BELGIUM: Education campaigners demand G8 countries deliver promised aid to fund education

Record ID: 454551

  • Title: BELGIUM: Education campaigners demand G8 countries deliver promised aid to fund education
  • Date: 7th May 2007
  • Summary: (AD1) BRUSSELS, BELGIUM (MAY 2, 2007) (REUTERS) CHILDREN HOLDING BANNERS/ PAN TO AMADOU AND MARIAM, WORLD FAMOUS BLIND MALI SINGERS STANDING IN FRONT OF CHILDREN
  • Embargoed: 22nd May 2007 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Belgium
  • Country: Belgium
  • Topics: Finance,Education
  • Reuters ID: LVA7M0XF47SWLH703XCV0033LA4D
  • Story Text: Education campaigners demand that G8 countries deliver on their promise for more aid to fund basic education in developing countries.
    Education campaigners were in Brussels on Wednesday (May 2) to demand that countries deliver on their G8 pledges to boost aid to 50 billion US dollars by 2010.
    Staging a protest outside the European commission building, with children from different countries, campaigners condemned rich countries for what they say is a significant fall in aid to fund basic education in the poor and developing countries, breaking promises of more money.
    Some ministers back their call and want to fill the 11 billion US dollars funding gap needed to reach the United Nations Millennium Development Goal of getting all the world's children into primary education by 2015.
    Ministers are appealing to the private sector to make its contribution, alongside state aid, to help educate the world's poorest children.
    British Chancellor Gordon Brown said the UK would pledge 15 billion US dollars and appealed to other countries would follow suit.
    "We're here to see that promises will be kept. There are nearly 80 million children not going to school today and won't go to school any day unless we take action and that's why with Hilary Benn here, we, in Britain, are prepared to put 15 billion dollars over the next ten years in education and we want to persuade other countries to join us," Brown says.
    Senior British MEP Glennys Kinnock said she had come to ensure that the money goes to the right place and that governments implement proper education programmes for all.
    "When I go to Africa, when I see children sitting on the ground with a twig, writing their name in the dust, then I realise that something desperately has to be done because this is how you build democracy, this is how you build social justice for developing countries and for children in particular," Kinnock said.
    Some 77 million children currently go without primary education, and 75 countries are in danger of missing the Millennium Goal if more aid is not made available.
    Wednesday's meeting, organised by the World Bank and the European Commission, brings together governments from the rich and developing worlds, non-governmental organisations, international donors and the private sector under the banner Keeping Our Promises on Education.
    World renowned singers from Mali, Amadou and Mariam, want to ensure there is equal education for handicapped children.
    Both blind themselves they went to school at the Bamako institute for the blind which they are now campaigning for.
    They addressed the conference and played for ministers and senior officials.
    Amadou and Mariam said only 2 percent of disabled children were in school and that disability was a greater barrier to education, especially in the developing countries, than gender or poverty.
    "We are expecting an awareness campaign to make people aware of the problem of education worldwide and especially amongst the handicapped. We would like that handicapped children also be included in education programmes. We are expecting people here to listen to us and that authorities may also be able to bring their help to ensure education for all," Amadou said.
    Other campaigners said education is crucial in reducing AIDS which is prevalent in many African countries, especially for girls.
    16 year old Nabuto from Uganda said women need to know how to protect themselves against the dangers of HIV, saying this process starts at school, not just at home.
    "There is a saying that education is the key to success. If you don't have education you will never succeed in future," Nabuto said.
    Africa has the largest number of children who are out of school at 38 million. The region with the second largest group with out-of-school children is South and West Asia at 16 million children.
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