Message from the Education Commission for the Campaign on IFFEd – Let’s Make Impossible Possible

Dear Friends and Education Advocates,  

We are one step closer to helping make impossible possible by creating a means to help fund quality education for all by 2030.

Last Friday, a group of youth activists from Kenya, Sierra Leone, and Nepal met with United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and delivered a petition signed by more than 1.5 million people calling for more and better funding for education by establishing the International Finance Facility for Education (IFFEd). In response to this call to action, the Secretary-General added his support and encouraged donors to back the Facility.

On the same day, the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the World Bank came together and issued a joint statement in support of the Facility. Commission Chair Gordon Brown, Commissioner Jakaya Kikwete, President of the Inter-American Development Bank Luis Moreno, and the World Bank Vice President Annette Dixon also gave a press briefing at the United Nations.

In addition, about 40 world leaders, business leaders, and heads of international organizations – including the World Bank and regional development banks, the Global Partnership for Education, the Education Cannot Wait fund, GAVI, and UN agencies like UNICEF, UNHCR, and UNESCO – expressed public support for the Facility.

Commissioner and education advocate Shakira also thanked supporters with a video message.  

The tremendous support from partners and leaders all over the globe is building momentum for what could be the biggest single investment in education history. We would not be here today without your support – thank you.

Over the past few months, we have worked hard to consult with a wide range of stakeholders including education experts, government officials in beneficiary countries, representatives of contributing countries, members of civil society organizations, international organizations, multilateral development banks, and of course youth themselves whose futures are at stake.

The consultation is ongoing and we will continue to have a feedback loop. This is why we want to continue engaging with you. We encourage civil society organizations to provide feedback on the Facility’s design principles. The deadline has been extended until May 22nd.  We will then integrate feedback into the design and provide responses to comments about the Facility.

We hope to build a Facility which will not only help to fill significant funding gaps and provide value for money, but one that can also benefit the most marginalized – especially girls – in countries committed to reform and investing in their youth but lacking sufficient means to do so.

We would encourage everyone to review the new IFFEd Prospectus for the latest overview of the Facility.

Thank you again for your support. Let’s work together to #MakeImpossiblePossible and deliver a quality education to each and every child across the globe.

Sincerely,
Justin & Liesbet

Justin W. van Fleet, Ph.D.
Liesbet Steer, Ph.D. 
Directors