Central African Republic and Chad Launch Joint Roadmap to Scale Up Community Engagement in Education: A Milestone for South-South Cooperation

By Noemi Robiati, Programme Manager at Education Cannot Wait and Tomoko Shibuya, Regional Education Advisor at the UNICEF West and Central Africa Regional OfficeBy Noemi Robiati, Programme Manager at Education Cannot Wait and Tomoko Shibuya, Regional Education Advisor at the UNICEF West and Central Africa Regional Office

In a powerful demonstration of South-South collaboration and locally-driven education reform, the governments of the Central African Republic (CAR) and Chad have launched a joint Roadmap for Scaling Up Community Engagement in Education. This milestone builds on years of experience supported by Education Cannot Wait’s (ECW) Multi-Year Resilience Programmes (MYRPs) and implemented by UNICEF in the two countries – and marks a new chapter in regional cooperation for sustainable, crisis-resilient and community-led education systems.

Over the past three years, both countries have made significant progress in embedding community engagement into their national education strategies. In CAR, the Ministry of National Education has been implementing the Kündükua Community Dialogue Programme since 2022 with technical support from UNICEF. These platforms empower local stakeholders to reflect on and address educational challenges – such as teacher motivation, support to children’s learning, and the promotion of girls’ enrollment, retention and school completion – through mindset shifts, behavioral change and collective action at the community level by the community themselves.

The resulting community action plans have not only enhanced the effectiveness of partner interventions – as evidenced by improved learning outcomes, students’ attendance and teacher motivation – but have also transformed the relationship between donors and communities. This, in turn, established a new aid paradigm grounded in true partnership, co-ownership and mutual accountability.

Meanwhile, in Chad, the Ministry of National Education and Civic Promotion has established APICED, a national agency dedicated to promoting community-led initiatives in education. These structures are actively contributing to improvements in school infrastructure, child retention, nutrition and school health – laying the foundation for a more inclusive and resilient education system.

The seeds of this bilateral collaboration were sown during the African Union Continental Education Conference in December 2024, where Ministers from both countries met to discuss shared challenges and opportunities. The resulting Nouakchott Declaration called on African nations to promote innovative, locally-driven education initiatives and deepen South-South cooperation.

This vision came to life in June 2025, when a high-level Chadian delegation visited CAR for a field exchange. The visit culminated in the signing of a Framework of Collaboration and a joint Roadmap by both Ministers of Education.

Why It Matters

In any community, the culture it fosters and the attitudes it promotes are shaped by a shared sense of purpose. When that purpose is to contribute to the betterment of society, the community becomes a setting in which powers are multiplied in unified action, where individual will and collective volition are blended and communities become powerful agents of change.

This is especially vital for crisis-affected populations. By helping a growing number of people to take charge of their social and intellectual development, they can see themselves as active agents of their own progress and that of their community. Only then can the transformative potential of inclusive, quality education for all children truly be unlocked.

Education is key to breaking the vicious cycles of poverty and, ultimately, aid dependence. As global financial aid becomes increasingly constrained, localization is emerging as a critical lever for sustainable development. The CAR-Chad partnership offers a compelling model for how countries can build on community resilience and local successes, share knowledge, strengthen education systems from the ground up and support continuity of learning for children.

Next Steps

• Implementation of the Roadmap is already underway, including some activities that are supported by ECW MYRPs in both countries.
• The joint experience will be presented at the African Union Education Conference in Addis Ababa in October 2025 by UNICEF as a MYRP grantee in the two countries.
• A reciprocal visit by the CAR delegation to Chad is planned for late 2025.
• This initiative not only highlights the progress made in CAR and Chad, but also offers a learning framework for the region, ECW and UNICEF global partners. It stands as a testament to the power of unified action, contextualized solutions and community-driven development.