000 days to go until their expiration, it is heartening to know that in 2011 there was a 90% net enrollment rate in primary schools around the globe.

Yet while in many places, the target of 100% enrollment is already met, or expected to be met, by 2015, the latest data from UNESCO also show that in 2011, there were still some 57 million children out of school. Furthermore, according to prevailing trends in different pockets of sub-Saharan Africa and some parts of Asia, progress is insufficient to guarantee the goal of universal primary education will be met by 2015.

Shining a spotlight on education

It is with this in mind that advocates at the Global Poverty Project will shine a spotlight on education this September and implore the US and other donor governments to increase their financial contribution to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).

Why? While achieving universal schooling by 2015 is a noble goal in and of itself, it must also be emphasised that investing in education is perhaps the most effective and quickest way to reduce poverty. Children who are literate and know basic mathematics will most certainly provide a better future for their families, communities and the countries in which they live. Investing in education produces enormous yields. For instance, each additional year of schooling raises average annual gross domestic product growth by 0.37 per cent. Also, where the enrollment rate for secondary schooling is 10 per cent higher than the average rate for the population, the risk of war is reduced by around 3 per cent. And there is more and more evidence that proves increased access to education has significant flow on effects. Like the promotion of girls’ and women’s rights, falling infant mortality rates, and increased crop yields. In fact, if all students in low-income countries left school with basic reading skills, 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty.

The GPE exists to ensure funds delivered towards education are spent efficiently in the recognition that with so many different countries operating within different frameworks, coordination is paramount in order to guarantee effective spending. Most funds given to the GPE come from twenty OECD countries.  Yet, a report released in May this year showed that out of these donor nations, the United States ranked second to last in its total donations to GPE, just ahead of Romania. It is important to remember that we are living in a time where some Americans have become fatigued and even cynical by how the United States is investing its foreign assistance dollars. But here is an opportunity to really make a difference to the lives of the most disadvantaged people on the planet. By increasing how much money is directed to the GPE, the US can be sure that its foreign assistance will see greater returns for the world.

Time for the United States to renew its commitment to ending poverty

The huge success we have seen in the expansion of primary school education around the world is a direct result of countries like Australia who spend 25% of their aid budget specifically on education. Since 2002, the United States has been a leader in its levels of funding to basic education.  It’s time for the US step up and renew its commitment to realising the eradication of extreme poverty by reaffirming and sharpening its focus on education and the long lasting results it can bring – especially for the communities of the 57 million children who are yet to complete primary school.

You can support this call to action right now by signing up to be a Global Citizen and sending an email to US Government leaders asking them to support education worldwide. In taking action you can earn points to win a ticket to this year’s Global Citizen Festival, which will shine the international spotlight on the global education emergency. Join us!!