And if education is the escape door from poverty, then girls' education is the key to that door. This coincides with an important meeting in London, convened by the British Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown and International Development Secretary Clare Short, to develop an agenda for battling child poverty. Attendees include finance ministers from developing and industrialised countries, heads of UN agencies, NGOs and leading child rights advocates. Countries that have focused on gender equality, especially in education, have significantly strengthened their economies, including Costa Rica, Mauritius, Botswana, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. An estimated 120 million school age children, two-thirds of them girls, do not attend school.
Education does more than help girls build skills.
Compelling evidence shows that a child's wellbeing is strongly associated with the mother's level of education. The same babies are four times more likely to be malnourished. And developing countries must spend these resources wisely. Most poverty-stricken nations will not be able to meet these education goals without significant help from donor countries. An increase in official development assistance is vital.