UN Children’s Fund chief launches girls’ education initiative in Pakistan
The head of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) launched a national initiative to boost girls’ education in Pakistan today, warning that until girls’ education became an urgent priority in South Asia, the region’s economic and social development would be hindered.
The head of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) launched a national initiative to boost girls’ education in Pakistan today, warning that until girls’ education became an urgent priority in South Asia, the region’s economic and social development would be hindered.
“Each one of these girls is an asset to her country,” UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy said, noting that 7 million Pakistani girls of school-going-age are not in school. “But their prospects are dwindling by the day. Every day spent outside of a school is a tremendous loss not only for the girl but for the future of her country.”
Ms. Bellamy is in Pakistan on a three-day visit to focus attention on education in the region as part of a global campaign to scale up efforts to achieve the Education for All (EFA) goals.
Tomorrow, she is scheduled to address education ministers attending the South Asian Ministerial meeting for the EFA Forum, being held 22-23 May, hosted by the government of Pakistan, and organized by UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) with the support of UNICEF.
She said she would urge the South Asian ministers to take immediate action to achieve the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of gender parity in primary and secondary schools by 2005. She pointed to the daunting statistics that make this a priority: South Asia is home to 43 million out-of-school children. Over half of these children are girls.