Education is the foundation to skills development and jobs, and the surest way out of poverty, empowering generations to earn an income and drive economic growth. For individuals, education promotes employment, earnings, health, and poverty reduction. Globally, there is a 9% increase in hourly earnings for every extra year of schooling. For societies, it drives long-term economic growth, spurs innovation, strengthens institutions, and fosters social cohesion and stability.

Developing countries have made tremendous progress in getting children into the classroom, but investments remain inadequate and learning is not guaranteed. Seven in 10 children in low- and middle-income countries cannot read or understand a simple paragraph by the age of 10. Prolonged school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the learning crisis. If a child cannot read with comprehension by age 10, they are unlikely to become fluent readers. They will fail to thrive in school and will be unable to develop the skills needed to power their careers and economies once they leave school.