Support EFA - U.S. Civil Society Organizations Sign-On Letter

[Guest guest]

Dear Colleagues –

The US Chapter of the Global Campaign for Education has

drafted a sign-on letter to the President-elect in an effort to demonstrate the

existing broad support of U.S.

civil society for achieving universal quality basic education around the world.

We would like to invite your organization to join us in congratulating

President-elect Obama on his commitment to supporting passage of the Education

for All Act and working to eliminate the global education deficit. We are

encouraging his Administration to begin by including $2 billion in the

Presidential budget for 2010 as a signal that the U.S. is willing to take bold action

to achieve Education for All and fill the annual financing gap so that the 72

million primary school-age children and 226 million adolescents have the chance

to go to school.

Please respond to Beardmore at sbeardmore@...

by close of business on December 18th if you

would like to include your organization on this letter.

The text of the letter is below and attached.

Kind regards,

Stefanie

Stefanie Ostfeld

Senior Policy Officer

Global AIDS Alliance

1121 14 Street NW, Suite

200

Washington, DC 20005

202.789.0432 ext 216

sostfeld@...

December xx, 2008

Dear President-Elect Obama,

We, the U.S.

community of global education advocates, applaud the dedication you have shown

to providing every child with a quality basic education. We are heartened

by your public commitment to supporting the Education for All Act and to

providing $2 billion to a Global Fund for Education to eliminate the global

education deficit. By recognizing that the world’s economy, health

and security are intimately linked with education, you have shown the will to

address the root causes of poverty, disease and war by investing in Education

for All. We fully support your drive to give children around the world

the chance to learn by making Education for All a priority for your

Administration during your first term.

At this time of fiscal crises, it is even more imperative

that we provide the safety net of knowledge to the world’s poorest

children and save them from paying with their lives for our financial

mistakes. In Africa, the chance of a child living beyond age five

increases by 40 percent if the mother received five years of primary education.

Education also improves the health of families and reduces vulnerability to HIV—if

all children had a seat in a classroom, 700,000 new HIV infections could be

prevented each year.

Investments in education also leverage huge long-term

dividends that are critical for economic growth and stability. We have seen

that a single year of primary school increases the wages people earn later in

life by 5-15% for boys and even more for girls, and that increasing the number

of women in secondary school boosts per capita income growth in a nation.

We also know that literate women are more likely to participate in political

meetings and to send their children to school. Economic and political stability

depend on educational attainment, and it is the foundation of a peaceful

society—a gift which America

has the power and influence to give to the world’s poorest children and

to future generations.

By investing $2 billion in FY2010 in order to begin meeting

the annual financing levels called for in the Education for All Act, America

will signal its reengagement with the world and its dedication to sustainable

development, soft power and most importantly to the right of children to

complete a quality basic education. This investment will put the U.S.

back on track for committing $3 billion to universal education by 2012.

We stand with you in this endeavor and look forward to working with you

throughout your administration to achieve Education for All.

Sincerely,