The Power and Promise of Girls' Education - Save the Children

Forecasts for
Children
Save the Children commissioned independent research to identify those developing countries
most likely to improve children’s quality of life over the next decade.
The analysis uses indicators on girls’ education,
combined with other key “performance” factors, as a
predictor for three areas critical to children’s well-being:
achieving smaller, healthier families; educating all children;
and achieving the eight Millennium Development Goals
aimed at fighting poverty, hunger and disease.
The indicators selected are closely associated with the
focus of each Forecast. Countries’ scores on the
performance indicators were ranked, and top-scoring
countries were then reviewed to determine the degree
to which they had well-documented successes in
expanding educational opportunities for girls. (See notes
on methodology and rationale included with each Forecast.)
Eleven countries were identified as “most likely to
succeed.” Each is tackling the challenge of getting more
girls into school and can expect to reap benefits such as
higher child survival rates, improved health for mothers,
and better standards of living. Bangladesh, Belize, Benin,
Bolivia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Egypt, Gambia, Mexico,
Morocco and Vietnam represent a cross section of
cultures, religions and regions, demonstrating that when
the political will exists and investments are strategic,
lasting positive change for children can be accomplished
anywhere. Bolivia is the only country that is selected in
all three Forecasts.
Forecast 1 – Countries that will make especially noteworthy progress in achieving smaller,
healthier families
Most Likely to Succeed
Bangladesh – Pioneering efforts have boosted girls’
school enrollments at all levels and improved the quality of
education for girls. One result has been a drop in the number
of teenage marriages.
Bolivia – Nationwide reforms raised girls’ net enrollment
to 97 percent. Improvements in family health and use of
contraception are already being documented.
By investing in girls’ education, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Egypt,
Gambia and Morocco are increasing the percentage of
women who will likely use modern contraception to
space births at healthy intervals, which has been shown
to result in fewer deaths among newborns, infants and
young children. Investments in girls’ education are also
helping these countries guarantee the health of future
generations by equipping mothers with the knowledge
and skills to fight disease, seek medical care when
Egypt – President Mubarak has been vocal about the need
to address rapid population growth, and the First Lady has
helped bring issues such as reproductive health and female
genital mutilation out of the realm of taboo and into the
public agenda. The government is working to narrow the
gender gap in education as a way to tackle the country’s
challenges.
Gambia – The government has made girls’ education a
priority and raised girls’ net enrollment rates from 41 to 66
percent between 1990 and 2000.There has also been good
progress toward getting equal numbers of girls and boys into
school.
Morocco – Increased education levels for girls, especially
in rural areas, have improved the likelihood that they will
delay marriage and use family planning to have fewer,
healthier children.
Methodology: The following indicators were used to
construct an unweighted index: 10-year gains in female net
enrollment ratios; 10-year gains in gender parity ratios;
percentage of women using modern contraception. Countries
were then ranked on their index scores.Any country with a
low index score on any other Forecast-related index was
discarded.Among remaining countries, those that had
well-documented programs related to the expansion of
educational opportunities for girls along with welldocumented
results for these programs were highlighted in
the Forecast.
Rationale: Modern contraceptive use is directly related to
family spacing. Gender parity contributes to enhanced status
for women and girls. Greater status helps women gain a
greater voice in household decision-making, including
decisions about family size and the allocation of household
resources for investments in children’s health and well-being.
Female enrollment ratios are a proxy measure for educational
attainment. Mothers with higher levels of educational
attainment provide better health care for their children.
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THE POWER AND PROMISE OF GIRLS’ EDUCATION