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Press ReleasesDenmark Commits US$ 50 Million to Boost EFA FTI’s Ability to Provide Out-of-school Children with Quality EducationApril 14, 2011
Press Releases
Contact: Angela Bekkers, Email: abekkers@educationfasttrack.org; tel +1 202-458-8831 Washington DC, 14 April 2011― On the occasion of the visit of the Danish Minister for Development Cooperation Mr. Søren Pind, to Washington D.C., the Danish government announced a commitment of 270 million Kroner (US$ 51 Million) to the Education for All – Fast Track Initiative (EFA FTI). The EFA FTI is an international partnership of donor and developing countries dedicated to ensuring quality basic education for all children. With this new commitment, the Danish government, which has been a staunch supporter of EFA FTI for several years, is doubling its support compared to the 2010 level. “The Education Fast Track Initiative is an important partnership for us to get millions of out-of-school children into the classrooms”, says Danish Minister Pind. “We are pleased to see that the EFA FTI focuses on the quality of education as well and increasingly supports secondary education. For young people to enter the workforce, they have to learn appropriate skills to make the connection with today’s labor market”, he adds. The Danish funding is an important boost for FTI’s resource mobilization campaign, which was launched few weeks ago at the Education for All High-Level Conference in Jomtien, Thailand. “The Danish commitment comes at a crucial time”, says Carol Bellamy, Chair of the FTI Board of Directors. “The EFA FTI has achieved important progress over the past years, but to be able to provide millions of children with a quality education, more resources are necessary. The Danish support highlights their confidence that aid money through FTI is spent wisely.” Denmark is a member of the FTI Board of Directors through the Nordic-Irish constituency which includes Norway, Sweden and Ireland as well. Over the past half year, this group of countries has made significant increases in its donor support to EFA FTI. “I am impressed with the support of the Nordic-Irish constituency, which represents almost 20% of our total donor commitments, whereas it only represents 3% of the donor population”, adds Carol Bellamy. The donor support of the Nordic-Irish constituency covers the costs of sending over 3 million children to school for one year or to construct around 29,000 fully-equipped classrooms. Specifically, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted the following progress as an important incentive for their support:
The EFA FTI currently backs the education programs in 44 developing countries and an additional 10 to 15 countries are expected to request support before the end of next year. www.educationfasttrack.org
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