April 2009: Write to the president urging U.S. leadership to create a Global Fund for EducationImagine if the nearly 30 million children enrolled in primary school in the U.S.[1] couldn’t attend because public schools charged fees that made school unaffordable, the nearest school was too far away to walk to, public transportation too dangerous and costly, schools lacked restroom facilities for girls, classrooms had more than 100 students per teacher, conflict and violence were prevalent, or families needed children home to help support the household? We would never allow such circumstances to deny children in the U.S. an education, not only because we believe we have a moral responsibility to educate our children, but because, as President Obama has repeatedly stressed, a literate, educated population is the foundation of economic strength and social and political stability. Unfortunately, around the world these and other barriers are still blocking 75 million primary-aged children from accessing a quality basic education. This education gap is not only a shocking denial of the basic right to an education, but also cripples the ability of poor countries to participate in the global economy, build stable and democratic governments, and improve health. Support for Education for All is especially important during these uncertain times. The World Bank projects that the financial crisis will drive an additional 46 million people into poverty in 2009 — further compounding the 2008 food and fuel crisis, which pushed an additional 100 million people into poverty — and will lead to 44 million children suffering permanent cognitive and physical damage due to severe malnutrition. Despite strong congressional leadership on Education for All funding, increased commitments by other donor countries, and developing countries increasingly providing a greater percentage of their own resources to education, a funding gap of at least $11 billion per year must be closed in order to meet the U.N. Millennium Development Goal of education for by 2015. The current aid system for education must be improved with new leadership, better coordination, and new mechanisms to support the achievement of Education for All. During his campaign, President Obama pledged $2 billion for a global education fund. Now is the time for the U.S. to realize this vision and lead the world in achieving the Education for All goals by creating an effective Global Fund for Education. We have a real opportunity for bold action to stimulate real change. Write to President Obama and ask him to lead an effort to establish a multilateral, multi-donor Global Fund for Education. Sample Letter to the PresidentInstructions: Include your address and phone number with your submission. Make your letter short (150–250 words) and to-the-point using the EPIC format (see sample letter below). You can mail your letter to: “The White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington DC 20500.” However, as U.S. postal mail is delayed for security checks, you could fax your letter to: (202) 456-2461. To send it online, click on RESULTS website.
What is Education for All and What Progress Have We Made?Education for All (EFA) is a global commitment to provide quality basic education for all children. EFA was launched at the World Conference on Education for All in 1990. Education for All is also goal #2 of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) — eight internationally agreed-upon goals that serve as the blueprint for cutting extreme poverty in half. Of the 75 million primary-aged children not in school, 55 percent are girls, roughly three-quarters live in sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia, and some 40 million are in conflict-affected countries or emerging states. Tens of millions more children drop out of school before grade five because schools are overcrowded, unsafe, poorly equipped, poorly managed and have inadequately trained teachers. If current trends continue, 58 out of the 86 countries that have not yet achieved universal primary enrollment will fail to do so by 2015. Standing between these children and the classroom is a lack of funding for quality basic education to help them overcome the barriers to school such as tuition fees, disabilities, lack of sanitation, and poorly qualified teachers. The U.S. and other countries must do more to support countries to eliminate school fees and other barriers to education and work in closer partnership with poor countries that have committed to providing education for all children. Why is Education So Important?Education is a basic human right and a significant factor in the development of children, communities, and countries. Especially in this difficult economic climate, investing in education is critical to mitigate the impacts of the economic crisis on the poorest and to prevent a regression in the progress we’ve made on achieving all of the MDGs. Education is a prerequisite for short and long-term economic growth. A person’s earnings increase by 10 percent for each year of schooling they receive, translating to a one percent annual increase in national income if quality education is offered to the entire population. Opening classroom doors to all children will help break the intergenerational chains of poverty because education is intrinsically linked to all development goals, such as child health, gender empowerment, and fighting the spread of HIV and diseases of poverty. Particularly for women and girls, the economic and personal empowerment that education provides allows them to make healthier choices for themselves and their families: on average, for a girl in a poor country, each additional year of education beyond grades three or four will lead to 20 percent higher wages and a 10 percent decrease in the risk of her own children dying of preventable causes. The ability of girls to avoid HIV infection is so strongly associated with attendance at school that education is known as a “social vaccine” against the virus. Education is also a critical building block for the development of an inclusive, democratic society and must be a central component of U.S. efforts to promote global security. Former U.N. Ambassador Bill Richardson underscored the importance of education in fighting extremism in a 2008 Foreign Affairs article: “A crucial effort in fighting terrorism must be support for public education in the Muslim world, which is the best way to mitigate the role of those madrassas that foment extremism. Development alleviates the injustice and lack of opportunity that proponents of violence and terrorism exploit.”[2] Why Do We Need a Global Fund for Education?While foreign assistance for basic education from the U.S. and other donor countries is increasing, current investments could be better spent as part of a coordinated strategy to remove barriers to education in partnership with committed poor countries. The Global Fund for Education would be a multilateral (many countries involved), multi-donor mechanism to increase global commitment and funding for the achievement of universal basic education. This fund should be based on principles of
What Should the New Administration Do to Achieve EFA?The U.S. can lead donor and poor countries to create this much-needed Global Fund for Education. During his campaign, President Obama pledged $2 billion for a global education fund and to support then-Senator Clinton’s Education for All Act. Clinton reiterated Obama’s commitment in her Secretary of State confirmation hearing. President Obama and Secretary Clinton must act to ensure all children can go to school by leading the world in the creation of a Global Fund for Education. [1] U.S. Census Bureau. Table 232: Public Elementary and Secondary Schools — Summary: 1980 to 2006. http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/tables/09s0232.pdf. [2] Bill Richardson. “A New Realism.” Foreign Affairs. January/February 2008. |