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Gender and Education for All
THE LEAP TO EQUALITY |
| Chapter 6 - Meeting our international commitments |
EFA is variously conceived as a right, a vision, a movement or a process, as well as a framework for action. | The EFA Report 2002 concluded that progress in translating the international commitments made in Dakar into real resources, directed to priority ends, and turning the language of co-ordination into practice, remained limited and uneven. It suggested that the separate mandates and agendas of individual organizations continued to be more influential than a strong coalition working towards a shared objective. This chapter examines whether there are signs of improved performance in levels of aid flows to basic education, the extent to which international programmes such as the Fast-Track Initiative are making a difference, and the impact of post-Dakar co-ordination mechanisms on political commitment and resource mobilization.
As this report shows, EFA is variously conceived as a right, a vision, a movement or a process, as well as a framework for action. Given this spectrum of interpretation, the events that have been responsible for defining and promulgating EFA (Chabbott, 2003) have given rise to a number of strategies, plans, forums, groups, initiatives and research.
For those charged with sustaining international momentum and improving co-ordination for EFA, this diversity is a potential strength, especially if it can be harnessed to support national and international policies in flexible ways. However, if, as is sometimes the case, the challenge is to bring together competing interests, the challenge of co-ordinating partners for effective EFA outcomes becomes more complex. It requires the ability to identify processes that will command strong public support, utilize sound technical solutions and implement approaches that match the scale of the challenge – the lives of hundreds of millions of people. As the president of the World Bank has noted, ‘…we are no longer talking about policy or arguing about framework, it is the moment for implementation’ (UNESCO, 2003c).
With this message as the touchstone, three main topics receive attention. The analysis of aid flows to education has been updated to allow comparison between 1998–99 and 2000–01 data. The interpretation of these flows is supported by a brief survey of the education policies of a set of bilateral funding agencies.
EFA is the subject of a variety of international initiatives, some of which have evolved in significant ways over the last year, most notably the Fast-Track Initiative (FTI). This forms the second part of the chapter. Finally, progress in improving international co-ordination as an essential component of the global effort to achieve the EFA goals is re-assessed, particularly, but not exclusively, with regard to UNESCO’s mandated role. The gender dimensions of the three strands are examined where the data makes this both possible and appropriate.
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Table 6.1. Total Official Development Assistance (ODA), net disbursements, US$ billions
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