Zimbabwe’s education sector has received 11,138,600.00 United States Dollars (10 Million Euro) from the Germany government through the Education Development Fund (EDF) under United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to improve educational facilities.
Speaking at the launch of the Euro 10 million grant in Harare, the United Nations Resident Coordinator , Maria Valle Ribeiro, said the fund is meant to develop the education sector ensuring provision of quality education.
“Especially pleased that the Euro 10 Million fund committed by Germany today will focus largely on strengthening the resilience of the education sector, and hence making the education system more ready to respond to the external shocks and contribute to the provision of quality education under the Sustainable Development goals (SDGs), especially SDG4.
“Looking forward to seeing the results of this long investment in the education sector and our continued collaboration in advancing the rights of children in Zimbabwe,” she said.
She went on to applaud the Minister of Primary and Secondary education, Professor Paul Mavima, for Zimbabwe’s commitment in ensuring all children have access to education.
“As you may know, UNICEF’s mandate remains working towards realisation of Children’s rights and pursuing partnerships with like-minded players to deliver on the same. This role is part of the broader agenda of the One UN agenda. Though various agencies have their niches, they all complement each other to deliver as one,” said Ribeiro.
Germany has been one of the major contributors to EDF since its inception in 2010,having donated over €32 million from 2011- 2015; and an additional €14 million to the first phase of the EDF.
In 2018, Germany contributed an additional Euro 15 million to support the School Improvement Grants (SIG), including school feeding, disaster risk management, reliable access to water and sanitation services for schools and the implementation of the new curriculum.
