Global education actor Education Above All (EAA) Foundation has warned that the world is falling short on its promise to children, due to a significant lack of funding.
The Foundation recently convened leaders, experts, decision-makers, and youth in New York for a series of events in the lead up to the halftime marker on the UN’s goal to achieve education for all by 2030.
A common consensus from all, was that ‘urgent action’ is needed to support the enrolment of more than 250 million children and youth around the world who remain excluded from education
As a key enabler of other SDGs, SDG4 is focused on ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning opportunities for all but time is now running out to deliver this goal, warns EAA.
Dr Mary Joy Pigozzi, Director of Educate A Child, a programme of EAA Foundation, said:
“The global report card may not read well today, but tomorrow we can do better. We all agree that without more funding and more creative implementation, the world simply will not be able to deliver education for all children by 2030.”
As a major player in global education, EAA Foundation has invested over USD $1.2 billion in marginalised children and youth in over 60 countries, since 2012. Through strategic partnerships the Foundation has leveraged a further USD $1.5 billion, more than doubling its own commitment. This has directly led to Education Above All (EAA) Foundation surpassing 15.7 million enrolment commitments for out-of-school children and youth in 56 countries.
The current funding shortfall needed to reach global education targets by 2030 is a staggering USD $148 billion. Developing countries’ total public debt increased from 35% of GDP in 2010 to 64% in 2022 according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), hampering efforts to fund education.
“Debt is a millstone around the neck of developing countries. To properly finance education needs, we must explore more new innovative approaches including debt cancellation and/or restructuring. We urge donor countries to increase their voluntary contributions to education” says Dr Pigozzi.
EAA Foundation has made strategic contributions of over $383 million to United Nations (UN) agencies: UNICEF, UNESCO, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UNRWA, and the Office of the UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). This funding has benefited children in countries with urgent needs such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Syria, Yemen and Myanmar.
EAA Foundation’s Chairperson, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, speaking in New York on the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, said that the private sector should also play its part: “Today, I call on the powerful tech companies, who tell us that their products transform our worlds and our lives for the better. I call on them to help us. I call on them to offer real solutions. I call them to disrupt the cycle so that every child can be educated.”
Meanwhile expert panels convened by EAA Foundation in the margins of the UN General Assembly also found that trust funds, results-based financing and greater efficiency enabled by technology, could also help unlock the financing needed to enable education for all.
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