Today (February 2), the International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt announced that the UK will pledge £225 million [US$ 320m] to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).

This pledge is lower than the previous pledge of £300m, made in 2014, and lower than the £360 million that Civil Society had suggested to the Government for this replenishment summit.

Romilly Greenhill, UK Director of The ONE Campaign, said: “The UK’s pledge will contribute valuable resources towards fighting the global education emergency. With 130 million girls still out of school and 2,800 avoidable deaths every day from lack of access to quality education, this contribution is welcome.

“However, this pledge is lower than the £300m pledged in 2014. A higher pledge would have given the UK a golden opportunity to demonstrate global leadership on education and use our expertise to promote quality education for all – an opportunity that now risks being lost.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

At the last GPE replenishment conference in 2014, the UK pledged £300m over a 4 year period, although only £210m was actually disbursed. Today’s pledge of £225m is over 3 years. Compared to the total pledged in 2014, today’s pledge is a reduction. If measured annually, it represents no increase on the 2014 pledge. It only represents an increase if measured against what was actually disbursed in 2014.

About GPE and the Global Education Emergency:

The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) is  an organisation dedicated to delivering education in the world’s poorest countries and focusing on some of the most marginalised and vulnerable people.

It is holding its replenishment conference in Dakar, Senegal on Friday 2 February. International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt MP is attending the conference, which is co-hosted by Senegal President Macky Sall and French President Emmanuel Macron.

The GPE conference is crucial moment in addressing the Global Education Emergency, but only if our leaders – especially the UK – take real action and invest in education. The UK has previously been the largest contributor to the GPE, demonstrating commitment to the issue.

130 million girls can’t go to school, new analysis from ONE shows how the lack of a decent education results in 2,800 avoidable deaths in the poorest countries each day, this global emergency demands an urgent global leadership response