Contributing to avoiding a lost generation - Education Development Fund III

completed

In order to help alleviate the greatest hardship for vulnerable groups in Zimbabwe, especially children, and to strengthen the structural basis of schools in Zimbabwe to deal with crises such as the current El Niño-related drought, EUR 14 million will be made available for Zimbabwe through the Education Development Fund (EDF) managed by UNICEF. The current EDF III (2016 - 2020) offers an established platform for the rapid and effective implementation of the measures, particularly through the application-based School Improvement Grants component. In this component, schools have the opportunity to plan and apply for measures to improve school structures as part of school development plans, also in order to better prepare for crises and external shocks such as drought or hunger. The funds provided are intended in particular to provide the opportunity to offer school meals according to needs and to implement long-term, structure-building measures. The focus is primarily on resilience-enhancing measures, such as building school gardens, building wells for a safe water supply or improving hygienic conditions through WASH. At the same time, the education system will continue to be strengthened. In its current phase, the EDF also includes a disaster risk reduction component that aims to strengthen national risk reduction structures. The main focus is on creating the conditions for a functional early warning system and on strengthening and planning resilience-enhancing measures.