I share thoughts on the impacts of our aid around the world and fully appreciate your increased concerns with the challenges that covid-19 will bring to these efforts. As you’ll be aware. the UK works with a wide range of international partners to tackle the multitude of gender-specific challenges globally.
During my time as Co-Chair of the cross-party group on UN sustainable development goals, I learnt more about the UK’s international efforts on this issue, as gender equality is one of the 17 goals. In 2017, I visited a refugee camp in Tanzania – where I saw first-hand the impact on the ground of UK Aid - on both the safeguarding of women and children, but also giving them opportunities created through education programmes. Seeing the tangible impact we’re having to help the most vulnerable, left me proud of the work we do, and saddened in equal measure, as I know how much more there’s yet to do.
The work the UK has undertaken in supporting this development goal includes the largest ever single investment to help end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the world: the UK is providing an extra £50 million to support the Africa-led movement to end FGM by 2030 and provide better protection for vulnerable girls.
Educating girls is the tool that can address a whole host of the world’s economic and social problems and, alongside all 53 members of the Commonwealth, the UK is working to help provide 12 years of quality education for all girls by 2030.
Girls’ Education is one of the five foundations of the UK's wider development work on gender equality, and between 2015 and 2019, the UK supported 5.8 million girls to gain a decent education. In 2018, the Prime Minister, as Foreign Secretary, launched the Leave No Girl Behind campaign. The campaign gets girls learning, builds international political commitment and boosts global investment. Our Girls Education Challenge is the world’s largest fund dedicated to girls’ education and is supporting up to 1.5 million marginalised girls in 17 countries around the world.
My colleague, Helen Grant MP, was appointed as the UK’s Special Envoy on Girls’ Education in January, and the UK has also pledged to put girls' rights and education on the global policy agenda this year as part of its Presidency of the G7.
The Integrated Review of foreign policy, defence, security and international development, expected soon, will define the Government’s ambition for the UK’s role in the world and its outcomes will shape the objectives for the new Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, including on International Aid. DFID and the FCO have worked closely together in the past on gender equality and the FCDO will continue to draw on the skills and expertise of everyone in the new department to champion gender equality in international development and humanitarian crises.