A Message from Gordon Brown

Malala is now in the UK at the Queen Elizabeth hospital where she is being treated for her horrific injuries by some of Britain’s best doctors and nurses. The hospital in Birmingham is home to the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine for wounded servicemen and servicewomen and has the largest critical care unit in the world. I know the hospital well, I know how hard the staff there work and how dedicated they are to the care of their patients, so we can be thankful Malala is in the best hands.

The warm welcome Malala received from the people of Birmingham yesterday is testament to the huge support she has attracted from people all around. the world. Solidarity with Malala was also strong as UNESCO today launched their 2012 Education For All Global Monitoring Report. The Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova dedicated the new report to Malala and every member of the panel of speakers, including the education ministers of South Africa and France, spoke out in support of her as girls’ education became the theme of the meeting.

The report published by UNESCO states that some 32 million children girls are in the same position as Malala – excluded from school. 61 million children in total are denied an education because there is no school built for them to go to or no teacher to teach them.

As the report argues, countries should move faster and further towards the Millennium Development Goal objective so that by the end of 2015 every child will have the chance to complete primary school education.

Highlighting Malala as one of the girls who have been excluded unfairly from education Ms Bokova called on Pakistan and other countries who have fallen behind to deliver education for all girls by strengthening their education systems immediately.

She is right to do so. This tragedy must now galvanize us all to take decisive action towards education for all.