Boris Johnson at the G7 summit has pledged £430m to improve education in some of the world's poorest countries – with girls' education a priority.
The prime minister said it was a source of “international shame" that so many girls in poorer countries were missing out on access to school.
With an education, these children could have been “titans of industry or scientific pioneers", he said.
But aid agencies called for a reversal of cuts to the UK's aid budget.
“The best way we can lift countries out of poverty and lead a global recovery is by investing in education and particularly girls' education," the prime minister told world leaders gathered in Cornwall.
