UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay commended the pledges announced by over 60 countries at the Global Partnership for Education Financing Conference in Dakar (Senegal), co-chaired by France and Senegal, and of which UNESCO is a partner.  

“In the face of an education emergency, these commitments represent an investment in the future of millions of children and youth, and a crucial contribution in the implementation of inclusive and equitable quality education, the goal for which UNESCO leads global efforts in the framework of the 2030 Agenda. Education is the key to development and peace, but we are in a situation of massive under-investment. The consequences are well known. We need collective intelligence in action for a long-term political vision that is coherent and financed. UNESCO will be fully engaged in this collective effort, through the mandate that has been entrusted to us by our Member States,” stated the Director-General,

UNESCO estimates an annual financing gap of $39 billion to achieve universal education from early childhood to secondary level in low and middle-income countries by 2030.