Giving Compass' Take:

· At the recent G-7 summit, a global coalition of organizations asked for the leaders of the meeting to contribute $1.3 billion to fund education for children in crises around the world. Farah Mohamed, CEO of the Malala Fund, discusses with Devex the urgency of this initiative and why women and girls are at the center of the agenda.

· What role does gender equality play in trade and economic prosperity?

· Women and girls face endless challenges when it comes to education. Learn what needs to be done to move forward with education for girl.

A global coalition of humanitarian and development organizations are calling on leaders meeting at this week’s G-7 summit to commit $1.3 billion to educating children in crisis around the world. The group is asking G-7 president Canada to commit $500 million of that total.

“The gap is much bigger than $1.3 billion, but we’ve got to start somewhere. And $1.3 billion is moving the bar,” said Farah Mohamed, CEO of the Malala Fund. “We’ve given them a reasonable number. We’ve given them a number that the whole G-7 can commit to. This is not just for Canada to put money on table.”

Malala Fund founder Malala Yousafzai is a member of the Gender Advisory Council convened by Canada as part of its strategy to put women and girls at the center of its G-7 agenda. Each year, the host country of the informal bloc of seven of the world’s most advanced economies sets the agenda for its meetings, and this is the first time gender has had such a prominent role.

Members of the coalition and development advocates say one of the biggest things developed countries can do to advance gender equality is invest in girls’ education. The need is particularly great in protracted crises.

Read the full article about funding girls' education by Teresa Welsh at Devex International Development.