By Staff Reporter
THE German Government, through KfW Development Bank, has contributed $16 million towards the second phase of the Education Development Fund (EDF).
The fund is expected to improve access to quality education for the country’s children.
Germany has been one of the major contributors to EDF since its inception in 2010 with an overall engagement of $62 million.
Already during the first phase (2011-2015), Germany donated over $32 million.
For the second phase (2016-2020) Germany will provide $30 million, including this new grant. This support is meant to sustain the gains made in the education sector against the challenging Zimbabwean social and economic environment.
Speaking at the signing ceremony in Harare Monday, UNICEF representative, Mohamed Ayoya, said the funds will be used to support the School Improvement Grants (SIG) including feeding and income generating activities.
“This include the development of Disaster Risk Management strategies and policies, the provision of reliable access to water and sanitation services for schools, and the implementation of the new curriculum,” said Ayoya.
“The activities supported through German funding are of a strategic nature, and are designed to achieve sustainable, system-wide impacts that benefit all children, with a particular focus on those children who are most disadvantaged.”
Through the German support, the EDF will continue to support children with disabilities, the provision of WASH facilities and services to the most disadvantaged schools and strengthen school communities’ resilience to the impacts of climate change as well as their capacity to respond to disasters and emergencies in an appropriate and timely manner.
EDF is led by the UNICEF in partnership with the government and is supported by international partners including the governments of Germany and the United Kingdom as the main donors.
The second phase of the Education Development Fund (EDF II) from 2016-2020 focusses on improving equity and access to quality education especially for marginalised children and those with disabilities.
