Our vision is for all children and youth in Eastern and Southern Africa to have the education and skills to realize their potential and contribute to the sustainable development of the region.
In Eastern and Southern Africa, 62 million children, adolescents, and youth are projected to be out of school by 2030. Without substantial action, approximately 89% (or 122.8 million) of school-aged children will be ‘learning poor’. Overall, nearly 9 in 10 children in Sub-Saharan Africa struggle to read by age 10, a global concern exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Positive transformations are happening across the region. In Kenya, under the Tusome program, students in grades 1 and 2 improved their reading in Kiswahili by the equivalent of roughly three to five years of schooling. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, the elimination of primary school fees in public schools have resulted in 3.7 million more children in gaining access to education, marking a 25% increase in enrollment in public primary schools. Similarly, Tanzania's results-based financing education program led to an additional 1.8 million students enrolling in primary schools. These efforts have significantly boosted enrollment.
