On a tour in Orlando to promote the Global Partnership for Education, Ethiopian educator and activist Selamawit Bekele called on the United States to invest more in education. Resolutions in the U.S. Congress have proposed for more funds out of international development expenditures to be directed toward GPE, because of a growing consensus that education pays great dividends.
Ethiopia joined GPE in 2004; an evaluation conducted in 2014 indicated that the number of school enrollments in the country grew from 10 million to 25 million. In a globalized world where local challenges are quickly turning into global crises, prioritizing education is paramount. GPE is planning an international conference in February where it will seek US$3.1 billion in pledges over three years from developed countries, including the United States.