Education is perhaps the best long-term solution to poverty in the developing world. Time and time again, experts say that educating children, especially girls, is the key to ending the global ‘cycle of poverty.’ Kathleen McHugh, of the non-governmental organization Save the Children says that “focusing on education is going to have ripple effects… will probably mitigate cases of HIV/AIDS… it is going to open up a lot of economic opportunities as well. I think that education is definitely a key area to focus on.”

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The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that “everyone has the right to an education.” Unfortunately, education is still a distant dream for many. Nearly 113 million children are not able to attend primary school. And 264 million children who might be attending secondary schools (the equivalent of high schools) do not. Around one billion adults lack one of the most basic skills taught in schools – literacy.

Also, girls are often short-changed when it comes to education in developing countries. Two-thirds of illiterate adults are women. In some countries, traditional beliefs cause parents to keep their daughters from attending school, or focus on boys’ education much more than girls’.

Many groups are starting to respond to this huge lack of education, however. The World Bank has already given over $33 billion to education-related projects (it is currently one of the world’s largest funders of educational programs). The United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals also feature education prominently, calling for countries to achieve universal primary education for their children, and also for girls to be given an equal opportunity in education. Global partnerships such as Education for All (EFA), launched in Thailand in 1990, are connecting organizations from the World Bank to UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) to spread education, especially in developing countries that are struggling with their education programs.

In developing countries, children such as the one pictured here often do not attend school.

If developing countries can offer good quality education to kids, the results will be tremendous. Education is considered a ‘vaccine’ for HIV/AIDS – if children are educated about the disease, they are much less likely to contract the disease. Literacy helps communication and reasoning skills in children. And most importantly, education can help children from impoverished families break out of poverty. For every year of schooling children have, their salary as an adult will increase by an average of 10% - whether they are a girl OR a boy.

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Education and Development. 2005.

Education and the World Bank. 2005.

Hanru, Zou. Education can break vicious cycle of poverty. 2006.

McHugh, Kathleen (Save the Children). Telephone Interview. 5 January 2005.

Opening Doors: Education and the World Bank (PDF).

UNESCO: Right to Primary Education.

Wikipedia: Education: Challenges. 2006.

World Bank: Education FAQ. 2006.

World Bank: Education for All. 2006.

World Bank: Secondary Education. 2006.

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