International community pledges $2.7 billion to support international education fund

International community has pledged a total of $2.7 billion to support the international education fund. The body made the pledge at the two-day global education conference in Dakar, Senegal.

French President Emmanuel Macron joined Senegal’s President Macky Sall on Friday in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Bel Air School in Dakar, ahead of a global education conference in the West African country.

The two leaders walked around the new school and interacted with students. The school opening was one of the events ahead of the fundraising conference aimed at highlighting the need to fund education.

Macron told the financing conference that France would pledge 200 million euros ($248 million) to support the fund.

“We want to commit, and this is why today we need solid, firm commitments, in order to reach this 3.1 billion that President Macky Sall mentioned, for our Global Partnership for Education. So, in light of this, France will make a simple and clear commitment,” he said.

Singer Rihanna was also in Senegal on Friday championing for education for the world’s poorest countries.

The pop star is the first Global Ambassador of Global Partnership for Education (GPE), an initiative that supports 65 developing countries to ensure basic education for every child.

Rihanna thanked Macron and Senegal’s president Macky Sall for co-hosting the event.

“This is what we’ve wanted all along. We’ve made tremendous progress today but of course, our work is never done, we have a long way to go, and this is a fight that we’re never gonna stop fighting until every boy and every girl has access to education,” she said.

The event which brought together donors and international organizations, sought to raise $3.1 billion to support the education of 870 million children in 89 developing countries by 2020.

Rihanna joins World Leaders & Donors in raising $2.3 billion at the Global Partnership for Education Financing Conference https://t.co/BjSKnUKRHB #Music

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According to the United Nations, illiteracy among young people is almost three times as high in countries hit by war or disaster, with women and girls worst affected.