World wide, 67million children are not enrolled in school. 26 million of these children reside in the Asia-Pacific region. Thankfully, actions are being taken to address this disparity. UNICEF has launched Schools for Asia, an international fundraising initiative to provide marginalized children throughout Asia and the Pacific with access to quality education. By simply making sure that schools are staffed with trained teachers and are providing a safe learning environment, this program will deeply impact the most marginalized: girls, poor families, and ethnic minorities.
This program will run in Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam. Proponents of the program hope that providing quality education, repetition and drop-out rates will be heavily reduced.
Schools for Asia today follows the success of the 2004 Schools for Africa campaign. Within 6 years, over 5 million children had gained access to quality education thanks to this campaign. Individuals, corporations, and foundations are credited with much of the success of this campaign. "Donors worldwide will have a unique opportunity to replicate the success for Asia and help give millions of children the chance for a better future," says UNICEF Director of Private Fundraising and Partnerships Leila Pakkala.
Education is crucial for development. This campaign is an opportunity to realize the objectives set by the Millennium Development Goals of educational and gender equality by the year 2015.
-Akshika Patel
SOURCE: UNICEF
