As donor aid levels plummet, children in developing countries could face a bleak future as they miss out on the chance to go to school. Ahead of a high level Global Partnership for Education (GPE) meeting in Copenhagen on November 8, international agency Oxfam has called for rich country donors and the World Bank to put money on the table for basic education.
As donor aid levels plummet, children in developing countries could face a bleak future as they miss out on the chance to go to school.
Ahead of a high level Global Partnership for Education (GPE) meeting in Copenhagen on November 8, international agency Oxfam has called for rich country donors and the World Bank to put money on the table for basic education.
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Bangladesh is losing 16 per cent of funding from multiple donors, putting children’s education at risk. |
Poor countries are experiencing massive shortfalls as donors pull out their funding with one extreme case, Burkina Faso, losing over half of its total education aid. Five donors, including Italy and the Netherlands have slashed their aid to Burkina Faso, a country where more than a third of children are unable to go to school and 43 per cent of the population lives on less than $2 a day. The consequences could be devastating in such an aid dependent country.
Tahirou Traore, national coordinator of the Education for All coalition in Burkina Faso said. “Everyone has the right to education, but without the funds we will struggle to educate the children and to train the teachers. A country’s productivity is based on what children learn in school.”
And it’s not just donor governments who are leaving poor countries in the lurch; worryingly, new World Bank funding commitments for basic education in the poorest countries fell by over $700 million in the last financial year, and new funding commitments for primary education in Africa fell to the second lowest level in more than 20 years. This is despite a high-profile commitment at the UN MDG summit last September to direct an extra $750 million in funding for basic education to the poorest countries over the next five years.
Oxfam’s Education Policy Advisor, Katie Malouf Bous, said: “Unless donors reverse the trend of cuts, there’s a real danger that a generation of children will lose the chance to learn, and that countries will remain poor and aid dependent.
“The World Bank is now reducing the funding that millions of children rely on, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. If it is serious about helping to tackle the education crisis, it must match its grand words with action, and deliver on the promise made a year ago.”
Other countries that are losing a significant chunk of their funding from multiple donors include Zambia, which is losing 31 per cent, Cambodia and Mozambique 18 per cent and Bangladesh 16 per cent. Last week new calculations by Oxfam revealed the biggest drop in aid levels for 15 years, a devastating blow for developing countries. Money from rich nations is likely to fall by at least $9.5 billion by the end of 2012 – a shortfall that would be enough to educate more than half the 67 million children across the globe who cannot afford to go to school.
At the replenishment meeting of the Global Partnership for Education tomorrow, ministers from donor and developing countries will meet to decide how much financing will go to the global initiative that supports education in the poorest countries.
Malouf Bous said: “The whole point of the Global Partnership for Education is to stimulate smart investment in education. Following a lack of concrete commitment to deliver additional money for development at the G20 last week, donor countries can’t turn up at another meeting empty handed. They must step up to redeem themselves and put their money on the table to make education for all a reality.”
The Global Partnership for Education is an effective way for donor countries to deliver their aid, channelling money to support country-owned plans and coordinating donor assistance. Some countries, like Australia and the UK have made renewed commitments, whilst others, like Germany and France, have a long way to go.
“Investing in education will mean future generations can work their way out of poverty, rather than being dependent on aid,” said Malouf Bous.