Norway increases financial support for education in low-income countries

The Norwegian government will give NOK 3.7 billion to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) to support education in low-income countries.

“Ensuring children’s education is the best weapon we have in the fight against poverty,” Minister for Development Aid Dag-Inge Ulstein (KrF) said in a press release.

The money will be distributed over a five-year period, which corresponds to NOK 740 million per year. That is NOK 50 million more per year than in the previous period, from 2018 to 2020.

The Norwegian money will contribute to 88 million more children, including 46 million girls, getting an education, and 175 million children getting basic reading skills.

Expected more

Save the Children says they are happy with the increase but that they had expected more.

“As a global leader in education, we had expected a larger increase from Norway,” Nina Langslet, head of politics and society at Save the Children, stated.

Save the Children asked the government to give NOK 4.75 billion to GPE.

“With an extra billion, more than a million more children could be educated. We could save thousands of girls from child marriage and lift thousands of children out of poverty,” Langslet added.

In 2019, a total of 85% of GPE’s funds were aimed at sub-Saharan Africa and 60% at countries in war and conflict.

Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews

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