Education For All – Fast Track Initiative - 10 Things About EFA FTI

10 Things About EFA FTI

1. The Education for All – Fast Track Initiative (EFA FTI) is a partnership of donors and developing countries, multilateral institutions, the private sector and civil society organizations which wants all children around the world to receive a quality education.
2. EFA FTI was launched in 2002 to ensure fast progress toward education for all children. Donor and developing countries agree that education is the best investment in a nation’s future; education can halt the spread of AIDS and other diseases, increase economic growth and break the cycle of poverty.
3. EFA FTI supports education in 44 developing countries, including 25 in sub-Saharan Africa.
4. From 2002 to 2008, the number of children enrolled in schools in FTI countries in Africa rose by 50% and 19 million more children were enrolled in school in FTI countries worldwide.
5. More than 300,000 teachers were hired in FTI-endorsed countries between 2002 and 2008 with support from FTI’s main trust fund.
6. Between 2004 and 2010, FTI helped to build around 30,000 classrooms, provided more than 200 million textbooks and granted over two billion dollars in financial aid to developing countries.
7. Girls make up 54% of newly enrolled children in FTI countries and 27 FTI countries have achieved or are close to achieving the goal of boys and girls equally completing primary school.
8. Despite significant progress, 67 million children are out of school worldwide, including 44 million girls, and 38 million children in Africa alone.
9. EFA FTI is not only about financing: it helps donors and developing country partners work together to ensure that education aid is better coordinated and more effective, based on countries’ own education strategies.
10. The endorsement by the EFA FTI partnership of a country’s education plan signals to current and new donors that it is sound, sustainable and a good investment.