United Nations Radio

One of the best investments any country can make is to educate girls and women so they can earn more, improve their family's well-being and show their daughters what is possible once you can read and write.

That advice comes from Secretary-general Ban Ki-moon in a message to an event on Education For All being held on the margins of the 63rd session of the UN General Assembly.

The secretary-general says with an education, people flourish and without it they remain trapped in poverty.

He says there's ample evidence that education improves individual incomes, economic growth, child and maternal health and resistance to disease, among others.

He called for a holistic approach that promotes education along with health care, noting that children who are malnourished or sick need food and treatment to succeed at school.

Secretary-general Ban concludes that "if we ensure that all children get the education they deserve, we put both individuals and a country on a sure footing toward a stable future."

This is Donn Bobb reporting for United Nations Radio.

(duration: 56")