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10 years of falling aid for education must be reversed, says Save the Children

G20 leaders must prioritise investing in education when they meet in Hamburg tomorrow if they are to address the world’s challenges properly, warns Save the Children.

Global aid for education has been reduced from 9 percent to 6.2 percent as a share of total official development aid (ODA) since 2007. This reflects an alarming retreat by donors from one of the most important foundations of global prosperity and security.

“Giving all children access to a quality education is central to the G20’s mission to reduce inequality and boost economic growth around the world,” said Save the Children International CEO Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who is attending the summit and previously attended as Prime Minister of Denmark from 2011-2015.

“Yet we are seeing a smaller and smaller proportion of total aid funding being used to help the most vulnerable children to go to school. One in six children worldwide are out of school. Unless the international community urgently increases investment in education, millions of children will miss out on the chance to learn and have a better future.”

At current rates, by 2030 more than half of the world’s 1.6 billion young people will never go to school, drop out, or will not receive even the most basic skills needed for employment. There are currently 263 million children out of school, or more than one in six.

“No government has an infinite pot of money, and I know the G20 has a lot of important issues on the agenda this week. But world leaders cannot afford to neglect education, which is central to tackling many global problems and building a stable world,” Ms. Thorning-Schmidt added.

“Ten years ago, the G20 was pivotal in ending the global financial crisis. Now it must deal with the global inequality crisis. Without a significant step up, the world will never meet the promises it has made to the next generation of children through the Sustainable Development Goals. ”

In the lead up to the summit, Save the Children and more than 25 other organisations are calling for:

• G20 leaders to prioritise education by calling on the World Bank, regional development banks and donors to establish an International Finance Facility for Education
• International donors to increase ODA, and specifically education’s share to 15 percent
• Low and middle income countries to continue expanding their tax base to at least 5.8 percent of GDP, and increasing the share of spending on education to at least 20 percent of budgets

To arrange an interview with Helle Thorning-Schmidt or one of our staff at the G20 Summit, please contact:

Helena Dollimore
Helena.dollimore@savethechildren.org
+44 7391 408248

Natasha Dos Santos
Natasha.dossantos@savethechildren.org
+44 7787 191957

Notes to editors

• All G20 members in 2015 committed to achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4: achieving inclusive, equitable quality education for all.
• Save the Children is campaigning for fair financing for education and health. Fair financing is defined as adopting progressive national tax systems that benefit the poorest and most excluded people in society, directing tax revenue towards more effective investment in children.
• Joint Call to Action http://theirworld.org/pages/g20-joint-call-to-action and Education Commission report http://report.educationcommission.org/downloads
• ODA figures available at: https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=CRS1