Congress leads on global education; will Obama follow?

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joanne-carter/congress-leads-on-global_b_633876.html

Congress

leads on global education; will Obama follow?

Joanne , RESULTS

Posted:

July 2, 2010 12:33 PM

Recent developments in the global movement to provide a

quality education to the 72 million kids currently out of school present a

study in contrast. While the administration has failed to deliver on President

Barack Obama's pledge to create a new Global Fund for Education, Congress is

increasingly showing support for the idea.

The recently concluded G8 summit, which has historically been

an important platform for mobilizing global commitments to fighting poverty,

was stunningly silent on expanding access to education. Despite the efforts of

its Canadian hosts, the G8 fell far short of expectations and failed to

mobilize significant new pledges even for its signature issue, maternal and

child health. In the midst of the G8 summit the Obama Administration released " A New Approach to Advancing Development "

outlining the President's views. The statement confirms that

" development " - it doesn't actually mention " poverty " - is

a " moral, strategic, and economic imperative for the United States and our

partners. " While the document restates a number of common-sense principles

of effective foreign aid, there are striking omissions - education among them.

It is astonishing that the administration could outline its

approach to development without even name-checking education, widely understood

to be perhaps the best investment we can make in fighting poverty and promoting

security. In addition to fulfilling the fundamental right to learn, education

contributes to healthier mothers and children, more empowered and less

vulnerable women, and more prosperous and peaceful societies. Every additional

year of schooling has been found to decrease a boy's chance of engaging in

violent conflict by 20 percent. For a girl in a poor country, each additional

year of school beyond grades three or four will lead to 20 percent higher wages

on average, and educated mothers are 50 percent more likely to immunize their

children. Education is so strongly associated with HIV/AIDS prevention that

it's known as a " social vaccine. " Despite the cross-cutting benefits

of a basic education, it has not been prioritized in President Obama's approach

to fighting global poverty and inequity.

Global education advocates had reason to expect better. As a

candidate, Obama proposed a $2 billion global education fund, and spoke of the

integral link between education and security. Secretary Hillary Clinton

re-iterated this $2 billion promise in her confirmation hearing, and as a

Senator was a leading voice on behalf of global education, especially for

girls. Despite these early commitments, concrete proposals have not

materialized. In fact, the President's budget proposal included an $85 million

cut to global education programs.

While the administration is stuck in neutral, there are encouraging signs of leadership in Congress. On Wednesday

the House subcommittee responsible for foreign aid spending passed its annual

funding bill. The subcommittee not only reversed the President's proposed cut,

but included for the first time funding for a multilateral education effort -

$40 million for a strengthened and transformed Education for All Fast Track

Initiative (FTI). The FTI is an initiative which helps poor countries close

financing gaps in their national education plans. Over 15 countries contribute

to the FTI, but so far the U.S. has not participated as a donor. Funding for a

reinvigorated FTI can serve as an initial down payment on a new Global Fund for

Education.

Subcommittee chair Nita Lowey (D-NY), unmatched in Congress as

a leader on global education, has demonstrated her openness to new approaches

to accelerate progress. At our current pace there will still be 56 million

children out of school in 2015. Rep. Lowey's Education

for All Act (HR 5117), introduced with Republican Dave Reichert (WA),

provides a blueprint for U.S. leadership to reach universal access to basic

education. The bill would make a Global Fund for Education a key element of our

basic education strategy. This attention to multilateral cooperation is particularly

important in a global economic slump. The U.S. needs a new way to leverage

other donor nations to share in the effort, and to provide incentives for

developing countries to develop strong national education plans for investment.

With Congress leading on global education, will Obama follow?

He will have no better opportunity than the UN Millennium

Development Goal Summit in September, where the world will gather to assess

progress on eight overarching global anti-poverty goals, and create a plan of

action to achieve them by 2015. Last year in his first address to the UN

General Assembly, Obama said he would return to MDG Summit with a global plan

to make these goals a reality. To fill in the missing plank of his MDG plan on

education, Obama should call for the enactment of the Education for All Act,

and propose a plan and budget for a $2 billion Global Fund for Education. 72

million kids are awaiting his leadership.

Stefanie Ostfeld

Senior Policy Officer

Global AIDS Alliance

1121 14 Street NW, Suite 200

Washington, DC 20005

202.789.0432 ext 216

www.globalaidsalliance.org