To understand how IIEP-UNESCO Dakar came into being, we need to go back to April 2000, when Senegal’s capital was hosting the UNESCO World Education Forum. At the dawn of the new millennium, this event brought together hundreds of national policymakers and delegations from 181 member countries. The aim was to define a new framework for action to achieve “Education for all” by 2015. The international community gathered in Dakar felt that the lack of resources should not stand in the way of schooling and access to quality education.

With its new law adopted in 2022, Mauritania has embarked on a significant reform of its educational system, establishing compulsory and free schooling for children aged 6-15. However, significant progress is still needed to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in education by 2030 in this country, where the school-age population more than doubled between 1988 and 2020.

With over 5 million people in 2020 and forecasts predicting growth to 6.4 million by 2030, the Liberian population is mostly young (forty per cent in 2020 was under 15), contributing to growing pressure on the education system.  The sector is predicted to accommodate an additional 483,000 children and youth by 2030.

While Somalia is undergoing economic and societal rebuilding, with growth witnessed in key sectors, some key human development pointers remain of particular concern. For instance, poverty remains widespread with 69 per cent of the population estimated to be living below the poverty line in 2018. Moreover, nomadic and rural populations suffer the most from the weakened government's ability to provide basic services, which affects their access to education.