How pre-school can transform children’s chances

Young children are ready to learn, but their early experiences are crucial in facilitating their learning. As we explain in our new policy paper on early childhood care and education, there is striking evidence that extending pre-school access to the poorest and most vulnerable children can boost their education and livelihood opportunities later in life. [...]

Children who need pre-school most are missing out

By Pauline Rose, director of the Education for All Global Monitoring Report Young children who are marginalized by poverty or other factors stand to benefit most from early childhood care and education – but across the world, they are the ones who have least access to it. Offering disadvantaged children better health care, nutrition and [...]

How education leads to better health

In 2008, 1.8 million children’s lives could have been saved if all mothers had secondary education, according to the 2011 Education for All Global Monitoring Report. That’s just one of the many health benefits of maternal education that we have underlined in EFA Global Monitoring Reports. To mark World Health Day, April 7, here are [...]

Education rises – slowly – from Haiti’s rubble

As Haiti struggles to recover from the devastating earthquake two years ago, rebuilding education is a major priority – and a small bright light, of sorts. According to Nigel Fisher, the UN secretary-general’s Deputy Special Representative for Haiti, there are now more children in school than there were before the earthquake that struck on January [...]

World AIDS Day: When education helps to save lives

On World AIDS Day, it’s vital to remember that education has a key role to play in reaching the goal of “zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths.” Every day, about 1,000 children are infected with HIV. Almost all of them contract the virus during their mother’s pregnancy, during childbirth or when they [...]

How to reduce poverty’s impact on education

Français | Español On October 17, the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, it’s worth remembering that progress in fighting poverty is inextricably linked with progress in achieving education for all. Although poverty continues to decline in many countries, it remains a crucial barrier to reaching the goal of universal primary education. As we [...]

Youngest minds need the best care

By Anaïs Loizillon, researcher, Education for All Global Monitoring Report When world leaders met in New York last week to reaffirm their commitment to achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015, the United Nations launched its new Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health. The strategy aims to save the lives of more than 16 [...]

Let’s keep our promise to the world’s children

Every child knows that you shouldn’t break a promise. Yet governments are on the brink of breaking a Millennium Development Goal promise made to the world’s children – the promise of a decent quality basic education for all by 2015. By Kevin Watkins, director of the Education for All Global Monitoring Report As political leaders [...]

Education and mothers’ health – a virtuous circle

By Anaïs Loizillon, research officer, Education for All Global Monitoring Report Children’s educational prospects are shaped long before they get anywhere near  a school ­– in the womb, when brain development creates the physical foundations for future learning. In the 2010 Education for All Global Monitoring Report, we emphasized the importance of maternal nutrition, access [...]

When education saves lives (2): reducing maternal mortality

By Kevin Watkins, director of the Education for All Global Monitoring Report There are few starker indicators of global inequality than maternal mortality. Risks of death from causes associated with pregnancy in childbirth are heavily concentrated in developing countries – over 80% of fatalities happen in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. The world’s most dangerous [...]