President Obama silent on the creation of a Global Fund for Education: Global AIDS Alliance

Sep 22 2009

One year ago, on September 28, 2008, then-Candidate Barack Obama used the world stage provided by the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative to promise that, if elected, he would work to create a Global Fund for Education. Mr. Obama said:

"That's why the third commitment I'll make is working to erase the global primary education gap by 2015. Every child -- every boy, and every girl -- should have the ability to go to school. To ensure that our nation does its part to meet that goal, we need to establish a two billion dollar Global Education Fund." (1)

"Since the Inauguration, President Obama and the White House have been silent on the creation of a Global Fund for Education, despite requests from advocates and world moral leaders that he make good on his promise," said Dr. Paul Zeitz, executive director of the Global AIDS Alliance, and board chair of Global Action for Children. "Universal completion of a basic education is a social vaccine; not only is it one of the most cost-effective and equitable solutions to the economic crisis, but it saves lives and is key to ending the global AIDS pandemic," he said.

The Global Campaign for Education estimates that if all children received a complete primary education, as many as 700,000 cases of HIV could be prevented each year.

On June 30, 2009, in an open letter to the leaders of G8 countries, Mrs. Mary Robinson, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and Professor Muhammad Yunus called for the creation of a Global Fund for Education before the end of the year. Their letter made specific reference to President Obama's campaign pledge.(2)

While the White House has not yet signaled action in response to the June 30 letter, each of its signatories received Presidential Medals of Freedom from President Obama in a White House ceremony on August 12. Archbishop Tutu used the occasion of that ceremony to speak out again on global education, and in an op-ed published by the Washington Times on August 16, said: "Mr. President, please do not to lose sight of this goal: We need a Global Fund for Education now."(3)

"The Clinton Global Initiative 2009 conference provides President Obama with another opportunity to announce to the world that he is keeping the promise he made at last year's meeting," said Zeitz. "The President needs to know that the eyes of the world have been focused on the White House during the past year, watching and waiting for him to make good on his promise."