United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson has launched a new global partnership with UBA Foundation and 10 other organisations to improve girls’ access to education and employment in developing countries.
The move is part of activities to mark this year’s edition of International Women’s Day (IWD).
The partnership will also involve UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited (GenU).
Other private sector players and global businesses, who are partnering to fund and resource the initiative to the tune of £9 million, are Accenture, Standard Chartered, Unilever, Microsoft, Pearson, PwC, Coursera, Vodafone, BP and Cognizant.
The UK government has contributed an initial £9 million to the initiative called the Girls’ Education Skills Partnership.
Explaining its drive to undertake this project which is expected to have far-reaching positive effects for the girl-child across the world, the UK Government pointed out that even before the Covid pandemic, millions of children did not have any access to school – and girls from disadvantaged families are particularly vulnerable to missing out on education, whether through poverty or prejudice. The pandemic has created even more barriers to education, with a peak of 1.6 billion children around the world witnessing school closures.
Group chairman, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Tony Elumelu, who was in attendance at the event, reiterated the importance of educating the girl-child.
“We understand first hand, the need to empower young women in African communities to catalyse sustainable socio-economic development. At the UBA Group, we are committed to women empowerment and we continue to champion women causes in our business and through our work in philanthropy,” he said,
Mr Elumelu thanked Mr Johnson and the UK special envoy, Helen Grant, for the laudable initiative.
