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/ Global Action Sheet
August 2009
Take Action! Urge the President to create a Global Fund for Education
What do a banker to the poor, a former president, and a religious leader have in common? They will all be awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on August 12 — and they have all called for the creation of a Global Fund for Education.
On June 30, 2009, in advance of the annual Group of Eight (G8) Summit, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mary Robinson, and Muhammad Yunus called on President Barack Obama and other G8 leaders to create a Global Fund for Education by the end of 2009. They wrote:
“We, the undersigned, are writing to implore the leaders of the world’s richest countries to renew their commitment to the children of the world by revitalizing the global compact on Education for All. At this year’s G8, we urge those same leaders to announce an agreement to launch a fully resourced Global Fund for Education.”
The G8 has yet to seize this opportunity to renew the hope of the 75 million primary school-aged children around the world who are not in school.
President Obama should heed the call to action by these global moral leaders and create a multilateral Global Fund for Education with the $2 billion contribution that he promised during his presidential campaign.
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award given by an acting United States president. This honor recognizes these 3 and 13other individuals for “breaking down barriers and lifting up their fellow citizens.”[1] As this honor is recognized in the media, there is great opportunity for getting letters to the editor published calling on President Obama to join these and other global leaders by pledging support for the creation of a Global Fund for Education. Get a letter to the editor published!
Sample Letter to the Editor
Instructions: Follow the guidelines for letters to the editor provided by your local papers. Always 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). To write a letter through the RESULTS website, go to If your letter gets published, amplify its impact by sending a copy of the published letter to your members of Congress.
Engage
/ The first Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients of the Obama Administration were announced this month. Three of these "agents of change" honored by the President — Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Mary Robinson, and Muhammad Yunus — have called for the creation of a Global Fund for Education to ensure every child has a chance to go to school.Tip: Connect global education to a timely news issue, a local story about children going back to school, a personal experience you have with education, or hopefully coverage of the Presidential Medals of Freedom announcement in your newspaper.
Problem
/ Seventy-five million children are still not in school in the world's poorest countries. Over half are girls, and some 40 million are in countries affected by war or conflict.Inform about the solution
/ By several global declarations, education is a basic human right and essential to the development of healthy children, strong communities, and productive countries. Studies show that each additional year of education for a girlbeyond grade three or four will lead on average to 20 percent higher wages and a 10 percent decrease in the risk of her own children dying of preventable causes. Prevention of HIV/AIDSis so strongly associated with school attendance that education has been called a “social vaccine” against the virus.Call to action!
/ President Obama should heed the call of the moral leaders he has just honored and make good on his campaign commitment to createa Global Fund for Education.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 the second goal of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) — eight internationally agreed-upon goals from the year 2000 that serve as the blueprint for cutting extreme poverty in half by the year 2015.
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, with 40 million 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 a major shortfall of qualified 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.[2]
The U.S. and other countries must do more 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.As part of his historic Cairo address, President Barack Obama raised the hopes of millions of women around the world by highlighting how educating women can change the economic future of nations and promote equality. He said, "I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality . . . countries where women are well-educated are far more likely to be prosperous."
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.[3] 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. A study in Zambia found that AIDS spread twice as fast among uneducated girls as among educated girls. A study in Uganda showed that rural Ugandans with secondary education have a 75% lower rate of HIV infection than those with no education.
Why Do We Need a Global Fund for Education?
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 support for then-Senator Clinton’s Education for All Act. Clinton reiterated Obama’s commitment in her Secretary of State confirmation hearing.
Almost 10 years after the world committed to achieving Education for All through the MDGs, progress is stagnating and the economic crisis threatens to push millions more children out of school. At the same time, donor commitments to education have leveled off just when a massive investment in countries with bold national education plans is required to combat the enduring impact of the global recession. Total donor contributions to basic education are, on average, only $4 billion a year — far short of the $16 billion needed annually to achieve universal basic education.
Many poor countries with bold national education plans do not have the full resources needed to implement those plans and are then unable to reach the most vulnerable children. Current aid delivery mechanisms are failing to reach the 40 million children in conflict affected and fragile states who are out of school, and a new and improved aid architecture which could both scale up levels of aid and ensure they are getting to the countries most in need. 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:
- Open and transparent funding decisions;
- Accountability for measurable achievements in education access and quality;
- Participation by donor and developing countries governments, as well as local communities and other stakeholders;
- Effective aid that prioritizes strong national education plans that reach the most vulnerable with quality, basic education.
If we do not act, 75 million children and counting will never know the joy of learning. 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]
[2] UNESCO Global Monitoring Report 2009
[3]What Works in Girls' Education By Barbara Herz and Gene B. Sperling, Senior Fellow for Economic Policy and Director of the Center for Universal Education, April 2004