The world is looking to the UK to step up, not step back, and support girls’ education

The world is looking to the UK to step up, not step back, and support girls’ education

All eyes are on Cornwall this weekend as the leaders of the G7 gather to discuss how the world can recover from the pandemic. The impacts of Covid-19 are far wider than the horrific global death count of 3.7 million. Never has a G7 Summit been more important. Tuesday's Parliamentary debate over government cuts to the aid budget highlighted the extent to which the pandemic has devastated the most vulnerable communities in the world. It is disappointing that we enter such a crucial summit arguing about aid spending, but the summit highlights just how important it is to stick to the Conservative manifesto commitment on overseas development. We are the only G7 country reducing our support in this area and I applaud the efforts of my colleagues in Parliament who are working to ensure that MPs get to vote on this. Despite this, the G7 is a great opportunity for the Prime Minister to make progress on one of his major priorities - that girls around the world should get 12 years of quality education. The stakes are high. Even before the pandemic struck, the odds were stacked against girls. Globally, 130 million girls were already out of school and