Minister Brophy to commit €60m to funding global education initiatives
Press release
28 July 2021Ireland will commit €60m to funding education around the world over the next five years, with a particular focus on getting girls back into school.
The commitment will be made by Minister for International Development and Diaspora, Colm Brophy T.D., at the Global Education Summit, a two-day summit co-hosted by Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya.
At its launch today, the summit heard of the long-term damage to education done by the pandemic. An estimated 20 million girls may fall out of education due to the pandemic, adding to the 130 million girls who were already not in school.
Minister Brophy, who will formally deliver Ireland’s funding pledge at the summit tomorrow, said:
“Education is the building block that allows people to lift themselves and their families out of poverty. Covid-19 closed schools around the world. Millions of children will never go back into a classroom again. The damage to education is potentially the most serious long-term impact of the pandemic. It will set families and communities back a generation.
“Girls have been particularly badly affected. Twenty million girls who should be in school are now working or in many cases being forced into early marriages. Funding girls’ education is a priority for Irish Aid. We strongly believe that successfully tackling poverty and inequality begins with educating girls.
“We are committing €60m to funding education around the world. Of that, €10m will be ring-fenced for the Girls’ Education Accelerator aimed specifically at supporting girls to learn in countries where girls’ education is farthest behind.”
The funding is part of Ireland’s ongoing commitment to the Global Partnerships for Education (GPE). The Global Education Summit is a two-day international event, taking place on July 28th and 29th, to generate five-year funding commitments to fund GPE.
ENDS
Press Office
28 July 2021