Aid to education
The Directorate-General for Development Cooperation, established within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation is in charge of the implementation of ODA policy.
As of 2015, Belgium’s top countries for development aid in the education sector were: Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, West Bank & Gaza, Burundi, and Vietnam; Rwanda is also a focus country.
For the first time since 1999, education was re-established as a priority area for Belgian ODA when the country updated its Law for Development Cooperation in 2013.
Belgium and GPE
Belgium is the alternate Board member of the Donor 1 constituency on the GPE Board. France, Luxembourg, Netherlands, and Switzerland are also members of this constituency. Belgium is also a member of the Finance and Risk Committee.
Belgium supports GPE’s policy priority areas of girls’ education, out-of-school children and early learning through sector policy dialogue and joint programming with partners.