For some time now, there’s been growing awareness of the depth and scale of the “learning crisis” in sub-Saharan Africa where it’s estimated that 90% of 10-year olds cannot read and understand a simple paragraph.

But at the second edition of the Africa Foundational Learning Exchange (FLEX) held in Kigali 2 weeks ago, governments across the continent alongside a group of partners agreed to move from a commitment, to addressing this problem, to actually solving it—pledging to eliminate learning poverty in Africa by 2035.

GPE stands ready to support partner countries in bringing this pledge to fruition and participated actively in FLEX. The event was organized by the Ministry of Education of Rwanda with support from the World Bank, ADEA, UNICEF, USAID and Hempel Foundation, bringing together nearly 600 participants from 34 countries, including 22 ministers of education.

GPE’s engagement included panel discussions on leadership, scaling and school feeding, bilateral conversations with partner countries and other stakeholders and a discussion of how GPE can add value and harness the partnership during our next strategy period (2026–2030).

Foundational learning at the heart of advancing progress

The urgency of the task before us cannot be understated. In her keynote address, the First Lady of the Republic of Rwanda, Her Excellency Mrs. Jeanette Kagame decried, the long-term costs of poor foundational learning outcomes to youth across the continent as they strain further learning, their skills development, employability and social welfare.

At the same time, the 3-day conference underscored the many strategies and solutions that are being deployed to improve foundational learning across the continent.

Zambia, for example, is providing school meals and emphasizing teaching at the right level through its catch-up program which is expanding throughout the country and demonstrating positive impact.

Cote d’Ivoire is supporting its teachers with a structured pedagogy approach, while Rwanda and Malawi are emphasizing the importance of early childhood education for subsequent learning and are working to ensure that primary schools include a pre-primary or preparatory class supported through a national strategy on foundational learning.

These and other examples demonstrate that progress is not only possible but advancing throughout the continent.

Political will, data and financing for a new education decade

Taking solutions to scale and eliminating learning poverty require sustained political commitment, quality data to inform policymaking and practice, and financing that is adequate, efficiently spent and equitably deployed to also target the most marginalized.

While the task ahead is ambitious, FLEX concluded with an important endorsement of the African Union’s call to declare a 'Decade of Education' aimed at tackling the continent's learning crisis.

Rwanda’s commitment to improving the foundational learning outcomes of its children and young people cannot be understated, particularly given the announced commitment to eliminate learning poverty by 2035. As a part of the conference, participants were invited to visit pre-primary and primary schools in Kigali.

We saw firsthand the dedication and commitment to improving learning at all levels of the education system—from teachers and school administrators to the Minister of Education. Each of these individuals showed immense pride and joy from their collaborative efforts to support the transformation of education where it matters most: in the classrooms.