Hillary Clinton has announced a $600m (£370m) plan to encourage enrolment of girls at secondary schools worldwide, in the face of security and access problems in the developing world.
The former US secretary of state revealed the plan at the annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative, which aims to improve quality, safety and security at schools around the world.
“We know when girls have equal access to quality education in both primary and secondary schools, cycles of poverty are broken, economies grow, glass ceilings crack and potential is unleashed,” Clinton said.
Clinton has promoted the advancement of women and girls through an initiative at the foundation called No Ceilings.
The issue received global attention after the 2012 attack on teenage activist Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating gender equality and education for women.
Clinton’s foundation noted that in sub-Saharan Africa, 1.5 million fewer girls than boys attend secondary school. The initiative is to be led by former Australian prime minister Julia Gillard.
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