Girls living in developing countries have been disproportionately affected, and we are now facing a lost generation of girls who may never start or return to school.

Educating all girls everywhere is not just the right thing to do, it is one of the smartest investments we can make to lift people out of poverty, grow economies, save lives, and build back better from COVID-19.

A child whose mother can read is 50 per cent more likely to live beyond the age of five years, and twice as likely to attend school themselves. They are also 50 per cent more likely to be immunised.

Enabling girls and women to reach their potential is something I am personally passionate about, and beyond my day job of High Commissioner of the United Kingdom to Australia here in Canberra, I am also the co-chair of the UK's Women of the Future Programme.

Identifying and championing young female role models is vital to instil confidence in young women everywhere that they can do it too - but it all starts with education.

This week, G7 leaders at the summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, agreed on ambitious global targets to get more girls into school and learning, and pledged to increase their support to the Global Partnership for Education (GPE).

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The UK announced a commitment of £430 million. This is the largest pledge the UK has ever made to the GPE - an increase of 15 per cent from our previous annual pledge - a testament to the UK's commitment to this game-changing issue.

This investment will provide real, practical support to 1.1. billion children in 90 lower-income countries over the next five years.

I've seen the barriers girls face to education - be it the lack of proper facilities stopping girls who are menstruating from going to school as they are unable to wash; heavy rain causing flooding in schools, rendering them too dangerous; or young mothers forced to abandon their education to look after their children.

In time, the GPE aims to train 2.2 million more teachers, build 78,000 new classrooms and buy 512 million textbooks, transforming education opportunities for children in the world's poorest countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown us how interconnected we all are, and girls' education is no different.

Boosting girls' access to education, together, creates a better, safer, healthier world for everyone.