One In Five People Can't Read This

International Literacy Day: One in five people can't read this!

Today more than 800 million adults are ill equipped to work their way out of poverty and ill health. Missing out on education, has meant more than missing out on the ability to read this article. Without an education 1 in 5 people, are without the knowledge, empowerment and skills to better their lives, to escape poverty, to protect their children from illness and participate fully in shaping the society in which they live.

Women are less likely to be educated than men. Yet educating women and girls is crucial for saving lives. Educated women are better able to negotiate safer sex and protect themselves from HIV. The amount they earn correlates directly with the numbers of years of education, and if they can read and write their children are 50% more likely to survive past the age of 5.

Seven years ago world leaders from 185 countries met in Dakar at the World Education Forum and agreed the Education for All goals. One of these six goals was to achieve a 50% reduction in adult literacy by 2015. The world is half way to the deadline, but far from half way to the target.

*"We are supposed to be in the middle of the United Nations Literacy Decade but is anyone remotely aware of this? Today global experts are meeting in Paris to review the decade so far - but sadly there is almost nothing to review. There is almost no investment going into adult literacy around the world. This is a broken promise and a violation of human rights on a massive scale" *comments David Archer, GCE Board Member and Head of Education at ActionAid

The Global Campaign for Education has conducted a survey of adult literacy programmes across 35 countries, which shows that there is consensus about what works. It has identified 12 simple "benchmarks" which governments can follow to develop good quality programmes. But the first challenge is money.

* * * "Most governments across Africa spend less than 1% of their education budgets on adult literacy ... but our research shows that they need to be spending at least 3%" *adds Gorgui Sow, GCE Board Member and Coordinator of the African Network Campaign on Education for All.

There are some signs of hope for the future.

* 1.2 million adults in Uganda have recently benefited from the free training provided by the government Adult Literacy programmes

* Benin's national education plan, includes adult literacy and has recently been endorsed by the Education for All - Fast Track Initiative, proving that international aid can and will support adult literacy if national governments prioritise it.

National governments must continue to prioritise the education for ALL their citizens - both children and adults. The world today is still far from giving every child a quality education, and when they don't make it to the school gates, they drop out or their learning environment is too poor to learn, they must be given a second chance. Governments must also prioritise the needs of mothers, fathers, and grandparents of society and give them the skills, know-how, and empowerment to realise their rights for themselves and their families.

ENDS

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