As countries grapple with global challenges—from economic shocks to climate change and conflict—GPE remains dedicated to ensuring a quality education for every child.

GPE works with 90 low- and lower-middle income countries to transform their education systems by aligning funding, expertise and partnerships behind a priority education reform designed to deliver impact at scale.

The 2024 GPE Annual Report shares how GPE's unique approach supports partner countries to accelerate and sustain reforms in education—ensuring that millions more children, especially the most vulnerable, have the opportunity to learn and thrive.

Preparing for system transformation

Country-led reform is the heart of GPE’s approach.

Governments consult and dialogue with actors from across the education system to identify the most significant barrier to achieving their national visions for education.

They develop a partnership compact, mapping out how the country and its partners will combine their efforts to accelerate progress towards quality education for every child.

• Ghana chose foundational learning as its priority reform, recognizing that early-grade literacy, numeracy and socio-emotional skills provide the building blocks for all other learning.
• Malawi’s priority reform is to deliver quality foundational learning for all girls and boys through stronger teacher support, smaller class sizes and revamped curricula.
• Vanuatu chose to focus on improving literacy rates in primary school through better teaching, parental support and innovative resources.

Transforming education in fragile and crisis settings

More than one-third of GPE partner countries are affected by fragility and conflict, ranging from natural or manmade disasters including those due to climate change to the displacement of millions fleeing violence or unrest.

GPE works with partner countries and humanitarian groups to support both the initial recovery and longer-term transformation of education systems in response to and during crisis, making them more resilient to future conflict and fragility.

• In Pakistan, some funding of the GPE-supported program in Balochistan was redirected for immediate response to flooding in 2022, restoring clean and safe education facilities for thousands of children.
• In Sudan, GPE funding, managed by UNICEF, helped establish 365 safe learning spaces and reopen 181 schools.
• After the 2023 earthquake in Syria, GPE provided rapid funding through UNICEF and Save the Children for temporary learning spaces, repairs to damaged schools, and psychosocial support to children and teachers; and mobilized an additional $15 million so that learning could resume more widely across the area impacted by the earthquake.
• In Ukraine, GPE partnered with Google, Microsoft, UNICEF and UNESCO to help the government ensure children could continue learning remotely or in temporary schools, and train teachers to provide mental health support to children.

Learning and adapting: The path to change

The system transformation journey is not always easy and learning together as a partnership through midterm reviews enables GPE to adjust with relative agility.

They present a crucial opportunity for governments and partners to:

• Take stock of progress in implementing the priority reform identified in each partnership compact
• Agree on next steps or course changes to adjust alignment and strengthen monitoring
• Mobilize additional financing and partners.

As the basis for subsequent funding, reviews are triggering performance-based grant ‘top-ups,’ boosting efforts to improve efficiency and increase spending on education.

Midterm reviews also ensure GPE is investing in the continuity of country reforms, supporting adaptation and learning to affirm reforms are effectively delivering the desired change in education.

Independent reviews of GPE’s work and impact issued during 2024 strongly reaffirmed the relevance of GPE’s emphasis on system transformation and the benefits of its partnership-centered model for delivery, helping to identify areas for refinement for the next financing period.

Accelerating education reform through GPE 2030

Building on its progress in delivering greater support where it’s needed most under the GPE 2025 strategic plan, GPE is launching its fifth replenishment campaign in 2025 to accelerate momentum under GPE 2030.

GPE 2030 will build upon progress, particularly in the areas of including the most marginalized children and getting more girls an education.

The new strategy will also sharpen GPE’s approach to tracking and demonstrating results as well as maintaining a strong emphasis on alignment and coordination with partner efforts.

GPE’s focus on systemwide change in education—driven by strong partnerships with governments, civil society, education stakeholders as well as investment from the public and private sectors—has underpinned the kind of results needed to make real progress on getting every child in school and learning.