Without accelerated action to get more
girls into school over the next two years,
global goals to reduce poverty and improve
the human condition would not be reached,
a major UNICEF report released on 11
December contends.

The State of the World’s Children 2004,
UNICEF’s flagship report, focuses on
girls’ education as one of the most crucial
issues facing the development community
today. It argues that the adjustment in
development strategies needed to get girls
in school and keep them there would
jump-start progress on the entire
development agenda for 2015. “Girls are
the focus because they are the ones who are usually left behind, because what benefits them will also benefit boys (and the reverse is not always true), because they are more vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse and other forms of exploitation when left uneducated”, states the report. The report is a testimony to the prevailing gender
disparities and to the toll girls’ exclusion from school takes on them, their families, communities and countries. It is also a trove of information on strategies, programmes and initiatives developed by
UNICEF and its partners to advance the cause of girls’ education and thus improve the lives of all children. Above all, the report is a call to action. “International development efforts have been glaringly inadequate at getting girls into school in too many countries”, commented UNICEF Executive Director
Carol Bellamy. “We have to ask ourselves why this is, and what the consequences are.

In this report, the findings are clear: Gender discrimination is hampering development efforts… We stand no chance of substantially reducing poverty, child mortality, HIV/AIDS and other diseases if
we do not ensure that all girls and boys can exercise their right to a basic education”,
she said.

For more information, visit http://www.unicef.org/sowc04