Photo Credit: UN Flickr
Educating women saves lives – and the world is getting better at doing both.
These are among the many of promising results detailed in a new policy report from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), A Hand Up: Global Progress Toward Universal Education. The report, written by IHME’s Lauren Hashiguchi, tracks the world’s tremendous progress in educational attainment, particularly in lower-income countries and for women.
Research shows that educating women is a powerful driver of improved childhood survival. In fact, studies have found that a one-year gain in maternal education is associated with a 7% to 9% reduction in child mortality. When you consider this protective effect over time, the impact of women’s education is remarkable: between 1970 and 2010, about 4.2 million child deaths were averted due to gains in educating young women.
Globally, between 1990 and 2015, women of reproductive age (15-44 years old) saw a 41% increase in years of educational attainment. That is, in 1990, women were averaging 6.4 years of schooling (or the equivalent of finishing a bit more than grades 1-6); as of this year, women are averaging 9 years of schooling, a 2.6-year increase.
But this global trend masks even more impressive progress: the 18 countries that lagged behind the global average in 1990 and now exceed it.
While we don’t know precisely how or why each of these countries achieved the gains they did, we explored a few of the stand-outs:
Botswana recorded an 80% increase in women’s educational attainment, with average years of education rising from 5.1 in 1990 to 9.1 in 2015.
- How? The government’s large investments in education probably played a role. For instance, in 2006, about 20% of the Botswana’s budget was allocated to the Ministry of Education.
Indonesia saw women’s levels of educational attainment rise 73%, increasing from an average of 5.5 years in 1990 to 9.5 years in 2015. This kind of gain means that Indonesia has likely met its 2015 goal of every Indonesian child receiving at least nine years of basic education.
- How? Indonesia’s strong partnerships with countries like Australia, which has resulted in building thousands of schools and developing programs to improve school management, may be a driver of this success.
El Salvador experienced a 70% increase, rising from an average of 5.4 years in 1990 to 9.1 years in 2015.
- How? It appears that the country’s political will to improve women’s education could be a key factor. For instance, the Ministry of Education created the Gender Policy and Gender Unit, with an explicit focus on improving the lives of girls through education.
Education matters, particularly for children and women, A Hand Up emphasizes. Country governments and international initiatives, such as the UN Girls’ Education Initiative and White House’s Let Girls Learn, are investing in their futures. We’ve already seen what kind of progress can occur, and with a continued focus on improving access to high-quality education worldwide, we’re likely to see much more soon.