The education system of Somaliland faces several barriers to equal access to education that result in out-of-school children especially among marginalised communities of internally displaced persons, nomads, girls, and children with disabilities. Data show that girls and children with disabilities in particular are most marginalised in terms of access to primary education.  

This project led by Somaliland’s national education coalition (NEC), Somaliland Network on Education for All (SOLNEFA) has identified several critical issues that if addressed, can potentially contribute to bettering the access to education for disadvantaged, vulnerable and marginalised children. The issues comprise inclusion, financing, community participation, and capacities of CSOs.  

To tackle these issues the project will first identify the barriers that hinder adequate education financing, upon conducting advocacy and influencing campaigns to increase the budget allocations. Further, the project will support evidence-based advocacy on implementing inclusive policies and strategies that ensure access to inclusive education. Finally, the project will promote transparency and accountability in the implementation of education sector policies and programmes, as well as strengthen learning and capacities of NEC members in order to improve governance, sustainability, and skills in gender just and inclusive education advocacy work.  

These efforts are based on three main strategies identified by SOLNEFA: 

1. Collaborative policy engagement by working with government officials and influence these using studies and evidence to enhance the policy influencing power of SOLNEFA.  

2. Grassroots approach to campaigning, community organising, and mobilisation, to create a vibrant community level campaign on issues of disadvantaged children. 

3. Utilising lessons learned and past experiences to improve the capacity of project actors and adapting implementation measures for greater impact. 

This project phase is building on previous efforts made during the project implementation between April 2022 – December 2023. Thus, the project will build on previous achievements, using lessons learned and adapting strategies to respond to any contextual changes that have occurred. 

Through the project, it is expected that the following changes will be achieved: 

• Comprehensive implementation of gender and disability inclusive policies and programs. 

• Increased domestic education financing by at least 2 percentage points. 

• Improved transparency and accountability in government policy processes and programs. 

• Improved project performance and capacity of non-state actors achieved through continuous learning efforts. 

SOLNEFA has long standing experience in education policy advocacy and influencing work and has gained valuable experience, space, and networks within the policy environment of Somaliland. The coalition has used this position to influence education policies in the country, a quality that will also be applied in this project to advocate for a more inclusive education system. 

A previous phase of the project was carried out between April 2022 – December 2023. The current project is part of the EOL extension phase of 2024-2026. Read more about the previous phase of the project here.