{"id":276777,"date":"2020-11-27T03:31:25","date_gmt":"2020-11-27T08:31:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=276777"},"modified":"2020-11-27T03:31:25","modified_gmt":"2020-11-27T08:31:25","slug":"uk-governments-foreign-aid-cuts-put-girls-education-at-risk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/11\/27\/uk-governments-foreign-aid-cuts-put-girls-education-at-risk\/","title":{"rendered":"UK government’s foreign aid cuts put girls’ education at risk"},"content":{"rendered":"
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But cutting this aid, even before one considers the devastating effects of COVID-19, will have real implications for the life chances of millions of young women. (File photo: Ben Mullins\/Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The UK government\u2019s 2020 spending review includes a cut in international aid, from 0.7% of gross national income to 0.5%. My research shows that this will have severe effects on the lives of girls worldwide.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, my colleagues and I at the University of Cambridge published a report<\/a> highlighting the urgent need for political leadership to address a global learning crisis in girls\u2019 education in low and middle-income countries.<\/p>\n

That review was commissioned by what is now the UK\u2019s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. It contained powerful reflections by the foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, who commented: \u201cThis problem has a real cost \u2013 not only in loss of talent and potential \u2013 but on communities, societies, and the global economy \u2026 It is time for leaders to step up and act.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite this, the spending review released on November 25 outlined the cut in the 0.7% of national income allocated to foreign aid, a principle supposedly enshrined in law. Chancellor Rishi Sunak stated that this cut was temporary and would return to 0.7% when the UK\u2019s finances allowed.<\/p>\n

But cutting this aid, even before one considers the devastating effects of COVID-19, will have real implications for the life chances of millions of young women.<\/p>\n

An urgent issue<\/h2>\n

Prior to this year, 130 million girls<\/a> were out of school. This number will have increased as inequality gaps have widened as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n

The UK\u2019s recent record in addressing girls\u2019 education and that of marginalised children in the world\u2019s poorest countries has rightly gained considerable praise and respect.<\/p>\n

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is responsible for the Girls\u2019 Education Challenge<\/a> programme, which began in 2012. It has worked across 18 countries to ensure girls there can actually complete their education, through support from communities, stronger school management, and engagement with partner governments.<\/p>\n

In September last year, the prime minister himself renewed his personal commitment<\/a> to supporting the empowerment of women and girls around the world by boosting funding aimed at ensuring they receive a quality education. However, the decision to cut foreign aid leaves a question mark hanging over significant programmes.<\/p>\n

Baroness Liz Sugg, who resigned from her ministerial role following the announcement, was the UK\u2019s special envoy for girls\u2019 education.<\/p>\n

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Sadly I have resigned from Government today. Here\u2019s my letter to the PM👇 pic.twitter.com\/hWwPtBuH6v<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Baroness Sugg (@liz_sugg) November 25, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

In that role, she had been leading an action plan on girls\u2019 education, engaging with a range of researchers and practitioners for its preparation. The plan may still be launched, but the UK\u2019s commitment to stepping up action for the most marginalised girls is called into question in the context of an overall cut in aid funding.<\/p>\n

These direct effects are only part of the issue here. Detailed research in low and middle-income countries has emphasised that girls\u2019 education cannot be supported in a vacuum.<\/p>\n

Interlocking factors<\/h2>\n

The global Save Our Future<\/a> campaign, which calls for education to be prioritised in responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, focuses on the importance of mobilising resources in general for the poorest countries in the world.<\/p>\n

The only way to help girls access school and stay there is to adopt that whole-system approach. That means that foreign aid must also address wider issues that currently limit women\u2019s life chances beyond education. Research shows<\/a> that progress within girls\u2019 education requires action to support gender equality beyond it.<\/p>\n

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Dear World Leaders, please defend our learning. Children from around the world join 8yr old Ezra from the USA & Uganda to tell world leaders that NOW is the time to invest in education.<\/p>\n

Use your voice to help us #SaveOurFuture<\/a>: 🗣️📢 https:\/\/t.co\/Zp2HRy8hTj<\/a> #ItTakesAVillage<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/hVLRW3ylB0<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 #SaveOurFuture (@savefuturenow) October 20, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

So even if the prime minister stands by his commitment to protect girls\u2019 education directly, he will still put it in danger by cutting budgets elsewhere. As researchers in international development increasingly understand, if you remove one part of the programme, the entire structure begins to fall apart.<\/p>\n

Where access to education is low, incidents of forced marriage, female genital mutilation, gender violence, teenage pregnancies, and poor family health are high. New data<\/a> shows that before COVID-19, one in three adolescent girls in Ethiopia were likely to be married, compared to one in 15 adolescent boys. These risks are likely to be exacerbated in the context of the current pandemic.<\/p>\n

Some commentators have, of course, suggested that foreign aid is often wasted money, and fails to reach the people it is designed to help. The government\u2019s commitment to date to promoting evidence-based approaches<\/a> to what works in international development has ensured this is not the case.<\/p>\n

Research at the University of Cambridge also indicates that this is a false argument. We recently published research showing that while getting the most disadvantaged girls into school might require a large financial investment, there are massive benefits, with positive spillover effects<\/a> for boys too.<\/p>\n

Andrew Mitchell, the previous international development secretary, stated in parliament after the announcement of the aid cut that \u201cthe 30% further reduction in cash as a result of the cut in [international aid] will be the cause of 100,000 preventable deaths<\/a>, mainly among children\u201d.<\/p>\n

That echoes the warning of nearly 200 charities<\/a> \u2013 not to mention five former prime ministers<\/a> \u2013 that cutting foreign aid is an ethical and strategic error. The evidence on the good that the UK\u2019s work has begun to do for the poorest people in the world \u2013 particularly disadvantaged girls \u2013 highlights the realities of the human cost involved.<\/p>\n

In 2019, the government stressed<\/a> the need for action and leadership on girls\u2019 education. Wherever it chooses to swing its axe on the foreign aid budget, it is now difficult to see how that standard will be maintained.\"The<\/p>\n

Pauline Rose<\/a>, Professor, International Education and Director, Research for Equitable Access and Learning (REAL) Centre, University of Cambridge<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

This article is republished from The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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