Global Education Summit: transforming education systems in 90 countries and territories

Taking international action for education is nowadays essential. The “education crisis” which was already a feature in many regions in the world has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The closure of schools during the health crisis has led to major educational disruption: two-thirds of developing countries have had to reduce their education budgets, over 100 million children are at risk of falling behind and almost 20 million girls may never return to school.

Financing projects for a high-quality education

France will take part in the fourth Global Partnership for Education Replenishment Conference in London on 28-29 July 2021. This conference is co-organized by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. It aims to secure $5 billion in pledges to fund high-quality education projects in almost 90 developing countries over the next five years (2021-2025).

This ambitious target set by the Global Partnership for Education should help educate a further 88 million children and improve learning conditions and results for 175 million girls and boys.

What is the Global Partnership for Education?

The GPE is a multilateral fund dedicated to financing education in almost 90 developing countries. It was created in 2002 and is based at the World Bank in Washington D.C. Since 2019, it has had a regional office in Paris.

France has been a member of the Partnership since its creation and is a historic donor. For the 2018-2020 cycle, the French contribution accounted for almost 10% of the committed funds.

France has so far paid almost $347 million into the Partnership. During its historical reengagement at the Dakar conference on 2 February 2018, France earmarked half of its contribution (€100 million) for the countries in the Sahel Region.

Between 2002 and 2020, G5 Sahel countries received $685 million from the Global Partnership for Education (10% of its financing) while the 19 priority developing countries for French cooperation received almost 40% of GPE financing.

The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) is one of the 10 partner agencies or international organizations to which the GPE entrusts its funds to be put to use. It plays this role in five countries (Burkina Faso, Burundi, Guinea, Niger and Senegal).