USAID Advances Efforts to Tackle the Global Learning Crisis
On September 19, 2022, USAID joined partners at the Transforming Education Summit to draw the world's attention to the impact of COVID-19 on education and demonstrate the U.S government's commitment to addressing the learning crisis. The U.S. delegation was led by Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona and included USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator LeAnna Marr.
The Leaders’ Day of the Summit featured a spotlight session on The Global Challenge of Addressing the Learning Crisis, jointly organized by USAID, the U.K. Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the World Bank, UNESCO, and UNICEF. In this session, First Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden announced the United States’ endorsement of a Commitment to Action on Foundational Learning, as well as a new National Strategy on Gender Equity and Equality goal to reach 15 million girls and young women with programs to improve learning and access to education by 2025.
Following the release of the State of Global Learning Poverty: 2022 Update, the Commitment to Action on Foundational Learning is a tool to galvanize international action on learning, a roadmap for the path forward, and an ambitious global goal aligned with Sustainable Development Goal 4. By endorsing the Commitment to Action, countries and organizations agree to take the necessary steps to support children and teachers so that every child is able to acquire foundational learning skills by the end of primary school.
Supporting children and youth to acquire foundational learning skills is core to USAID’s approach to international education. USAID will build on experience, thought leadership, expertise, and investment in foundational learning to help partner countries, education systems, and learners recover from the harmful effects of the pandemic. USAID programs will continue to advance foundational learning by coordinating with stakeholders at the local level, and leveraging tools and resources that are aligned with the USAID Education Policy and U.S. Government Covid-19 International Basic Education Response, such as the RAPID Framework and USAID’s Reading MATTERS Conceptual Framework.