DOHA: Educate A Child, a global programme of Education Above All Foundation (EAA), together with Agence Française de Développement (AFD) in Paris, France, will contribute to the reduction of the number of out of schoolchildren in countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, where approximately half the world’s out of school children reside.
Joint efforts will include promoting attention to the issue of out of school children, and supporting their enrollment and retention once in school. The five-year agreement, once fully implemented, can make the difference to 500,000 children in countries Sub-Saharan Africa.
EAA and AFD yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate and engage in projects and activities that support access to primary education.
The cost estimation of the aforementioned overall objective is $50,000,000 to be shared equally by the parties. The specific countries of operation and its projects will be determined between now and December by a dedicated taskforce comprised of AFD and EAC’s technical team. The projects will start to be implemented as from January next year.
Marcio Barbosa, CEO, Education Above All Foundation, said: “We believe that in order to achieve universal primary education the current funding gap of $26bn needs to be addressed by a variety sources. These include the private sector, individual philanthropists, sports and arts organisations, the wider community and, of course, governments. EAA’s efforts include bringing coordination among the donor community and avoiding duplication.”
Jean-Jacques Moineville, Deputy CEO at AFD, said: “Since 2000, the international agenda has moved from combating poverty to a global debate on the challenges of sustainable development, linking education with employment and social protection. That is why, the development of human capital has become a major sphere of intervention for AFD. Given the scale and urgent nature of the requirements, AFD supports basic quality education for all, as well as the development of knowledge and skills, and youth access to decent jobs, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa”.
At the end of 2015, the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will come to an end, including MDG2, which looks at ensuring universal primary education is guaranteed. There remain 58 million out of school children worldwide, and this is now a critical time to ensure those hard to reach children who remain out of school are not forgotten. A final push is needed by the global community, both financial and political, to ensure the completion of the unfinished MDG2.
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