Financing for Global Education

Access to good quality basic education for all children is a promise the global community must keep. Based on data analysis and case studies of the six most important multilateral donors in education, this report explores the role they could play either through their own resources or through mobilizing others. Special attention is paid to 41 countries in greatest need. These countries include the 35 low-income countries whose own resources are limited, together with the 6 middle-income countries which are amongst the 10 countries with the highest out-of-school populations. Multilaterals’ significance in the aid architecture and their unique capacity to pool funding, convene donors and be a lender of last resort, provides them with a number of opportunities to play a significant role.

This report makes no claim to provide comprehensive recommendations for filling the remaining financing gaps, nor does it claim that solutions to provide education for all involve financing alone. Rather it suggests five opportunities for action which could make a major contribution in enhancing the role that multilateral agencies can play.