UK Announces N10bn to Fund Girls Education in Nigeria, Bangladesh, Others
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is launching a new £20 million business partnership as the UK leads global efforts to improve girls’ access to education in developing countries.
In the UK’s first education partnership of its kind, the UK government is joining forces with the private sector to boost girls’ access to education in developing countries. According to a statement by the British High Commission in Nigeria, the partners include Accenture, BP, Cognizant, Coursera, Microsoft, Pearson, PwC, Standard Chartered, Unilever, United Bank for Africa and Vodafone.
The UK government will partner UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited (GenU) to help deliver the programme, with key partners funding GenU being Accenture, Microsoft, Standard Chartered, Unilever, and United Bank of Africa.
Businesses, charities, schools and colleges will shortly be able to bid for funds from the programme as the UK government explained that the partnership “wants to support projects that will improve access to education for girls, with a focus on providing the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills
Between 2015 and 2020, the UK supported at least 15.6 million children in developing countries to gain a decent education, including 8.1 million girls.
Speaking on the programme, UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss stressed that supporting women and girls “is at the heart” of UK foreign policy.
“We want women to have agency over their own lives and to be free to succeed. Investing in girls’ education is vital for a more sustainable, peaceful and prosperous future,” noted Truss. “That’s why we are partnering with the private sector to help girls in developing countries access education and job opportunities.”
