NEW YORK (September 22, 2022)
On Thursday, September 22, UNICEF, ChildFund International and the Basic Education Coalition, along with colleagues from World Vision, Plan International and others, hosted the event “Keeping Girls in School: U.S. Foreign Policy for Global Prosperity” on Capitol Hill, which urged Congress to pass the bill this legislative session.
The event was hosted by singer, actor, producer, and UNICEF Ambassador Sofia Carson (Purple Hearts) moderated by ChildFund’s Erin Kennedy, with remarks by Congresswoman Lois Frankel (D-FL) and Congressman Michael Waltz (R-FL), and World Vision US Senior Advisor for Education, Alisa Phillips. The highlight of the program was the featured youth panelists, Tia El Tenn, 22, from Lebanon, and Victoria Bradley, 18, from Detroit, Michigan.
This event comes on the heels of the UN Transforming Education Summit which wrapped on Monday, with global commitments to education made, including by the U.S. The Keeping Girls in School Act (H.R. 4314) passed the House in the 116th Congress, with over 100 bipartisan cosponsors. More than 50 diverse faith-based and international NGOs endorse the legislation.
Girls around the world face increasingly challenging barriers to education access, particularly those from low- and lower-income countries. There has been some progress towards gender equality in primary education, however, the gap that exists around adolescent girls receiving a secondary education is immense. Nearly 130 million girls worldwide are not enrolled in school, and COVID-19 has only exacerbated the crisis, with estimates that 11 million girls globally may not return to school at all.
Barriers that prevent girls from achieving an education include a lack of safety at school, experiencing harassment and other forms of physical, sexual, or psychological violence; child, early, or forced marriage; and caregiving responsibilities, and more.
The Keeping Girls in School Act would direct USAID to prioritize funding for adolescent girls to access secondary education in countries where they are more likely than boys to drop out of school. It would also help to improve safe, inclusive educational opportunities for girls by combatting the challenges they face in accessing and remaining enrolled in school and requires an updated U.S. global strategy on adolescent girls’ empowerment.
When girls stay in school, everyone benefits. In fact, for every dollar spent on holistic programming to ensure girls are educated, there is a $2.80 return – which means billions of dollars in extra GDP. Additionally, when girls stay in school, they live longer, are healthier, and earn more income so they can support their families and greater communities. The Keeping Girls in School Act must be passed now.
For more information please contact:
Julianne O’Connell, UNICEF USA, (908)328-6060, joconnell@unicefusa.org
Rachel Clement, ChildFund, rclement@childfund.org
Kitty Close, Basic Education Coalition, kclose@basiced.org