There has been record aid spending on early years education, but millions of the world’s poorest children are still missing out on pre-school because of a ‘chronic’ lack of funding by donor countries, according to a new report.
Analysis by the University of Cambridge for global children’s charity, Theirworld, reveals that global aid for pre-primary education increased by 40 per cent between 2021 and 2022 to a record high of $282m.
However, the rise in aid was driven largely by one donor, the World Bank, which invested $181m on pre-primary education in 2022, almost two-thirds of total aid to pre-primary education.
The analysis – A Turning Point? An updated scorecard on donor funding to pre-primary education - analyses data submitted by international donors to the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee Creditor System.
