As many as 20 million girls may not return to schools even after the COVID-19 crisis is over, warns UN Messenger of Peace Malala Yousafzai.

Speaking at a side event of the UN General Assembly on Friday afternoon, the youngest Nobel Laureate acknowledged that COVID-19 had been “a striking setback to our collective goals”, such as educating women.

“On education alone, 20 million more girls may never go back to the classroom when this crisis ends [and] the global education funding gap has already increased to 200 billion dollars per year,” she said.

Malala reminded the international community that sustainable global goals, set by the UN five years ago, represented the future for millions of girls who wanted education and were fighting for equality.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1580635/20-million-girls-may-never-return-to-school-warns-malala