Every child should have a textbook

Abstract

The cost of textbooks is a key barrier that prevents children from having access to the learning materials they need. This paper investigates the cost of textbooks and the miniscule budget currently allocated to textbooks by many developing countries. It considers how the innovative finance model used by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, could encourage private sector investment in the textbook sector. New GEM Report analysis shows how following this model could take US$3 off the price of each textbook, saving almost a billion dollars from the cost of textbooks in sub-Saharan Africa alone, and tripling the number of textbooks available to children around the world.