World Hunger Education Service (WHES) is co-hosting a roundtable of experts on June 12, 2025, a Thursday, to discuss American experiences and capabilities for supporting basic education overseas, including recommendations for how U.S. official foreign aid could re-incorporate early grade education, literacy, numeracy and inclusion again.
In 2025, aid to basic education through USAID and the Department of State’s Bureau for Population, Refugees and Migration were almost entirely terminated by the Administration, despite Congressional appropriations for education.
WHES joins with other groups including the nonprofit networks such as the Basic Education Coalition, the Global Campaign for Education/U.S., the University of Massachusetts Amherst Center for International Education, and George Washington University in holding this June 12 roundtable online.
It includes experts from American NGOs working around the world, research institutes, associations, foundations, commervial providers, UNHCR, USAID, and other organizations. It will discuss what unique or distinctive comparative advantages does the U.S. have in technical, financial or other assistance to basic education in lower-income countries? It will cover how NGOs have been assisting curricula, IT technology solutions, teachers, administrators, PTAs, textbooks, and education management systems.
It will also look at lessons from past U.S. support via the McGovern-Dole program which provides school feeding to encourage attendance by girls in primary schools in dozens of countries (which were also cancelled in 2025 by the government).
Part of the discussion will look at inclusion of children with disabilities, and education in emergencies and conflicts, which had been a priority for both USAID and the Department of State, until this year.
This is one of a series of comparable roundtable meetings of experts, including discussions about food/nutrition, health/migration, environmental conservation, global health, technology, the roles of faith-based organizations, and the roles of Universities.
Questions and interest can be directed to ForeignAidRoundtable@gmail.com, and/or WorldhungerEd@gmail.com
