President Clinton Highlights Camfed Commitment for Girls’ Education in Africa

Bill Clinton highlighted Camfed’s work for girls’ education in Africa during a plenary session of the Clinton Global Initiative Annual Meeting in New York on Friday. Choosing Camfed as just one of three Commitments to be highlighted by the former US President, Clinton spoke about the importance of girls’ education, and Camfed’s efficacy in delivering its maximum returns.

“I would like to ask Ann Cotton, the Executive Director of CAMFED International, to come up here. This is a project involving CAMFED, Skoll Foundation, Merrill Lynch, Lehman Brothers, Edelman, The Financial Times, The National Coalition of Girl Schools and Ministries of Education in Africa. It is a commitment that is a multi-tiered one to exponentially increase educational opportunities for Sub-Saharan African girls and to strengthen accountability mechanisms. This commitment will impact the lives of 2 million children and young women.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, more that 218 million people live in extreme poverty. Fewer than two thirds of all the children in a region will complete primary school, which means half of the world’s out-of-school children live in Sub-Saharan Africa. If we can get them through primary school and into secondary school, each additional year of education will add 15 to 25 percent to their income or life.

There is nothing that will really stop [climate change] effectively except putting all the girls in the world in school and getting the young women jobs and access to the job market and the opportunity to build a stable life, they will delay marriage and have fewer children. Ann Cotton, I thank you and your partners and we wish you well.”

Clinton also took the opportunity to announce Camfed’s partnership with the Financial Times in second annual Seasonal Appeal. Visit the Financial Times Appeal mini-site.