Education, Training, Employment - 2021 Activity Report

Lifelong learning, the acquisition of skills, and access to jobs are the cornerstones of fairer and more sustainable economic and social development (Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 8).

In 2021, AFD has continued to work to respond to the needs of its partner countries, which have been greatly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. This health crisis has exacerbated already severe inequalities in access to, and the quality of education. In the medium term, the crisis will not only roll back the advances made in school enrollment (especially of girls) in the 2000s and 2010s, but it will also jeopardize improvement in the basic and professional skills of young people entering the labor force in the 2020s.

This is why education requires massive global investment. AFD-financed actions in education, training, and employment have also contributed to the other Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) notably by promoting the following: Gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls (SDG 5); reduction of inequalities within and between countries (SDG 10); support for a fair environmental transition (SDG 13) and partnerships between governments, the private sector and civil society (SDG 17).

Download the activity report available below to find out more about our action in this sector in 2021.