Kenya and the United Kingdom will co-host a landmark global education summit slated for mid-2021 which aimed at raising money for vulnerable countries.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and Prime Minister Boris Johnson made the announcement Monday, October 12, with the summit set to take place in the UK.
The summit will raise funds for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) which launched a call to action to raise at least Ksh.542 billion for education.
The funds are being raised to ensure that students across the globe from vulnerable countries smoothly transition back to school following closure during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Uhuru emphasized the importance of education and encouraged the youth to grab opportunities presented to them after studies.
"An educated population is a country’s most valuable resource. GPE has been a key partner in helping us invest in innovative solutions to get all our children, especially girls, learning.
"We must use the opportunity of GPE’s financing conference to make ambitious pledges to invest in quality education so our children and young people have the skills and knowledge they need to seize the opportunities of the 21st century," said Uhuru.
Boris Johnson on his part highlighted the time lost by learners due to the pandemic and urged the global community to come together and raise funds towards the GPE project.
It is estimated that 1.3 Billion children including 650 million girls were forced out of schools at the height of the pandemic.
The Ksh.542 Billion is also set to be used to lift communities out of poverty and prevent girls being forced into early marriages.
The funds are projected to inject Ksh.17.8 Trillion to economies in the developing world, lift 18 million people out of poverty and protect two million girls from early marriage.
Kenya has previously hosted a number of high voltage summits including the international population summit that focused on the status of the reproductive health of women and girls.
Back in 2016, Kenya hosted the second edition of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) that brought ministers from 193 nations across the globe.
