We have seen a number of breakthroughs in the last three years or so.

Development issues have moved from being considered irrelevant by most G-7 world leaders to being a focus of attention. We have a new deal on debt relief. We have a new framework for trade through the Doha development round. We have a new consensus on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and on the means and measures for achieving them.

Although we want much more delivery in all these areas, we still have far to go. However, there is more money available in terms of ODA commitments. The Monterrey conference seems to have reversed the trend of declining contributions.

Things are moving. And we should note that making a nuisance of oneself and working together produce results.

Things are also moving in the area of health, with the current focus on HIV/AIDS and communicable diseases. The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is a big step in the right direction, although here, too, we want more delivery.

But in the field of education things are not moving. Why? There are many reasons for this – political, institutional and financial. And things are not moving despite Dakar, despite the MDGs, despite the PRSPs, despite all our fine words. That is why I am glad to be here, to be speaking about the importance of education. This is an area where we really need to make progress. And the Bank’s report is a good basis for this.

It is imperative to get things moving in the field of education because we will never eradicate poverty without improving education. We have committed ourselves to halving the number of people living in extreme poverty, and here education is vital. The MDGs include individual goals for education. But education is to a large extent a precondition for reaching them all.

The World Bank report of 1992 provides sufficient evidence: the most favourable investment, the investment that yields the highest return in strictly economic terms in a poor country, is education for girls. Nothing can beat it.

This is not only because "when you educate a girl you educate the whole family". It is also because educating women achieves results in the areas of birth control, health, HIV/AIDS, income generation and many more. We achieve several development goals simultaneously.

I believe that education should be at the core of all our efforts, and this is reflected in Norwegian development assistance and in our new action plan for fighting poverty. Education is job no. 1.

The goal is to increase the education share of our development budget to 15 per cent. The total budget will reach 1 per cent of our GNI by 2005. We are also currently developing a new educational strategy for our development assistance. At the beginning of June we hope to bring together all the Nordic education and international development ministers together to focus on education in poor countries. Why?

Education is basic infrastructure, in any country. It is the basis on which individuals build their lives, build their families. It is the main tool for building up a country. Although many people do not like the term "human capital" it does illustrate this basic fact. Education is also the only kind of infrastructure that cannot be destroyed by war, because it is in people’s minds. Education therefore cannot be halted by difficult circumstances. It can and should be carried out under all circumstances, during crises, in camps, in emergencies, and also of course under stable conditions. In order to build up a country, you need educated people, human capital, human resources.

But having said that, what has happened the last 20 years? Education, the basic infrastructure in many poor countries, has crumbled. Literacy rates have dropped, in some countries significantly. School fees have been introduced, excluding many poor people and girls from education. The average level of education and the quality have become lower in many countries. Look at teacher training and teaching materials! And the number of drop-outs has increased. Getting young people to complete their education is a major challenge.

This trend must be reversed. Not only for the sake of our overall development goals, for the reduction of poverty. But also, and not least, because every individual has the right to education. The right to education is one of our most fundamental human rights. It is enshrined in several human rights conventions. But the right to education does not only imply access to education. Without the right to complete one’s education, it is meaningless.

Today more than a hundred million children are without primary education. More than 880 million adults are illiterate. This is a gross violation of human rights. Norway initiated the process that led to the establishment of a special rapporteur on the right to education under the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. (The rapporteur is critically examining countries, priorities, and donors’ programmes, including those of the Bretton Woods institutions, to see how far they are promoting the right to education.)

But we must not only focus on policies. We must focus on resources and the financial gap. For the 47 countries in the greatest need at least USD 2.5 billion per year is necessary until 2015.

In the field of education, we agree to a large extent on the goals and on the means. But still action is lacking. Here, too, resources are essential.

Not much has happened since Dakar, at least not enough. Not much progress has been made towards our common goals. We will soon be far behind. We need a new focus. We need action. New and expanded plans are in the pipeline, in the Bank among other places. Now is the time to deliver.

Initially I referred to breakthroughs. We need a new breakthrough, a breakthrough in the area of education. It’s up to us to get things moving. Let’s do it. And let’s start today.