Washington, DC, February 26, 2020. Close to US$347 million in new funding will strengthen education systems and improve children’s access to school and quality learning in Chad, Eritrea, Ghana, Honduras, Somalia, Sudan, Tajikistan and Zanzibar in Tanzania. The Global Partnership for Education (GPE) has approved new grants totaling US$112.79 million with cofinancing totaling US$233.95 million from the World Bank’s International Development Association, the Islamic Development Bank, and several other partners.
“GPE is proud to continue its support to strengthen partner countries’ education systems,” said Alice Albright, GPE’s Chief Executive Officer. “These eight countries face challenging circumstances but persist in their efforts to ensure that their children can access a good education and acquire the skills needed to contribute to their countries’ development.”
Chad will receive US$22.2 million to focus on the poorest regions of the country with low enrollment rates for girls. Building on the US$27.8 million grant approved in 2018, the new grant will enable more classrooms, latrines and water points to be built, more teachers to be trained and recruited, and more math and reading textbooks to be produced and distributed. It will also improve access to quality literacy and non-formal education. Activities to strengthen the education system management will be extended by a year and a half. UNICEF and UNESCO are the GPE grant agents in Chad.
A grant of US$17.2 million to Eritrea will expand quality education at all levels by building classrooms, training teachers, in particular to teach in local languages, rolling out a new preschool curriculum and updating the primary school curriculum. GPE funds will also be used to enable girls from vulnerable families to complete their education. UNICEF is the GPE grant agent in Eritrea.
Ghana will receive a US$24.4 million grant, of which US$15 million is from the GPE Multiplier. The World Bank, GPE’s grant agent in Ghana, is co-financing the program with a US$150 million grant from the International Development Association (IDA). The program has a strong equity focus, to ensure quality learning for the most marginalized, including girls and children with special needs. The total funding of US$174.4 million will strengthen 10,000 public schools facing the steepest challenges in learning and resources through a combination of teacher training, school improvements and community participation are “named” at this stage in school management.
Honduras will receive a US$10 million GPE Multiplier grant, which the country used to leverage an additional US$30 million from IDA. The funding will support the Early Childhood Education Improvement Program, aimed at delivering quality preschool education to 178,400 children nationwide. In particular, the program will improve capacity for preschool management; strengthen community-based Municipal Education Councils in the most disadvantaged regions; train 7,900 preschool teachers; and build or rehabilitate 224 preschool classrooms, targeting those with the highest infrastructure needs. The World Bank acts as GPE grant agent in Honduras.
The Federal Government of Somalia will receive US$7.95 million as additional financing to the US$17.9 million grant approved in 2018. The new 2-year funding, with CARE USA as grant agent, builds on the 2018 grant’s objectives to improve equitable access to quality primary education for out-of-school children. It expands the program’s reach from 32,000 to 50,000 children in all four states and Banaadir, covering 11 regions in total. The grant will also provide training for 2,000 teachers to help improve teaching skills in basic literacy and numeracy.
Sudan will receive US$11.8 million in emergency funding to support 5.4 million children in 16,500 public schools across all 18 states in the country. The 14-month grant will help schools provide basic learning materials, minimizing the risk of children dropping out of school in the context of deteriorating economic conditions. The GPE grant, with the World Bank as the grant agent, complements funding by UNICEF and the European Union. The accelerated funding was approved within six weeks of receiving Sudan’s request.
Tajikistan will receive a US$10 million GPE Multiplier grant, leveraging an additional US$30 million from the Islamic Development Bank, which will act as GPE grant agent. The grants will finance a 4-year project to enhance the school environment in 18 districts, by upgrading classrooms, rolling out a revised math and language curriculum, providing new furniture and laboratory equipment, and making schools more accessible to children with disabilities. The grants will also support the launch of a new learning assessment system and improve education data.
In Tanzania, Zanzibar will receive US$9.24 million, including US$2.5 million from the GPE Multiplier, to support curriculum reform in pre-primary and primary schools. The results-based portion of the grant aims to increase the number of children who attend pre-primary school in disadvantaged areas, reduce geographic disparities in the allocation of teachers, and establish a learning assessment system. The Multiplier grant is leveraging additional financing of close to US$24 million from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), UNICEF, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and Milele Zanzibar Foundation in support of the Zanzibar Education Development Plan II.
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About the Global Partnership for Education
The Global Partnership for Education supports close to 70 developing countries to ensure that every child receives a quality basic education, prioritizing the poorest, the most vulnerable and those living in countries affected by fragility or conflict. GPE mobilizes financing for education and supports developing countries to build effective education systems founded on evidence-based planning and policies.
Media contact
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