Sub-Saharan Africa is grappling with a growing education crisis fueled by chronic underfunding and inequitable spending, both domestically and internationally.
According to UNESCO’s report, “Closing the global SDG4 financing gap: Accelerating sustainable financing solutions for education”, The region accounts for the largest share of a $97 billion annual gap needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) in 79 low- and lower-middle-income countries between 2023 and 2030.
“A 2023 costing exercise revealed that achieving SDG4 in 79 low- and lower-middle-income countries would require US$461 billion annually from 2023 to 2030. However, these countries face a substantial financing gap of US$97 billion per year, with Sub-Saharan Africa accounting for the largest share—US$70 billion annually,” the report stated.
UNESCO warns about the costs of underinvestment as governments around the world, particularly those in low- and middle-income countries get to lose $1.1 trillion annually due to early school leavers and $3.3 trillion per year for children without basic skills.
The report disclosed that governments in these regions allocate insufficient funds to education, spending just $55 per learner annually compared to $8,543 in high-income countries.
This disparity reflects a chronic underfunding of education, leaving millions of children without access to quality learning opportunities.
This shortfall has far-reaching consequences, including poor learning outcomes and limited opportunities for disadvantaged children.
The UNESCO report calls for urgent action to bridge the education financing gap.
Key recommendations include: