Costing and Financing SDG 4 - Education 2030 in the Asia-Pacific Region

19 Apr 2023

Background

Since the adoption and implementation of the SDG4-Education 2030 Agenda in 2015, inadequate financing remains a significant barrier to achieving the SDG4 targets in the Asia-Pacific region. Moreover, limited efforts have been made to systematically review and analyze the resources needed, and the financial gaps that currently thwart the achievement of these goals at the regional and national levels.

Understanding the costs of reaching specific SDG4 targets and identifying innovative financing mechanisms that are feasible in each country context will greatly assist governments in planning for education and using their resources more efficiently.

In this regard, UNESCO Bangkok, with financial support from the Korea Funds-in-Trust (KFIT), launched in 2019 the project ‘Costing and Financing SDG4–Education 2030 in the Asia-Pacific Region’. This project focused on examining the costing and financing aspects of achieving SDG4 targets, particularly Target 4.1 (Free Primary and Secondary Education), Target 4.2 (Equal Access to Quality Pre-primary Education), and Target 4.5 (Eliminate all Discrimination in Education).

The project aimed to:

Inform policymakers, practitioners, relevant stakeholders and the public about the financial gaps needed to achieve the SDG4 targets, with a particular focus on Targets 4.1, 4.2, and 4.5 in the region.
Provide innovative policy options for financing and partnerships to bridge the financial gaps in achieving the SDG4 targets, especially Target 4.2
Strengthen national capacities for systematic review and analysis of costing and financing of SDG4, with the goal of developing a comprehensive national education sector plan that includes pre-school education

The project successfully delivered all results expected between 2019 and 2022. This project page summarizes the main achievements of the project, which include the development of methodologies, tools, and guidelines for costing and financing SDG4, particularly Target 4.2.

Activities

Pillar 1: Methodology/Tool/Guideline Development for Costing and Financing SDG4 (Education 2030) Targets 4.1, 4.2 and 4.5

Desk Review and mapping of existing methodologies and initiatives on costing and financing of SDG4, especially on Targets 4.1, 4.2 and 4.5
Expert Group Meeting on Costing and Financing SDG4 – Education 2030
Methodology/Guideline/Tool Development

Pillar 2: Technical Support and Capacity Development Activities on Costing and Financing SDG4 Targets 4.1, 4.2 and 4.5, and Innovative Financing on ECCE