Somalia

Transforming education
Result story
Grants
Advocacy
KIX support
Blogs and news

Partner since: 2012

Total grant support: US$147,149,128

Grant eligibility:

Multiplier
Girls' Education Accelerator
System capacity
System transformation

Partnership Compacts

Federal Government

Priority: Increase access to education in an equitable and inclusive way

Transforming education in Somalia

Federal Government Somaliland

After more than two decades of civil war, the Federal Government of Somalia was formed in 2012, and reconstructing the country’s education system became a national priority. Ministries of education were established across all Federal Member States, and decentralized offices at regional and district levels became functional.

However, the sector struggles with limited availability of system-level policy instruments, regulatory structures and implementation capacity, which hinders sustainable solutions to persistent challenges, namely low access to education. As of 2020, Somalia’s gross enrollment rate for early primary school was 14%.

Somalia is working to dramatically increase access to education in an equitable and inclusive way and strengthen government capacity and ownership of the education sector. With GPE support, Somalia and partners are expanding access to primary school by constructing and rehabilitating public schools, ensuring that they are child-centered as well as disability and gender sensitive.

Reducing financial barriers to education for the most marginalized children is expected to bring out-of-school children, especially girls, into school. The government is increasing the number of trained teachers and providing more effective teaching and learning materials; and a strong regulatory and financing framework will increase system efficiency and effectiveness.

After Somaliland's self-declaration of independence, in 1991 it established its own government system and has managed to maintain reasonable peace and security in the last two decades. Nonetheless, Somaliland is negatively impacted by severe droughts, flooding and population movements.

Somaliland recognized the valuable role education plays through the Somaliland National Education Policy (2015-2030), from which three sector plans have been designed. Despite these efforts, many education sector outcomes are slow to improve. The primary school gross enrollment rate only increased from 31.5% in 2015 to 32% in 2020/21.

Somaliland relies significantly on external support from education stakeholders to complement the government's efforts. Somaliland's Partnership Compact is working towards "Improved Access to Quality Pre-primary and Primary Education for all" with an emphasis on improved learning outcomes and education systems strengthening.

With GPE support, Somaliland will continue to work on improving enrollment rates in primary school, increasing access and retention in communities affected by humanitarian crisis, and improving the pipeline from teacher recruitment to training, deployment and retention. Somaliland will also focus on strengthening evidence generation and the government's gender unit to promote strategies for ensuring girls' access and retention to education.

Result story

Somalia: Giving more children the opportunity to learn during emergencies

Before COVID-19, an estimated 3 million children in Somalia were out of school and those in school were struggling to learn.
The COVID-19 pandemic combined with the effects of protracted crises have exacerbated Somalia’s education challenges.
Through several interventions, GPE has been supporting Somalia to ensure the most vulnerable children have access to learning.

Read the story

Grants

(data as of October 03, 2023)

Grants - Federal Government

Grants - Puntland

Type: System capacity

Years: 2023

Allocation: US$154,369

Utilization: 0

Grant agent: Save the Children US
Type: System capacity

Years: 2023

Allocation: US$647,000

Utilization: 0

Grant agent: CARE
Type: Program development

Years: 2023 - 2024

Allocation: US$200,000

Utilization: 0

Grant agent: Save the Children US
Type: Accelerated funding

Years: 2022 - 2023

Allocation: US$10,000,000

Utilization: US$9,126,122

Grant agent: UNICEF
Type: Accelerated funding

Years: 2022 - 2023

Allocation: US$3,350,000

Utilization: US$2,655,916

Grant agent: UNICEF
Document:
- Program document
Type: Accelerated funding

Years: 2022 - 2023

Allocation: US$5,730,000

Utilization: US$2,949,261

Grant agent: Save the Children US
Objectives:
- Ensure that vulnerable girls and boys affected by the drought have continued access to safe, protective, formal education through provision of support to schools
- Ensure that vulnerable girls and boys displaced by the drought have continued access to protective quality basic education
- Strengthen the capacities of the stakeholders to deliver effective and coordinated education in emergencies preparedness and response
Type: Sector plan development

Years: 2021 - 2024

Allocation: US$699,785

Utilization: US$427,646

Grant agent: CARE
Type: Sector plan development

Years: 2020 - 2023

Allocation: US$700,000

Utilization: US$603,556

Grant agent: Save the Children US
Type: Program implementation

Years: 2020 - 2023

Allocation: US$20,000,000

Utilization: US$19,113,735

Grant agent: Save the Children US
Objectives:
- Increase equitable access to quality primary education for out-of-school children.
- Enhance quality of primary education to ensure grade appropriate learning outcomes.
- Enhance capacity at Federal and Member State levels.
Documents:
- Program document
- Progress report. July 2018
Type: Accelerated funding

Years: 2020 - 2021

Allocation: US$9,170,000

Utilization: US$8,757,095

Grant agent: Save the Children US
Objectives:
- Increase equitable access to education for emergency-affected children
- Improve learning outcomes for emergency-affected children
- Increase gender equity and equality
Documents:
- Program document
- Completion report. October 2022
Type: COVID-19

Years: 2020 - 2021

Allocation: US$5,356,673

Utilization: US$5,356,673

Grant agent: Save the Children US
Objective:
Support vulnerable drought-affected children in participating states (Galmudug, Hirshabelle, Jubaland and Southwest state) to engage in continuous learning opportunities.
Documents:
- Program document
- Completion report. July 2021
Type: COVID-19

Years: 2020 - 2021

Allocation: US$1,300,000

Utilization: US$1,299,061

Grant agent: UNICEF
Objectives:
- Provide interactive distance learning programs through TV, radio, and pre-recorded and printed materials
- Provide children in hard to reach areas with solar powered radios, MP3 players, tablets and solar lamps to support distance learning
- Train teachers and community education committees on psychosocial skills to improve their ability to support children
- Give monthly incentives for teachers to support children’s distance learning, examinations and remedial classes
- Carry out sensitization campaigns to minimize the negative psychosocial impacts of school closure, including gender-based violence
- Ensure safe school operations, including through the provision of hygiene supplies and the dissemination of informational materials
Document:
- Application and program document
Type: Accelerated funding

Years: 2020 - 2022

Allocation: US$2,890,000

Utilization: US$2,871,602

Grant agent: UNICEF
Objective:
Support 22,500 vulnerable girls and boys affected by food insecurity and drought, where schooling has been severely disrupted, and children's nutritional status is poor.
Documents:
- Program document
- Progress report. November 2021
Type: COVID-19

Years: 2020 - 2021

Allocation: US$2,192,452

Utilization: US$2,062,326

Grant agent: Save the Children US
Objectives:
- Increase equitable access and retention of emergency affected vulnerable children in a safe, supportive, and protective learning environment
- Ensure continued access to protective quality basic education for vulnerable girls and boys affected by the emergency
- Strengthen the capacity of the ministry of education to deliver an effective and coordinated education in emergencies at national, regional, district and school level
Document:
- Application and program document
Type: Sector plan development

Years: 2020 - 2022

Allocation: US$500,000

Utilization: US$500,000

Grant agent: Save the Children US
Type: Program development

Years: 2019 - 2020

Allocation: US$191,744

Utilization: US$191,744

Grant agent: Save the Children US
Type: Program implementation

Years: 2018 - 2023

Allocation: US$24,616,000

Utilization: US$24,615,958

Grant agent: Save the Children US
Objective:
Equip girls and boys of primary school age with skills and competencies through safe and protective learning environments.
Documents:
Type: Program implementation

Years: 2018 - 2023

Allocation: US$25,850,000

Utilization: US$25,494,130

Grant agent: CARE
Document:
- Progress report. November 2021
Type: Sector plan development

Years: 2017

Allocation: US$462,552

Utilization: US$462,552

Grant agent: UNICEF
Type: Program development

Years: 2017 - 2018

Allocation: US$399,490

Utilization: US$399,490

Grant agent: CARE
Type: Program implementation

Years: 2017 - 2023

Allocation: US$14,430,000

Utilization: US$10,864,063

Grant agent: UNICEF
Objective:
Promote equity for the most socially excluded children, prioritize quality teaching and children’s learning outcomes, and improve the effectiveness and accountability of the education system.
Documents:
Type: Program development

Years: 2017 - 2018

Allocation: US$164,947

Utilization: US$164,947

Grant agent: Save the Children US
Type: Accelerated funding

Years: 2017 - 2018

Allocation: US$1,920,000

Utilization: US$1,920,000

Grant agent: Save the Children US
Document:
- Progress report. July 2017
Type: Sector plan development

Years: 2016 - 2017

Allocation: US$481,305

Utilization: US$481,305

Grant agent: Save the Children UK
Type: Sector plan development

Years: 2016 - 2017

Allocation: US$488,868

Utilization: US$488,868

Grant agent: UNICEF
Type: Program development

Years: 2016 - 2017

Allocation: US$184,131

Utilization: US$184,131

Grant agent: UNICEF
Type: Sector plan development

Years: 2013 - 2014

Allocation: US$120,172

Utilization: US$120,172

Grant agent: UNICEF
Type: Program implementation

Years: 2013 - 2016

Allocation: US$2,100,000

Utilization: US$2,096,744

Grant agent: UNICEF
Objective:
Improve the ministry of education's capacity to deliver quality education for all.
Documents:
- Program document
- Completion report. January 2018
Type: Program implementation

Years: 2013 - 2017

Allocation: US$4,200,000

Utilization: US$4,197,869

Grant agent: UNICEF
Objectives:
- MoEHE Salaries and Incentive Payments
- Quality Assurance and Supervision
- Teacher Training Systems
- Gender Equity in School Management System
Documents:
- Program document
- Completion report. September 2017
Type: Program implementation

Years: 2013 - 2017

Allocation: US$8,200,000

Utilization: US$8,200,000

Grant agent: UNICEF
Objective:
Strengthen the capacity of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Higher Education to increase access and improve the delivery of quality education for all in South Central Somalia.
Document:
- Completion report. March 2018
Type: Sector plan development

Years: 2012 - 2014

Allocation: US$249,811

Utilization: US$249,811

Grant agent: UNICEF
Type: Program development

Years: 2012 - 2014

Allocation: US$199,830

Utilization: US$199,830

Grant agent: UNICEF

Grants - Somaliland

Grants - default

Advocacy

Federal Government Somaliland

As part of its investment in civil society advocacy and social accountability efforts, GPE’s Education Out Loud fund is supporting the Education For All Somalia Coalition (EFASOM) for the 2020-2023 period. This builds on previous support from the Civil Society Education Fund (CSEF).

Learn more

As part of its investment in civil society advocacy and social accountability efforts, GPE’s Education Out Loud fund is supporting the Somaliland Network on Education For All (SOLNEFA) for the 2020-2023 period. This builds on previous support from the Civil Society Education Fund (CSEF).

Learn more

Knowledge and innovation

Somalia (Somaliland and Puntland) is part of the KIX Africa 19 regional hub.
KIX research project:
- Observatory on COVID-19 Responses in Educational Systems in Africa

Latest blogs and news

September 21, 2023

Somaliland: Protecting children’s education during drought

GPE, in partnership with Save the Children, is helping to ensure children keep learning in Somaliland—even in the midst of a devastating drought.

February 02, 2023

Japan pledges over US$5 million to GPE

The majority of the funds will be directed to countries in conflict –US$4 million will go to education efforts in Somalia and US$500,000 will go to Moldova’s support for refugees.

January 18, 2023

School meals: Read how 5 partner countries are helping students attend school

Read how GPE is supporting Burundi, the Federated States of Micronesia, Nicaragua, Somalia and Yemen to ensure students can learn in good conditions through school feeding programs.

Somalia

Transforming education in Somalia

Result story

Somalia: Giving more children the opportunity to learn during emergencies

Grants

Grants - Federal Government

Grants - Puntland

Document:

Objectives:

Objectives:

Documents:

Objectives:

Documents:

Objective:

Documents:

Objectives:

Document:

Objective:

Documents:

Objectives:

Document:

Objective:

Documents:

Document:

Objective:

Documents:

Document:

Objective:

Documents:

Objectives:

Documents:

Objective:

Document:

Grants - Somaliland

Grants - default

Advocacy

Knowledge and innovation

Latest blogs and news