Good morning.
Thank you to the chairman and members of the committee for inviting me today.
As noted, I'm Dr. Susan Liautaud, the vice-chair of the Global Partnership for Education board. It's a privilege to be with you on behalf of GPE to discuss this very important topic, and we're so grateful for Canada's leadership on global education.
Thank you to the committee and, in particular, to MP Mike Lake, for continuing to spotlight the urgency with which we need to address inclusive education, including education for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
GPE was born out of an unshakable belief that every single child deserves the hope, opportunity and agency that a quality education brings. Today, it is the largest global fund and partnership solely dedicated to transforming education in nearly 90 low- and lower-income countries.
Since 2002, we have raised more than $11 billion for education, helped partner countries get 160 million more children in schools and doubled girls' enrolment. We've seen increases in school completion rates, enabling every girl and boy to unlock their potential.
These achievements are the result of GPE's unique multi-stakeholder partnership model, bringing together donors, multilateral institutions, civil society, teacher representatives and the private sector to support country governments drive lasting and systemic change. How our support unfolds differs in every country. I have a few examples.
In Vanuatu, where most children with disabilities miss out on schooling, the government has established a number of initiatives, including the first national inclusive education resource centre, trained preschool and primary school teachers in inclusive education and developed books to challenge disability stereotypes and beyond.
In Somalia, an emergency grant managed by Save the Children helped hearing impaired students receive assistive devices. The grant also ensured children with disabilities continued learning during the pandemic by supporting the production and distribution of over 8,600 copies of Braille textbooks, benefiting more than 650 visually impaired students.
What remains common across all countries is GPE's commitment to transform education systems and ensure that all children, including children with disabilities, can learn in a safe, healthy and inclusive environment, free of discrimination.
Inclusive education requires deeper systemic change, supporting education systems that adapt to and include all learners, regardless of physical or intellectual ability, gender, ethnicity, language, refugee status or any other factor. It requires social and cultural change, challenging the stigma and discrimination that hold some children back. Inclusive education is beneficial not only for the children with disabilities, who are all too often excluded, but for all children.
According to the World Bank, excluding people with disabilities from educational and other opportunities may lower a country's GDP by 3% to 7%. Making schools safe, healthy and inclusive is both a human right and an investment in human capital. To do this, GPE provides guidance and funding for interventions to include children with disabilities in countries' education systems. Partner countries use GPE grants to train teachers in inclusive education and provide access to equipment and learning materials for children such as Braille machines, eyeglasses and hearing aids.
In 2022, GPE had active grants allocating approximately $50 million to support inclusion of children with disabilities in 50 partner countries. During COVID, more than 80% of GPE's accelerated grants for the COVID-19 response included initiatives that targeted children with disabilities to ensure learning continuity, yet I share deeply in the frustration that we are not moving fast enough and far enough. We welcome the work of this committee and the Honourable Mike Lake in highlighting this issue and stressing that only by reaching the most excluded can we truly unlock education's enormous potential to catalyze progress on the suite of the UN SDGs for families, communities and nations. Many countries are beginning to do what is needed. Now is the time to step up the pace and make exponential progress.
Inclusivity is still a fight. It's a fight for each of us. Inclusion is available to all of us and is a responsibility for each of us.
Thank you again for the opportunity to be with you today on behalf of GPE. We look forward to continuing this important work together with you, and we will be very happy to take questions in writing and send our responses after the hearing. Again, many thanks for the privilege of being with you this morning.