Gordon Brown, former UK PM, urges the US and Europe to take more action in addressing the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

• The U.N. special envoy for global education, Gordon Brown, stated that the world must unite to secure the $4.4 billion required to address the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
• A global education crisis, as warned by Brown, could negatively impact economies, the productivity of the workforce, and the standard of living for all people worldwide.
• Before the pandemic, 268 million children were already not attending school, according to him when he spoke to CNBC.

The U.N. special envoy for global education, Gordon Brown, stated that the world must unite to secure the $4.4 billion required to address the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.

He called for a humanitarian pledging conference with Britain, Europe, and many other people involved to raise four and a half billion.

To prevent the current crisis from worsening, the Middle East, many Islamic states, America, and Europe must all contribute more. We must act now to avoid the devastating consequences of emaciated families and children dying due to lack of food.

The UN appointed Brown as special envoy for global education in 2012, and he stated on CNBC that funding and conditions must be established with Taliban leaders to ensure girls in the region have unlimited access to education.

The Taliban must agree not to suppress, intimidate, or use violence against girls who want an education in Afghanistan, as the government has announced that they can return to school in March with the condition that finance is provided.

Global education crisis

If no action is taken, the global education crisis will negatively impact economies, the productivity of the workforce, and the standard of living of the entire population, as stated by Brown to CNBC.

He emphasized the need for innovative financing methods in education on Friday, prior to International Day of Education on January 24.

The education crisis resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic has been overlooked, while there has been a focus on the medical and economic crises.

Education is not being given priority as it has been cut by 10% over the past three years, with most governments spending on health and social protection.

Instead of focusing on building back better and investing more in children returning to school, we are currently facing cuts in education both domestically and globally. This is why the World Bank and other organizations are emphasizing the need to reverse this trend. In response, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called a special summit on education for September this year.

As U.K. prime minister from 2007 to 2010, Brown stated that 268 million children were already out of school prior to the pandemic, and half of the world's children were not receiving the education necessary for basic literacy and numeracy by the age of 10.

The crisis in global education has particularly impacted Africa, as stated by him.

Unfortunately, Africa is likely to be approximately a century behind the world's most successful educational systems due to the large number of children not attending primary school. Although primary school completion rates are high, the chances of progressing to secondary school are limited, and there is little access to higher and further education.

Building a highly skilled workforce

According to CNBC, Brown stated that countries with highly skilled workers will be successful in the future.

He stated that education is crucial for low-income and middle-income countries to achieve success and become high-income countries.

"In my opinion, the future growth model for lower- and middle-income countries should not rely on unskilled labor, but rather on an educated workforce. This requires investing in good schools and colleges," he stated.

The longest-serving U.K. finance minister in modern history (1997 to 2007), Brown, stated that the international community must fulfill its commitment to allocate more resources towards education.

He introduced the International Finance Facility for Education, a new approach to utilizing guarantees from wealthy nations to enable the World Bank and regional development banks to allocate more funds towards education.

If we want to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we must significantly increase the amount of aid for education, he stated.