Global Partnership for Education Announces 2014 Replenishment Campaign
During last week's United Nations General Assembly meetings and events, in the midst of resolutions on Syria and talk about diplomatic relations with Iran, the global community took stock of our progress toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and discussed where attention should be focused after the MDGs expire and a new global development framework is launched in 2015.
As RESULTS advocates know well, ensuring all children around the world are in school and learning is a key to the success of all of our efforts to reduce poverty. Recognizing how far we still have to go to achieve this right for all kids, and the amount of resources required to do so, the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) launched its second replenishment campaign this past week. The campaign will culminate in a pledging conference hosted by the European Union in Brussels in June 2014. The GPE is the only multilateral partnership focused on ensuring all children have access to a quality education. It is an innovative, effective model, working directly with development country governments and their partners to develop and fund national education plans.
The Global Partnership for Education's press release explained the need for a strong global commitment to the GPE during this campaign:
“The Global Partnership plays a crucial role in driving the mobilization of additional resources for basic and secondary education through the GPE Fund, bilateral and domestic funding,” [GPE CEO Alice] Albright said. “In 2013 alone we have received funding requests of US$1.2 billion from many of our 59 developing country partners who are strongly committed to education.”
The Global Partnership for Education is now gearing up for its second replenishment with the support of all its partners. “The European Union is committed not only to supporting education, but also to making sure we do it well together with others. I'm happy to announce that the European Union will be hosting the second Replenishment Conference of the Global Partnership for Education in June 2014 in Brussels,” said Andris Piebalgs, European Commissioner for Development.
The global education crisis is further exacerbated by a significant reduction in financing for basic education. External aid to basic education is dropping faster than any other sector – down 14 percent between 2009 and 2011. “This is not acceptable,” Albright said. “We will work with all our partners to ensure that every child has access to a good education so they can be healthier, have higher incomes, and have an opportunity to change their lives for the better.”
GPE's CEO Alice Albright also announced the campaign during Saturday night's Global Poverty Project music festival, in front of a crowd of thousands of people in New York’s Central Park. You can watch the video online.
During the last replenishment in 2011, the United States made a one-time pledge of $20 million to GPE. RESULTS and our partners will be working over the coming months to increase overall contributions and ensure that, this time around, the U.S. government is a strong leader supporting GPE and its critical work for children around the world.