UN chief calls for innovation for girls education

UN chief Ban Ki-moon called for innovation to improve the quality of learning for all girls on Friday while marking the International Day of the Girl Child. Ban said in a message for the occasion that "Empowering girls, ensuring their human rights and addressing the discrimination and violence they face are essential to progress for the whole human family." "One of the best ways to achieve all of these goals is to provide girls with the education they deserve," he noted, adding that too many girls in too many countries are held back simply because of their gender. According to the figures of the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), an estimated 31 million primary school aged girls currently miss out on school. Empowerment and education of girls is part of the eight anti- poverty MDGs which the international community aims to reach by the 2015 deadline, as it prepares a new set of global development goals for the post-2015 period. "To achieve meaningful results, we need fresh solutions to girls' education challenges and we must heed the voices of young people," he said. The UN General Assembly declared Oct. 11 as the International Day of the Girl Child in 2011 to recognize girls' rights and the unique challenges girls face around the world.