A new international initiative, to be financed at more than $20 million, aims to foster literacy among impoverished children in developing nations.
The new effort is a partnership of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Australian Agency for International Development, and World Vision. In addition, the U.S. Department of Education will support the campaign, dubbed All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development.
“Teaching children to read in primary school translates to improved health outcomes and economic growth in developing countries,” USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah said in a press release. “Through this partnership, we are helping to create scalable, sustainable, cost-effective innovations that will improve reading outcomes for millions of children in low-income families.”