This report synthesizes available evidence on the policies and practices of 40 African partner countries of the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) in responding to the impact of COVID-19 on the well-being of school children in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The synthesis was conducted using rapid scoping reviews, evidence mapping and the team’s expert knowledge of health and education issues in sub-Saharan Africa. This report presents the main programmatic areas through which countries responded and identifies specific areas of focus within the programs, challenges countries have encountered in meeting the well-being needs of school children, and emerging areas of research focus. A series of recommendations are presented in the final section.

This report is one of several outputs of the Knowledge and Innovation Exchange (KIX) COVID-19 Observatory, which aims to provide policymakers in GPE partner countries with actionable evidence to inform their decisions.

It has been developed with the intent to encourage and promote a culture of knowledge and evidence sharing about policy- and practice-level education interventions in response the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as targeted recommendations.