Today, young people need a wide variety of skills to thrive in the global economy. Alongside traditional academic skills, such as literacy and numeracy, education should foster 21st century skills like creativity, critical thinking and collaboration. This is known as cultivating breadth of skills and competencies. At the same time, half the world’s upcoming generation is at at risk of being left behind. If nothing changes, 825 million young people will not be on track to learn basic secondary-level skills...
By Carmen Belafi Last week, leaders from the world’s largest economies, the G20, came together in Buenos Aires to discuss pressing global issues ranging from economic growth, trade, and security to questions of fair and sustainable development. This year’s summit had some encouraging messages for education globally. Here are 3 of the most important messages: Education is a human right All countries agreed that access to education is not a privilege, but a fundamental right. Education needs to reach all children, and access...
HIV/AIDS is a global health crisis that impacts the lives of millions of people a year, yet still many people don’t know enough about what it is, what it does to the body, and the best ways to prevent it. That’s why we’ve answered your most googled questions about HIV and AIDS, and added a couple extra in for good measure: How many people alive today are living HIV or AIDS? Around 37 million people are living with HIV/AIDS. That’s nearly...
Thirty years ago, HIV/AIDS swept the globe largely unchecked, and a diagnosis was seen as a death sentence. Two decades later, we’ve made amazing progress – AIDS-related deaths are down by half – but the good news makes the bad news worse. This good news may be hiding a big problem. The incredible progress the world has made against AIDS has created a sense of complacency that is threatening our ability to end AIDS within our lifetime. You might not know...
What does your future hold? University, your own business, fame and fortune? Whatever your hopes, you will not have imagined a future in which you got married off as a child, were denied an education, or infected with HIV by a husband that’s twice your age. But this is the reality for millions of girls living in extreme poverty. And it’s time to call it out for what it is: Sexist. Nowhere on earth do girls and women have the...
Written by Jamie Drummond, ONE’s Co-Founder. Firstly – apologies! Open letters like this can be self-important and irritating, but they can also be a helpful way of driving a set of specific questions upon disparate gatherings – like Davos or UNGA – with the hope of focussing debate and driving towards answers. And given the development sector’s been hit by “UNGA fever” again – here goes. A few years ago, many of us, across the public, private and non-profit sectors, worked together...
My name’s Eva. I’m 17 years old. I’ve lived all my life with my family in Malinzanga, a small village in Tanzania. Almost two years ago, I decided I wanted to do something about a problem that was stopping me and girls in my community from getting our education. Everyday, we faced a two hour journey to fetch unsafe water. Everyday it meant we missed classes at school. Even the journey to get the water was dangerous. We risked being assaulted...
The evidence that educating girls creates healthier, wealthier, fairer, and more stable communities is overwhelming—so why isn’t every girl getting a quality education? The barriers, particularly for girls in the poorest countries, are wide-ranging and complex but these are some of the most challenging: Cost The cost of supplies can limit girls access to education. Even in areas where school fees are non-existent, there’s still a price to pay. Students are often required to buy uniforms, transportation, and supplies, like textbooks, pens,...