Malala warns PM over foreign aid spending cut
Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has warned Boris Johnson he could fail to meet his target on girls’ education if he does not restore foreign aid spending.
The Prime Minister has faced sustained criticism for shelving his manifesto commitment to maintain spending at 0.7% of national income.
Instead he cut it to 0.5%, citing the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis.
Spoke with Prime Minister @BorisJohnson this morning. I applaud his dedication to girls' education – but I am concerned he won't reach his goal of helping 40M girls go to school unless the U.K. recommits 0.7% of national income to aid and pledges £600M to @GPforEducation.
— Malala (@Malala) April 23, 2021
Ms Yousafzai, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for her work campaigning for girls to have a universal right to education, said she discussed aid spending with Mr Johnson on Friday morning.
The Pakistani human rights activist tweeted “I applaud his dedication to girls’ education” but said she is “concerned” over aid spending.
The UK is hosting a Global Education Summit this summer and leading efforts in our @G7 Presidency to get 40 million more girls into school.
I spoke to @Malala this morning about how girls education is one of the smartest investments countries can make as we build back better.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) April 23, 2021
She said Mr Johnson will not reach his goal of getting 40 million more girls into school around the world by 2025 “unless the U.K. recommits 0.7% of national income to aid”.
The activist also said the PM would need to pledge £600 million to the Global Partnership for Education to meet the target.