UNICEF chief to launch initiative to boost girls' school enrolment in Pakistan

The head of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) is travelling to Pakistan to launch a national initiative for the acceleration of girls' education in that country.

The Girls' Education initiative, to be launched tomorrow in Islamabad by Executive Director Carol Bellamy, is part of UNICEF's campaign to help countries rapidly increase the number of girls in school over the next two years. The campaign is beginning in 25 countries where girls' education is in a critical state, and includes six South Asian countries.

"Some 43 million children are out of school in South Asia. Over half of these are girls," UNICEF said. "This calls for urgent investments and a scaling up of interventions in the region to ensure all children, particularly girls, receive a quality basic education."

Failure to act with immediacy, to recognize the value of investing in girls and to address girls' education will be a costly mistake for the region, the agency warned.

UNICEF will work with the Pakistani Government to mobilize new resources, build broad national consensus about the need to get girls to school, and help improve schools themselves to make them more welcoming to girls.

During her three-day visit, Ms. Bellamy is expected to attend the Ministerial Meeting of the South Asia Education For All Forum, where she will deliver the keynote address.