boys in school by the end of 2005.
The reasons why children are denied an education include poverty, gender discrimination, poor governance and disease, including HIV/AIDS, as well as natural disasters and man-made emergencies.
Calling attention to the impact of HIV/AIDS on children, teachers and schools, Veneman also noted that UNICEF’s campaign “Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS” shines a spotlight on those millions of children whose education has been affected by the global pandemic. Children, particularly girls, whose parents are living with HIV are often forced to leave school and go to work to support their families.
UNICEF called for specific steps to achieve universal primary education by 2015:
- Abolish school fees and other charges as national policy.
- Provide scholarships and other financial incentives for disadvantaged children.
- Cap school charges such as school uniforms, textbooks and other fees that act as barriers to education.
- Treat countries with low enrolment and attendance as “emergency” countries and offer them the same kind of immediate funding and technical support that is routinely provided in crisis situations.
- Use the school system as a way to deliver other essential services to children, such as good nutrition, immunization, and hygiene education.
To achieve universal primary education by 2015, enrolment must increase globally by an average of 1.3 per cent per year over the next ten years. Specific countries have much steeper advances to make. Benin, for example, must improve at a rate of 2.88 per cent per year, Eritrea must advance at more than 4 per cent per year, Nepal at 2.25 per cent, and Afghanistan at 3.9 per cent.
The report is the first step in an ongoing evaluation of the gender parity target and will lead to a comprehensive technical review. It contains extensive field reporting and country-by-country reports presented in multi-media format involving UN agencies, NGOs, donor countries and field offices. It puts special focus on 25 key countries that face the greatest challenges in getting children, especially girls, in school.
* * *
For nearly 60 years UNICEF has been the world’s leader for children, working on the ground in 157 countries to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for poor countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.
Attn: Broadcasters: A video news package will be available at: http://www.thenewsmarket.com/
For further information, please contact:
Ikuko Yamaguchi, UNICEF Media / Geneva:
(+41) 22 909 5727 e-mail: email@example.com
Kate Donovan, UNICEF Media / New York:
(+1 212) 326 7452 e-mail: firstname.lastname@example.org
Charles Rycroft: UNICEF Beijing:
(+ 86-10) 6532-3131 Ext 1301 Cell: 13641290007