DURHAM, NC — FHI 360 announced today that its Education Policy and Data Center (EPDC) will invest its time and resources to explore the relationship between inequality and education through its Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) Commitment to Action and launch The Last Barrier: Exploring Inequality in Education initiative.

“School attendance rates around the world have increased dramatically over the last two decades, and gender equity and school completion rates globally are also on the rise,” said Patrick Fine, Chief Executive Officer of FHI 360. “But this progress masks an urgent issue — that there are persistent inequalities within countries that prevent many children from accessing a quality education. Without a good education, children face limited futures — those that are marked by early marriages, family sizes that outpace resources and poorer health for themselves and their families.”

Policymakers and development practitioners lack adequate information about the root causes and magnitude of inequality in education. As part of The Last Barrier initiative, EPDC will convene and lead a consortium of researchers, practitioners and advocacy groups to gain better understanding of the institutional and cultural barriers preventing universal access to quality schooling around the world. The consortium will develop an evidence base of effective ways to break cycles of inequality and ensure that its research is rigorous, well-grounded and shared with those in positions to make or influence change.

The Last Barrier initiative will continue to build on EPDC’s research on inequality in education. Its latest study, Does Education Inequality Lead to Violent Conflict? (2015), includes a global analysis of the links between education inequality and violent conflict and two country case studies exploring policymaking for peacebuilding through equity.

As part of its two-year CGI Commitment to Action, EPDC will:

• Draw on EPDC’s extensive database of subnational education indicators to produce at least one significant research paper each year
• Mobilize researchers, practitioners and advocacy organizations to develop a relevant and actionable research agenda, carry out secondary and primary research, and share findings with policymakers
• Host webpages on the EPDC website dedicated to The Last Barrier initiative (www.epdc.org/lastbarrier)

With its initial investment, EPDC will leverage the CGI Commitment to garner further support from funding partners.

About the Clinton Global Initiative

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), an initiative of the Clinton Foundation, convenes global leaders to create and implement solutions to the world's most pressing challenges. CGI Annual Meetings have brought together 190 sitting and former heads of state, more than 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media. To date, members of the CGI community have made more than 3,200 Commitments to Action, which have improved the lives of over 430 million people in more than 180 countries.

In addition to the Annual Meeting, CGI convenes CGI America, a meeting focused on collaborative solutions to economic recovery in the United States; and CGI University (CGI U), which brings together undergraduate and graduate students to address pressing challenges in their community or around the world. This year, CGI also convened CGI Middle East & Africa, which brought together leaders across sectors to take action on pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges.

For more information, visit www.clintonglobalinitiative.org and follow us on Twitter @ClintonGlobal and Facebook at facebook.com/clintonglobalinitiative.

About FHI 360

FHI 360 is a nonprofit human development organization dedicated to improving lives in lasting ways by advancing integrated, locally driven solutions. Our staff includes experts in health, education, nutrition, environment, economic development, civil society, gender, youth, research, technology, communication and social marketing — a unique mix of capabilities to address today’s interrelated development challenges. FHI 360 serves more than 70 countries and all U.S. states and territories.