Ikram RedaTuesday 14 July 2026 – 16:31
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has warned that inter<a href="https://absafricatv.com/trump-backs-off-20-fee-threats-for-cargo-shipped-through-strait-of-hormuz-national/” title=”Trump backs off 20% fee threats for cargo shipped through Strait of Hormuz – National”>national aid for education could decline by as much as 30% between 2023 and 2027, threatening progress toward universal access to quality education and widening existing inequalities.
The warning appears in UNESCO’s latestGlobal Education Monitoring (GEM) Report, released on Friday during the Education Transformation Summit +4 held at the organization’s headquarters in Paris.
The event, which takes place four years after the landmark UN Transforming Education Summit, brings together education ministers, development banks, civil society representatives, teachers, private sector leaders, and young people to address the growing crisis in education financing.
Speaking at the summit, UNESCO Director General Khaled El Enany said the projected decline in international aid would reinforce a cycle of underinvestment, inequality, and slower development.
He stressed that education remains one of the most valuable investments a country can make, yet it continues to receive insufficient funding despite the availability of innovative financing solutions, including debt for education swaps. According to El Enany, expanding these mechanisms requires stronger political commitment.
The report shows that international aid for education fell by 8% in 2024 compared with the previous year, while funding for basic education declined by 15%. Low income and lower middle income countries have already lost more than 21% of the education aid they received in 2023. In countries such as Afghanistan, Liberia, Mali, and Niger, the decline exceeds 40%.
UNESCO also noted that education accounted for just 7.5% of global development assistance in 2024, its lowest share in two decades. The organization estimates that low income and lower middle income countries face an annual education funding gap of $97 billion and is urging governments to prioritize investment in education as discussions begin on the global education agenda beyond 2030.
