LONDON, Oct 12 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Britain and Kenya said they would
co-host a summit next year to raise funds for children’s schooling in poorer
countries, warning that the coronavirus pandemic risked depriving many
millions of an education.
The summit is scheduled to take place in Britain in mid-2021 under the
UK’s presidency of the G7 club of developed nations, and will be co-chaired
by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Johnson said the goal was to raise at least $5 billion for the Global
Partnership for Education (GPE), an initiative launched in 2002 which counts the singer Rihanna as a global ambassador.
“I urge the global community to come together, dig deep and ensure we fund their vital work to give every child the chance at an education,” the British leader said in a statement.
He said that due to school closures during the pandemic, some 1.3 billion
children including 650 million girls have lost out on months of education,
and many may never return because of the economic havoc caused by Covid-19.
“It is a toll of wasted potential and missed opportunity that is a tragedy
not just for those children, but for each and every one of us,” Johnson said.
Kenyatta said the GPE had been a “key partner” in helping Kenya invest in
education, especially for girls.
“We must use the opportunity of GPE’s financing conference to make
ambitious pledges to invest in quality education so our children and young
people have the skills and knowledge they need to seize the opportunities of
the 21st century,” he said.
The GPE has helped get 160 million more children into school and doubled
the enrolment of girls in the countries where it works, Kenyatta noted.
If countries pledge another $5 billion over five years, that would add 175
million extra children to school rolls in 87 lower-income countries, he said.
That would in turn “lift 18 million people out of poverty, and protect two
million girls from early marriage”.
The summit’s timing will depend on the progress of the global fight
against Covid-19. This year, all international gatherings have gone virtual,
but leaders including Johnson have talked up prospects for a vaccine by mid-2021. — NNN-AGENCIES
