ERICC Helpdesk report _ Education Financing, Community Priorities,

This brief combines public education finance data from 5 central Sahel countries–Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania and Niger–with how it relates to community stated education evidence from 19 African countries. More than half of primary and lower-secondary-age children are out of school, and learning poverty across the Sahel is estimated at around 90%1 , meaning only one child in ten can read and understand a simple text by late primary age. Sahel governments already spend around 2.8-5.3% of GDP and up to about 20.3% of their total budgets on education. This translates into US $100-380 per child per year2 in primary school—lower than comparable African economies and too little to deliver quality schooling at scale. Official development assistance (ODA) in low-income countries is usually a small part of total education spending—even when combined with domestic financing; it falls far short of what is needed. 3 An extra $1.9 billion is required for primary education alone to meet the demand of 10.6 million out of school children. Education in Emergencies (EiE) funding by international donors like the UK is a clear area of impact and value for money. Education is not just about schools and learning—it has significant impacts on wider life chances, reproductive health, protection and mental health and psychosocial support especially in crises. Education is also not just about children, but also about adults who can potentially contribute to national development. For full country by country financial analysis see Annexes 1-5.