A new pledge from the Gates Foundation will help more children across GPE partner countries in sub-Saharan Africa build the foundational skills in reading and math that they need to learn and thrive.

• The Gates Foundation pledged $50 million to support foundational learning to rapidly improve outcomes in early-primary grade reading and math skills across sub-Saharan Africa.
• Foundational learning outcomes across sub-Saharan Africa remain far too low, despite the innate talent of primary school students and the prioritization of foundational learning in an increasing number of countries on the continent.
• The commitment focuses on African expertise and technical assistance and leverages innovative grant-matching tools and data assessment mechanisms to support governments to turn their education system reforms into better learning outcomes.

Washington, DC, September 8, 2026 – On International Literacy Day, the Gates Foundation pledges $50 million to support foundational learning outcomes in Africa, supporting GPE partner countries in sub-Saharan Africa to improve foundational learning outcomes across reading and math in the early grades.

This International Literacy Day’s theme is “Literacy for people, the planet and prosperity”. Investing in foundational learning is essential to give children the skills and competencies they need to thrive, contribute to their communities, and participate in their countries’ economic growth.

The commitment is a recognition that fixing the foundation of learning to improve learning outcomes is the most urgent and solvable problem in global education. The generous pledge will support technical assistance to GPE partner countries in sub-Saharan Africa that have identified foundational learning as a priority reform for transforming their education systems. It will also help these countries unlock additional grant funding by leveraging FLIGHT (Foundational Learning Initiative for Government-Led Transformation), the Africa Foundational Learning Assessment Initiative (AFLAI), and the GPE Multiplier, an innovative financing instrument.

“Behind these statistics are millions of children whose futures depend on our action today. Across sub-Saharan Africa, too many young learners lack the foundational skills they need to read, do math, learn and thrive - and that's a profound barrier to their potential. Through this pledge, we're committed to changing that reality and giving these children the tools they need to build better lives for themselves and their families. Encouragingly, many more African countries are prioritizing improving foundational learning and we are excited to partner with them to improve learning outcomes," said Dr. Benjamin Piper, Director of the Global Education Program at the Gates Foundation.

“GPE welcomes the Gates Foundation’s investment in education at a time when foundational learning has never been more urgent,” said Laura Frigenti, GPE CEO. “Ensuring that all children have basic skill is one of the most critical and cost-effective investments a country can make. This commitment will help GPE partner countries strengthen foundational learning and give more children the basic skills they need to succeed in school and their communities.”

This commitment comes as part of GPE’s Multiply Possibility campaign. Co-hosted by the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni, and the President of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the campaign aims to turn the tide on the global learning crisis by providing better education to nearly 750 million children globally and training 10 million teachers. The campaign builds up to a high-level event on September 23 during the UN General Assembly in New York.

For more information

GPE
Tamara Kummer, GPE, Head of Communications
@email Tel: +1 202 948 5395

Gates Foundation 
Media contact: @email
Victoria Egbetayo, Heads Advocacy and Communications, Global Education
@email Tel: +206 225 8256

About the Global Partnership for Education
GPE is a shared commitment to ending the world’s learning crisis. We mobilize partners and funds to support over 90 countries to transform their education systems so that every girl and boy can get the quality education they need to unlock their full potential and contribute to building a better world.
www.globalpartnership.org