PARIS/WASHINGTON DC/ABIDJAN, April 20, 2021 – Retired international football star, Didier Drogba, has backed the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) “Raise Your Hand” financing campaign.

The campaign, launched in October 2020 with the United Kingdom and Kenya, aims to raise at least US $5 billion over five years to help transform education systems in more than 90 low-income countries and territories, which are home to more than a billion children. The campaign will conclude at the Global Education Summit in London on 28-29 July, hosted by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Kenyan President, Uhuru Kenyatta.

In a video released to mark the campaign‘s last 100 days before the summit, Didier Drogba called on leaders and policy makers around the world to mobilize public support to finance education.

“The Raise Your Hand campaign is an opportunity to transform education and unlock a brighter future for more than a billion girls and boys. The stakes have never been higher. More than a quarter of a billion children were out of school before the COVID-19 pandemic, and millions more could lose the chance to learn if world leaders don’t step up to invest in education. Raise your hand, fund education,“ said Didier Drogba.

“We are delighted that Didier Drogba is supporting GPE's 2021-2025 financing campaign. As the education sector faces an unprecedented crisis due to COVID-19, we urgently need to mobilize global support to help countries build strong, resilient and inclusive education systems. Didier Drogba's voice helps carry our message to decision-makers all over the world. If we are to create an equitable and sustainable future, we must put education first,” said Alice Albright, Chief Executive Officer of GPE.

Didier Drogba has long been an advocate for education. Since 2007, the Didier Drogba Foundation has been working with the most marginalized children in Côte d'Ivoire. The foundation has financed the construction of schools in rural areas and distributed school supplies and teaching materials to help increase enrollment and completion rates at primary and secondary levels.

###

Notes to editors

Find the campaign video and b-roll in broadcast quality here
Take part in the "Raise your hand" campaign at www.raiseyourhand.net

Contact

• Tamara Kummer, tkummer@globalpartnership.org +33 7 82 26 07 18
• Peter Carlson, pcarlson@globalpartnership.org +33 6 46 42 03 38

About GPE

GPE is a shared commitment to ending the world’s learning crisis. We mobilize partners and funds to support 76 lower-income countries to transform their education systems so that every girl and boy can get the quality education they need to unlock their full potential and contribute to building a better world.

GPE is currently calling on world leaders to “Raise Your Hand” and pledge at least $5 billion for the next five years to help GPE transform education in up to 90 countries and territories, which are home to more than 1 billion children.