Secretary-General Welcomes Global Forum’s Focus on Closing Financing Gap for Education

The following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the 2024 Global Education Meeting, in Fortaleza, Brazil today.

As you gather for the 2024 Global Education Meeting, you confront a critical global challenge.  Education is the key to unlocking opportunities, equality, prosperity and peace. But for millions of people around the world, that door remains shut tight.

Seventy per cent of 10-year-olds are unable to understand a basic text, while 250 million children and young people are out of school altogether.  This is worsened by a huge financing gap of $97 billion annually for education in low- and middle-income countries.

We don’t have a moment to lose.  At the Transforming Education Summit in 2022, Governments committed to ending the learning crisis and boosting investment in quality education systems that can reach every learner throughout their lives.

Your meeting is an opportunity to measure how Governments are — and are not — living up to this commitment.

In particular, I welcome your focus on closing the financing gap for education through more effective resource mobilization and innovative financing initiatives.  I call on Governments to arrive at next year’s Conference on Financing for Development and the World Social Summit with concrete solutions that can deliver the education systems all people need and deserve.

Through the recently adopted Pact for the Future, Governments committed to investing in accessible, safe, inclusive and equitable quality education for all.  The United Nations is proud to stand with you in this essential global effort.