Governments and international corporations have vowed more than $ 4 billion to educate 175 million children globally and prevent a generation from being demolished by the coronavirus pandemic.

On Thursday, the pledges came at a conference in London hosted by the UK, Kenya, and the Global Education Partnership funding organization.

Former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, who is leading the partnership, said the donations put it on track to reach the $ 5 billion target over the next five years, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

Conference with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has turned girls' education into a flagship project for its Conservative government and urges by 2026 40 million more girls in schools around the world.

He told conference participants that education "was the silver bullet ... that could solve virtually any problem affecting humanity."

The United Kingdom has pledged £ 430 million (USD 600 million) to the Global Partnership for Education.

But Johnson is critical of cutting Britain's international development budget from 0.7 percent of national revenue to 0.5 percent and cutting about £ 4 billion ($ 5.6 billion) from projects that help the world's most vulnerable.

The government says the cuts are temporary and necessary because of the economic downturn caused by the pandemic.