Action Education's contribution to achieving SDG4

For Action Education, education is the fundamental basis for development. Achieving the goals set out in MDG4 is therefore a key priority.

While the number of children excluded from education has been halved since 2000, and significant progress has been made in achieving education for all, there is still a long way to go, 258 million children and adolescents today are still out of school¹. For almost a decade, this number has not decreased.

In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world, a majority of countries had to temporarily close schools: more than 91 % of students worldwide were affected².

Never in history, so many children have never been out of school at the same time. The global pandemic has serious consequences which can jeopardise hard-won progress in the field ofimproving access to and quality of education globally.

To face these challenges, Action Education, an international association with 40 years of experience in development through education, is conducting more than 80 projects in some 20 countries. From raising awareness of the population and authorities to the importance of educationby way of teacher training,the development of innovative educational projects or the creation of school materials and infrastructure, our association is working to improving access and quality of education to "leave no one behind".

Sustainable Development Goals and education: the next steps

While the number of young people deprived of education has fallen from 374.1 million³in 2000 to 258 million in 2019⁴The decline has been more than limited since 2008. "The rate of out-of-school children have not changed since 2008 in primary education, since 2012 in lower secondary education and since 2013 in upper secondary education," says UNESCO.

If nothing is done, if no additional investment is made, the Sustainable Development Goals set for 2030 will be achieved 50 years late.

An additional $39 billion will be needed each year to reach the target. MDG4, access to education for all by 2030. This figure seems huge, but it is a drop in the bucket compared to the 1.739 billion⁵spent by all countries in the world on arms purchases in 2017.

UNESCO believes that a six-fold increase in aid to education is needed to achieve the goal of education for all by 2030. To achieve this, UNESCO recommends increasing and prioritising funding for education support and secondary education and to target low-income countries as a priority.

Giving everyone access to quality education, the aim is to enable each individual to have a job, to support his or her family, to be in good health, to become an enlightened citizen and to be a player in sustainable development at the service of all.

Investing in education is therefore indispensable for the future of the world. Without it, no social, health, economic and political progress is possible.

Do you want to invest with us? Become an actor, sponsor one of our projects and participate in the improvement of education in the world.

Sources

1. https://www.globalpartnership.org/fr/blog/les-objectifs-mondiaux-en-matiere-deducation-peuvent-ils-etre-atteints
2. UNESCO Institute for Statistics, UIS, 2020
3. Action Education - On the road to the MDGs: review & key figures 2018
4. https://www.globalpartnership.org/fr/blog/les-objectifs-mondiaux-en-matiere-deducation-peuvent-ils-etre-atteints
5. Action Education - On the road to the MDGs: review & key figures 2018