Education for all: A global imperative

This week we saw the gulf that lies between the values of the Left and Right get even wider. Through a leaked letter, the public was made aware that Tory frontbencher Liam Fox is angry about so much of the British taxpayers money going to help those in the world’s poorest and most vulnerable nations.

Gordon Brown, on the other hand, has been spending his time in Africa where today, he launches a report (pdf) highlighting why development aid is so important and how meeting a millennium goal target on education can actually help stimulate economic growth all over the world.

By meeting our commitment to ensure that the planet enjoys universal primary school education, the report states that we can increase economic growth in the worlds poorest countries by 2% per capita.

Furthermore, it could help lift 104 million people out of poverty and save the lives of almost two million children in Africa.

The report (pdf) is packed with quality data and first-class analysis highlighting the important role that education plays in propelling development and the improvement in the welfare of the world’s poorest.

One of the key arguments of the report is the value for money represented by investing in education.

For every $1 spent on education, a further $15 is likely to be generated as a result of laying the foundations for today’s children to become tomorrow’s wealth creators, opening up countless new investment opportunities; furthermore, if action is taken within the next five years, aid dependency would be vastly reduced and even pay for itself after 22 years.

The tireless work of both Gordon and Sarah Brown in promoting such a worthy and important campaign to reduce poverty and create prosperity for the world’s poorest serves as an inspiration for all those working for a better future world.

The incredible tasks of eradicating poverty all over the world and meeting environmental challenges never faced before, call for bold leadership and strong vision. The kind of work represented in today’s report provide just the sort of vision necessary.

Surely even Dr Fox and his friends in the cabinet couldn’t disagree?