A global education summit in London aims to raise $5 billion (Ksh. 543 Billion) to help 88 million more children in the world’s poorest countries attend school.
The United Kingdom has pledged £430 million to the Global Partnership for Education, which pools donor funding to boost education in 92 countries.
The UK and Kenya are hosting the event, which will offer help for the next five years, benefiting 175 million children.
“Too many children around the world – girls in particular – were already out of school before the pandemic,” said UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
“Enabling them to learn and reach their full potential is the single greatest thing we can do to recover from this crisis,” he said, urging the international community to contribute.
World leaders will make funding commitments during the day.
The Global Partnership for Education’s goal is to enhance education in low-income nations, arguing that this will improve the health, prosperity, and opportunities for some of the world’s poorest people.
Raychel Omamo, Kenya’s cabinet secretary for foreign affairs, warned of the pandemic’s disruption, but said that “education is the gateway, the way forward.”
In his opening remarks, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab emphasized the need of investing in girls’ education as a “engine of progress,” noting that better-educated moms improve their families’ health and well-being.
