Global enrolment in primary education has increased from 647 million in 1999 to 688 million in 2005.
In April 2006, the UK Government committed £8.5 billion over 10 years to help achieve the education Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The bulk of this support will help poor countries in Africa and Asia to develop and implement long-term education sector plans to achieve the education MDGs. At the 2007 G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, the G8 countries reaffirmed that no country seriously committed to Education for All will be thwarted in their achievement of this goal by lack of resources. We will continue to urge our G8 partners and other donors to meet their promises on education, and also seek accelerated action to meet all of the MDGs through the MDG Call to Action, jointly launched last July by the Prime Minister and the United Nations Secretary-General.