UNITED NATIONS GIRLS EDUCATION INITIATIVE

The United Nations Girls' Education Initiative is the Education For All flagship for girls' education and principal movement to narrow the gender gap in primary and secondary education. UNGEI works to ensure that by 2015, all children everywhere, boys and girls alike, will be able to complete primary schooling and that by then, boys and girls will have equal access to all levels of education.

UNICEF is the lead agency and Secretariat for UNGEI. A Global Advisory Committee is composed of key partners who share in the planning, decision-making, guidance and accountability of UNGEI. UNGEI Focal Points in different regions facilitate the coordination of girls' education strategies and interventions at the country level.

At the country level, UNGEI supports country-led development and seeks to influence decision-making and investments to ensure gender equity and equality in national education policies, plans and programmes. It operates as a mechanism to advance education strategies and the technical capacity to assist countries. UNGEI partners mobilize resources for both targeted project interventions and country programmes as well as large scale systemic interventions designed to impact on the whole education system. UNGEI streamlines its efforts through the strategic use of existing mechanisms such as Poverty Reduction Strategies, sector-wide approaches and UN development assistance frameworks.