Positive signs for a strong kick-off to the Global Partnership for Education’s four-year Replenishment Campaign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Alexandra Humme at ahumme@globalpartnership.org

Brussels/Washington, D.C., June 17, 2014 – On the eve of the Global Partnership for Education’s Second Replenishment Pledging Conference, hosted by the European Union, on June 25-26, 2014 in Brussels, global leaders are signaling their strong support for bringing quality education to all children.

“The pledging conference is just the beginning of our four-year replenishment period and we are very encouraged by the significant financial commitments we have already received from many of our partners,” said Julia Gillard, former Prime Minister of Australia and Chair of the Global Partnership’s Board of Directors. “Our partners understand the seriousness of the situation and we are looking forward to announcing first exciting news at the end of our conference on June 26.”

The gathering of leaders and decision-makers in the field of education is the single most important opportunity before 2015 – the beginning of a new, post-Millennium Development Goals agenda – to instill action, energy and resources to achieve the Global Partnership’s strategic goals of access, equity, quality and systems strengthening.

In addition to the European Commission, important donors such Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and others have indicated that they will  make notable increases in their commitments to the GPE Fund.

“Donor support for education – and for the GPE Fund in particular – is as vital as ever when so many children are still out of school or without a quality education,” said Andris Piebalgs, European Union Commissioner for Development. “This is unacceptable which is why I am honoured that the European Commission is hosting the GPE replenishment conference. The European Union and its member states are the biggest donor of the Global Partnership for Education and I look forward to donors and developing partner countries alike coming forward with pledges which respond to these challenges,” he added

Alice Albright, Chief-Executive-Officer at the Global Partnership for Education, said: "We are particularly heartened by our developing country partners who are coming forward with some significant pledges, demonstrating their strong commitment to increase domestic public financing for education. We expect to receive further strong pledges over the coming days."

With more than 40 ministers in attendance, the highly ambitious goal of $16 billion in pledges from developing country partners through increased domestic education financing is getting closer.

The Replenishment Conference is urging donor partners to start its four-year replenishment campaign (2015-2018) with a strong platform towards the ultimate target of US$3.5billion to the GPE Fund to support 66 developing country partners. Similarly, the Global Partnership is calling on developing country partners to increase education financing towards an average of at least 20 percent of their national domestic expenditure, leveraging over US$16 billion in domestic financing.  Other partners are urged to increase bilateral, multilateral and new innovative financing for the poorest countries to fill remaining funding needs.

“Our focus in Brussels will be on the 57 million children around the globe who have no access to schooling,” Albright said, “and on the 250 million children who either drop out of school or are unable to read, write and do math by the time they reach grade four. Getting all of these children in school and learning remains an audacious, but critical, goal that we must commit to in Brussels.”