Zimbabwe officially launched the End Learning Poverty for All in Africa (ELPAf) Campaign. The event marked a significant milestone in the country’s commitment to foundational education and was attended by government leaders, African Union officials, UNICEF representatives, education stakeholders, and civil society actors. Zimbabwe becomes the third country, following Zambia and Malawi, to join the continental movement led by the African Union in partnership with UNICEF to end learning poverty across Africa.

Officially launched at the African Union Conference on Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) in September 2024, in partnership with UNICEF, under the theme “Read, Write, Count Foundation4Life”, the ELPAf campaign is a continent-wide initiative to mobilise resources, expertise, and political will to tackle the learning crisis by enhancing the foundational learning provision across Africa. The campaign is also contributing to achieving the objective of the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA), which aims to expand cost-effective approaches to improve early childhood education and foundational learning, leading to quality basic education.

Officially launching the national campaign, Honourable Torerayi Moyo, Minister of Primary and Secondary Education in the Republic of Zimbabwe, stated, “Accelerating foundational learning is not just an education sector reform. It is an economic imperative, a social justice issue, and a moral responsibility; hence, our commitment to fulfilling this obligation. It is imperative that we walk the talk, educators, parents, and community members, to implement effective strategies that will empower our children and secure a brighter future for Zimbabwe.”

Speaking at the launch, Ms. Sophia Ashipala, Head of Education for AUC-ESTI, reaffirmed “Zimbabwe has already made strides in education and shown that it is possible to lead with vision and determination. By launching ELPAF today, Zimbabwe is reaffirming its commitment to ensuring that every child—not just those in urban centers or elite schools, but every child across the nation—acquires the fundamental skills to succeed in life. This is more than a campaign. It is a movement for equity, quality, and justice in education”.

Despite increased school enrollment in recent decades, the learning crisis persists across Africa. The ELPAf campaign directly addresses this challenge by shifting focus from access alone to actual learning outcomes, targeting the critical need for political leaders, policymakers, development partners, and communities to tackle learning poverty among school-going children.

The campaign aims to increase the number of children who can read, write, and perform basic math by the age of 10, ensuring that every child in Africa achieves quality foundational literacy and numeracy (FLN) skills by 2035.

UNICEF Representative in Zimbabwe, Etona Ekole emphasised that “while Zimbabwe takes pride in being among the African countries with high literacy rates, it is equally important to acknowledge and address the persistent gaps within the education system. Observations made during Joint Monitoring Visits have revealed anecdotal evidence of a significant number of non-readers in both primary and secondary schools. This is also reflected in pass rates as less than 50% of learners pass the national examinations (Grade 7 – 49%; O levels – 33.7%). This highlights the urgent need to focus on foundational literacy and ensure that no learner is left behind, despite the national literacy achievements”.

Aligned with the African Union's second ten-year implementation plan 2024-2033 of Agenda 2063 and specifically the Continental Education for Africa (CESA 2016-2035) and Sustainable Development Goal 4 (Quality Education for All), the campaign's key objectives include:
• Improving foundational literacy and numeracy skills for children across Africa
• Strengthening teacher support and training, especially in underserved areas
• Mobilizing political will and financial investment in quality education
• Engaging communities and youth to drive grassroots change

The first phase will launch in 25 countries across Africa over 24 months, targeting an improved understanding of learning poverty, strengthened continental and national institutions, and advocacy for increased government investment in foundational learning, as well as scaling up proven pedagogical practices among participating countries.

The campaign will mobilise education stakeholders across African Union Member States through expert conferences, high-level policy dialogues, teacher capacity-building workshops, South-South cooperation, and school competitions.

For further information, please contact:
1. Mr. Maqhawe Freedom Thwala | Digital Communications Officer | Department of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation | African Union Commission| E-mail: ThwalaM@africa-union.org| Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
2. Mr. Gamal Eldin Ahmed A. Karrar | Senior Communication Officer | Information and Communication Directorate, African Union Commission | E-mail: GamalK@africa-union.org