African Leaders United in Transforming Financing for Foundational Learning

• African leaders are calling for a focused "Mission" to take evidence-based and cost-effective foundational learning interventions to scale, highlighting that significant gains are possible within just two to four years, with countries like India serving as a clear example of success.

• The urgency of this mission is heightened by sharp aid reductions, as USAID programme suspensions have impacted 153 education initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa. Specific countries facing significant cuts include Ethiopia ($33 million), Rwanda ($35 million), and the Democratic Republic of Congo ($51 million).

• This push for political will and shrewd financial determination is crucial to tackle the widespread learning crisis, where a staggering 89% of African children are unable to read a simple text or perform basic maths by the age of 10.

Rather than waiting for external aid to recover, African education leaders demonstrated how they are leveraging this moment of disruption as an opportunity to lead. This transition from aid dependency to self-reliance is being driven by a coordinated continental effort through initiatives such as the African Union's End Learning Poverty for All in Africa (ELPAf) Campaign and the new Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA).

Sophia Ashipala, Head of Education Division at the African Union Commission, emphasised the continental approach: "Together, the African Union and UNICEF have produced a report on education spending in Africa that translates into actionable continental initiatives. The AU is mobilising partners to ensure every African child can read with understanding by the age of ten, because this is not just about literacy, but about empowering Africa's social and economic development."

Moustapha Mamba Guirassy, Minister of National Education of Senegal, spoke passionately about sovereignty in education: "We have a big opportunity; there is a new economic order. The collapse of USAID presented us with an opportunity. We are now in the process of figuring out our financing and seeing our resilience throughout this problem. We see this as our responsibility."

As Albert Nsengiyumva, Executive Secretary of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), emphasised, "the time for inefficient spending has ended. Whether from domestic budgets, African philanthropy, or international financing, every dollar must demonstrably improve children's ability to read and calculate."

The emerging educational approach across Africa centres on a fundamental shift towards evidence-based efficiency and measurable learning outcomes. Instead of simply increasing expenditure, this strategy prioritises high-return interventions that deliver tangible results. Recent cost analysis reveals remarkable potential: a modest allocation of as little as $6 per student—directed towards skills-based teacher training and quality learning materials—can significantly enhance learning outcomes. The returns prove substantial, with high-quality reading programs demonstrating an impressive 30:1 return on investment, whilst research indicates that a one standard deviation increase in literacy and numeracy scores can generate 2% annual growth in GDP per capita.

Caroline Elliot, Country Programmes Manager at VVOB, provided specific evidence from Zambia: "When we say children are falling behind, consider that in Zambia, only one in ten children finish primary school with literacy skills. Through Catch-up/TaRL (Teaching at the Right Level), we reach one million children every year. We are seeing a 20-25% improvement in literacy and numeracy in grades three to five."

This evidence-driven approach finds strong advocacy from leading voices in African education. Dr. Obiageli Ezeikwesi, CEO of Human Capital Africa, articulates the paradigm shift succinctly: "Governments and donors must measure impact by learning results, not dollars spent or percentages allocated. Africa needs smart, efficient, and strategic spending, not just increased spending."

African governments are already pioneering new models to finance this transformation:

• Domestic budget optimisation: Countries including Sierra Leone, Kenya, and Rwanda are modernizing their financial systems by digitising tax collection and reforming procurement to increase efficiency in education spending.

• Strategic philanthropy: African leaders are looking to successful models from other Global South nations, such as India, where domestic philanthropy has played a catalytic role in education system reform. They are urging African philanthropists to move beyond traditional charitable giving to make strategic, high-return, evidence-based investments that transform entire systems.

• Catalytic international support: The communique calls on international partners and multilaterals to transition from traditional aid to catalytic investments that leverage domestic budgets. This means funding evidence-based interventions that boost, rather than replace, domestic spending and embedding African technical talent directly into government systems.

Dr. Pia Rebello Britto, Global Director of Education and Adolescent Development at UNICEF, outlined the new financing imperative: "We need to look at the fact that 90% of the budget for most African governments is for recurring costs. We need to see how catalytic donors can help to test and scale within this area. We have to make education finance the norm. There will be failures, but how do we take risks with governments as their partners?"

The event concluded with a clear call to action and a roadmap for the future. African governments and leaders at the highest levels were urged to dedicate domestic budgets to proven interventions, be ‘mission-minded’ to get Africa’s children learning and early for a 5-10 year runway for better jobs and life outcomes, and support the establishment of a G20 Foundational Learning Leaders Network.

For their part, international partners and multilaterals like the Global Partnership for Education and the World Bank were called upon to align their priorities with Africa's, making foundational learning a core focus and embedding learning outcome measurements into all grants and results frameworks.

Anders Holm, Executive Director of Hempel Foundation, reflected on the changing philanthropic landscape: "What has changed for us is that previously we had scaling partners like USAID. What we really need to do now is to think that the only organisations still around that have scaled are governments. That means we have to listen to their problems, understand their needs, have a much greater focus on costs, and then we have to focus on efficiency." The call was to work with government differently and better than what went before.

The momentum will continue at the ADEA 2025 Triennale in Accra, Ghana (29-31 October 2025), where ministers will assess progress since the Africa Foundational Learning Exchange (FLEX 2024) commitment to end learning poverty within a decade. But as it was said, kids need this to happen earlier and faster. Building on declarations from last year's Continental Conference on Education in Mauritania, they will define implementation frameworks for scaling foundational learning across the continent. The overall message is clear: Africa is "seizing this moment to lead on the financing agenda to get its children learning and for the continent to be future ready and "setting the terms for future development cooperation." Africa’s children are its brain trust for a more prosperous future.