It is estimated that 264 million children are currently out of school around the world, but ALDO and Global Citizen are working together to change that — and here’s why.

Ensuring quality education  for all is one of the United Nations’ Global Goals for Sustainable Development, but improving access to quality education wouldn’t just achieve Global Goal 4 on education.

Education is a critical component in ending extreme poverty as it boosts economic growth and increases income. In fact, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) states that one additional year of school could increase an individual’s earnings by up to 10%.

Education reduces maternal deaths and enables people to recognize and combat disease. It can help achieve gender equality and reduce child marriage and shape a better future for all children, according to the GPE.

Take Action: Call on Canada to Support Global Education

What’s more is that educating girls and women can inspire great change within a community. With education, women and girls have fewer children, make more money and are able to better provide for their families, according to UNICEF data.

In short, education is a vital in inciting positive change across all Global Goals.

The GPE is an organization that has been working to increase access to education for the world’s most vulnerable children since 2002.

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The GPE relies on financial contributions from donors, governments, international organizations, the private sector, and philanthropists, amongst others. The next replenishment aims to raise US $2 billion a year by 2020 for the 89 countries eligible for support. These countries are home to 870 million children and youth and cover 78% of the world’s out-of-school population, according to GPE.

The GPE’s next replenishment conference will take place on Feb. 2 in Dakar, Senegal, and it will provide an opportunity for countries around the world to pledge funds to improve children’s access to education.

That’s why Global Citizens are calling on world leaders from countries like the UK, the US, France, and Canada to commit to funding the GPE replenishment 2020.

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That’s also why ALDO has partnered with Global Citizen.

In the past, ALDO has committed its efforts to HIV/AIDS awareness and funding, as it knows the importance of advocating for global health. But now ALDO is expanding its efforts to also support the fight for quality education for every child.

ALDO released a limited-edition sneaker called Aldo Mx. as part of their “Give Back, Move Forward” campaign this past November.

Read More: The Global Partnership for Education Needs $3.1B — and You Can Help

Together with Global Citizen’s Education for All campaign, “Give Back, Move Forward” aims to fill critical funding gaps in global education, including by backing Global Citizen's advocacy efforts in support of GPE’s financing conference.

Proceeds from Aldo Mx. sales will help fund Global Citizen's work to call on donors to help GPE reach its 2018 replenishment goal of $3.1 billion between 2018 

The $3.1 billion would allow 19 million additional children to complete primary school and 6.6 million additional children to complete secondary school. The funding would result in 1.7 million trained teachers, 23,800 new classrooms and 204 million textbooks to be distributed.

ALDO and Global Citizen feel that education is one of the most important investments a country can make for its citizens and ultimately in achieving the Global Goals. You can take action here.