Canada is committed to ensuring the world’s poorest and most vulnerable children and youth have access to quality education
April 16, 2015 - Washington, D.C. - Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada
Today, the Honourable Christian Paradis, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, announced that Canada will contribute a total of C$120 million to the Global Partnership for Education, aimed at enhancing education in developing countries. This signals Canada’s continued and deep commitment to promoting education for girls and boys in developing countries.
Canada is also committed to working with key partners, including UN Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown, the Global Partnership for Education, and UNICEF, to ensure that children in crisis situations have opportunities to learn. Minister Paradis announced that Canada is contributing an additional C$10 million to UNICEF for education and child protection in humanitarian crises around the world.
He made the announcement following the Safe Schools: Reaching all Children with Education in Lebanon event during the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. He was joined by UN Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown, the Global Partnership for Education’s Chief Executive Officer, Alice Albright, and UNICEF’s Executive Director, Anthony Lake.
Canada is committed to ensuring the world’s poorest and most vulnerable children and youth have access to quality education in safe and secure environments. Canada's international development programming in basic education is framed by the Securing the Future of Children and Youth strategy, which identifies access to quality basic education as a priority for action for Canada.
“This will make a real difference in the lives of children in developing countries. It will help to ensure they have access to quality education, which is vital to help them move out of poverty and build prosperous futures. Canada aims to ensure that children not only survive, but have the opportunity to thrive, from their first years of life to adulthood. This is also why we have taken a leadership role worldwide to promote maternal, newborn and child health and to make strides to end child, early and forced marriage.”
-Christian Paradis, Minister of International Development and La Francophonie
“In this crucial year as we approach the MDG deadline for achieving universal education, the new announcements today demonstrate Canada's clear leadership on global education and commitment to the 58 million out-of-school children. I am pleased that Minister Paradis has pledged to do even more to support education for millions of children in conflict-affected areas and humanitarian crises, including Syrian refugees in Lebanon and other neighboring countries.”
-Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education
