Rihanna tweeted the prime minister to commit £380m towards the education of children in some of the world’s poorest countries. She urged for Theresa May to 'continue to prioritise girls’ education' and show that commitment with an ‘historic’ pledge.
Theresa May was not the only world leader Rihanna reached out to via Twitter. The singer and actress, who is the first global ambassador for the Global Partnership for Education (GPE), has been asking world leaders such as Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, and French President Emmanuel Macron, to pledge more money in the run up to the GPE summit in Senegal this week.
Right now, the U.K spends about 7 percent of aid on education. The BBC reported today that the UK will raise its education aid for developing countries to £75 million a year from the previous contribution of £52 million a year. The announcement will be made in Senegal where the global education conference will take place this year hosted by President Macky Sall and Emmanuel Macron.
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The aim of the increase in funds is to keep 880,000 children in school for three years. Many of these children live in countries affect by war and political turmoil. The funds will also help build 2,400 classrooms and train 170,000 teachers.
The Secretary for International Development Penny Mordaunt said an ‘education revolution’ is needed in order to help children get a decent education with which they can ‘help lift themselves and their countries out of poverty.’
However some aid agencies have warned the increase is not enough. The U.K has historically been the largest financial supporter of the GPE but there have been concerns the government may be preparing to scale back.
Kate Osamor, the shadow secretary for International Development, responded to the announcement saying ‘While this may sound like a lot of money, this is a deeply dispiriting announcement from the government that now leaves a £125 million hole in the Global Partnership for Education’s finances.’
The GPE is aims to raise $2bn by 2020.
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.