Research presented for the Launch of Global Action Week April 24-30, 2016
To accomplish SDG 4 by 2030:
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong opportunities for all
Latest figures show support for education falls again and sub-Saharan Africa hit the hardest.
There is a massive need for education funding catch-up especially in sub-Saharan Africa due to previous lack of equitable funding to sub-Saharan Africa and rapid population growth.
In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
• SSA’s school-age population is projected to grow by one-third between 2015 and 2030 compared to a slight decline in all other major developing regions.
• 30 million children, more than half of the world’s 59 million out-of-school children lived in SSA (2013). This number has grown to 62 million (2016).
• SSA’s share of the world’s out-of-school children increased from 40% in 1999 to 57% in 2013.
• The number of out-of-school adolescents in SSA grew from 21 million in 2000 to 23 million in 2013 due to rapid population growth.
• Aid to education in SSA has not been well targeted eg. In 2002/03, SSA Aid to education reached 49% and in 2014 declined to 28%.
• 30% of women in SSA aged 15-24 years are still illiterate.
• More than 1/3 of children in SSA will be born to illiterate mothers, reinforcing the vicious circle of poverty, inequity and high fertility rates.
• About 1/3 of the labor force in SSA could still be illiterate in the 2030s, if education is not vigorously addressed through second-chance programs.
In developing countries education funding needs $39 billion annually from donor countries.
$39 billion buys 32 nuclear weapons.
The same amount could be spent sending every child to school.
Read more:
Fund the Future: Education Rights Now http://fund-the-future.org/en/about
Financing the massive education catch-up needed in sub-Saharan Africa
Funding education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Can the momentum be maintained during the current economic slowdown
