Government overseas aid for education set to increase despite Covid-19 threat

The Government is planning to make a multi-million euro aid pledge to help boost access to education for millions of girls in poorer countries, despite the Covid-19 threat to the domestic economy.

Minister of State for overseas development aid Colm Brophy said there are plans to make a “substantial” new aid commitment for education in developing countries this year.

This will be in advance of a summit meeting of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) in July which is being jointly organised by Kenya and the UK.

GPE is an international partnership and fund that supports children’s learning in poor countries by making improvements in their countries’ education systems.

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Transform

The partnership is seeking to raise at least $5 billion (€4.2 billion) to transform education for up to one billion children in 90 countries and territories.

“This is a key part of our development work and we’re planning to make a substantial announcement before the July summit,” Mr Brophy said.

“We’ll be encouraging and supporting other donors to do the same. This isn’t about just the physical delivery of schools, but ensuring it is safe get to school, that sanitation and hygiene facilities are place and paving the way for girls to access education, training and vocational options.”

He said Ireland has over the past year put a spotlight on adolescent girls’ education as part of a “drive for five”.

These aims include access to 12 years of free education, supportive schools and gender responsive curricula, relevant education and skills, ensuring girls are safe from violence, and keeping girls healthy and in school.

Mr Brophy added that the Government has increased its overall aid budget this year to €868 million, up €30 million on last year.

“Out aid budget is not at risk. We’ve pledged to increase it under the Programme for Government,” he said.

“If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that what happens in one part of the world can affect the rest. We need to engage with the rest of the world whether it’s tackling poverty or climate change. If we don’t, then very quickly we’ll feel the impact at home.”

Target

Latest official figures for 2019 show Irish overseas aid was 0.32 per cent of our Gross National Income. Ireland has committed to reaching the UN target of 0.7 per cent by 2030.

Ireland has joined with GPE to support education for marginalised children since 2006 and doubled its previous aid commitment in a previous funding campaign in 2018.

Alice Albright, GPE’s chief executive officer, praised Ireland’s track record in joining forces with the partnership to support education for the most vulnerable children around the world.

“Ireland has also worked tirelessly to draw global attention to the pressing issue of girls’ education. With Covid-19 worsening the global education crisis and hitting girls especially hard, we hope that all our donors will follow Ireland’s long tradition of generosity and make ambitious pledges towards GPE’s 2021 replenishment,” she said.

GPE is currently calling on world leaders to fund education in up to 90 countries and territories, which are home to one billion children.

Mr Brophy, meanwhile, is hosting a roundtable event on girls’ access to education with Ms Albright, CEO of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE),.

It will also be attended by musicians Gemma Hayes and Hermione Hennessy, who have released a song, Raise Her Up, to raise awareness of girls' access to education.