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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Laura Ingalls (laura.ingalls@worldlearning.org) in Washington, 1.202.646.6973
World Learning Supports Initiative to Meet Global Education Goals
WASHINGTON (November 16, 2009) -- The Obama administration and Congress should create and fund a new U.S. Global Education Initiative to revive international efforts to provide every child in the world with a primary education by 2015.
World Learning is among a coalition of 18 prominent development organizations that recently released A U.S. Global Education Initiative: Accelerating Progress towards Education for All. The Basic Education Coalition report outlines how the United States can help the international community uphold its commitment to provide universal education for all and meet related Millennium Development Goals, which United Nations member states adopted in 2001.
"No country has been able to sustain economic growth without achieving near universal primary education," said Adam Weinberg, World Learning president and CEO. "We urge U.S. policymakers to advance the Obama administration's development priorities by moving forward with a universal education initiative prior to next year's Group of 20 summit in Canada.
Some 75 million children worldwide are denied a primary school education and nearly three in five of those children are girls. The majority is from poor, rural families in the least developed countries, and 40 million of these children live in countries impacted by fragility and conflict. The loss of human potential not only hurts each child, but undermines stability and progress within communities and across nations.
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World Learning works globally to enhance the capacity and commitment of individuals, institutions, and communities to create a more peaceful and just world through education, training and exchange programs.
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