Achieving educational objectives in African countries

Context

The German BACKUP Initiative – Education in Africa was designed in 2010 by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It supports African partners in applying for international funding from the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and using it effectively to implement their national education strategies.

From March 2021 to October 2023, the BACKUP Initiative responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by implementing measures to foster digital solutions in education on behalf of BMZ and the European Union (EU) as part of the action ‘Resilience to COVID-19 through Digitalisation’ (RESICODI), co-funded by the EU.

Objective

The conditions for the achievement of international educational objectives in African countries have been improved.

Approach

The project’s work comprises three pillars:

1. Technical and financial advice,
2. Support for regional networking, and
3. Access to financial support.

African ministries, national civil society organisations and regional networks can apply for support for projects via a demand-based funding mechanism.

The project has supported 227 measures in the cooperating countries, and can provide funding for teacher training, the development of education strategies, or civil society involvement in key decisions on education, for example. It also improved the GPE governance structure and initiated the regular preparatory meetings held by the African partners ahead of GPE Board meetings.

In addition, the project organises knowledge exchanges between representatives of ministries and civil society from the partner countries. This enables project partners to learn from countries facing similar challenges and generates innovative ideas for shaping a better future.

Last update: July 2024