Page 61 - UAE Foreign Aid Report 2022

Section 02
61
UAE Support towards SDGs and its Sectors of Assistance

Global Progress of SDG 4: Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and
promote lifelong learning opportunities for all

The COVID-19 pandemic has deepened a crisis in education, with severe disruptions in education
systems worldwide. School closures have had worrisome consequences for children’s learning and
well-being, particularly for girls and those who are disadvantaged, including children with disabilities,
rural dwellers and ethnic minorities. An estimated 147 million children missed more than half of
their in-person instruction over the past two years. As a result, this generation of children could
lose a combined total of $17 trillion in lifetime earnings (in current value). Governments need to
implement ambitious programmes to ensure that all children return to school, recover their learning
losses, and have their psychosocial needs met.

Source: The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2022

The UAE places significant emphasis on education in its foreign assistance programs. Through its
foreign assistance, the UAE invests in building schools, providing educational resources and teacher
training, and supporting educational programs worldwide to accelerate access to quality education in
developing nations. In 2022, as the UAE’s sixth most supported SDG, the UAE contributed AED 435.4
million (USD 118.5 million) to programs that supported SDG 4.

The UAE’s ground-breaking initiative, ‘The Digital School’, embodies the country’s commitment to
extending the reach of quality education. Specifically tailored to assist those students with limited
access to formal education in the Arab region and globally, this program primarily serves youths in
refugee camps and marginalized communities. As of September 2021, marking the academic year
2021-2022, The Digital School welcomed its inaugural cohort of students. With an ambitious objective
of reaching one million students by 2027, the initiative is an exemplary demonstration of the UAE’s
dedicated efforts to bridge the educational divide and enable a brighter future for all.

This report’s donor pages articulate numerous global projects that contribute to advancing SDG
4. Among them is Dubai Cares, with a specialized focused effort on supporting education and the
achievement of this important goal.