A new United Nations campaign to place girls into schools in 25 priority countries drew reactions from Seventh-day Adventist Church leaders last week.

“Every girl should be in school,” says Ardis Stenbakken, director for women’s ministries for the Adventist world church. “It’s well documented that when a girl is educated, she will in turn educate her entire family. This not only benefits the quality of life for the community, but improves the country’s economy in the long term. Women’s ministries conducts literacy programs in a number of these countries, such as Sudan and Bangladesh.”

The United Nations Children’s Fund announced its plan to eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education by 2005. The new initiative targets countries with low enrollment rates for girls, such as Bangladesh, Bhutan, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Malawi, Tanzania, Nepal, the Sudan, Yemen, Papua New Guinea and India. Reports indicate that 1 million girls are out of school, and that there are prevailing crises that affect schooling opportunities for girls, such as HIV/AIDS and conflict. 

“The Adventist Church has always placed a high value on education,” says Dr. Jonathan Gallagher, United Nations liaison director for the Adventist world church. “We see education as a top priority in opening doors to freedom and opportunity, and as a major contribution we can make to the wider community.”

Stenbakken says the church’s women’s ministries department awards scholarships to college women every year because of these inequities in educational opportunities.

UNICEF will work closely with each government on resources, building broader national consensus about the need to place girls in school, and improving school environments to make them more welcoming to girls. 

The Adventist Church operates more than 6,000 schools worldwide, with some 1 million students. The church actively works to provide high quality education without discrimination.