Supplies and procurement
Education
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| © UNICEF UK/2007/Sarah Epstein |
| UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador Ewan McGregor and his friend Charley Boorman deliver educational and recreational materials to St Martin's school in Uganda. |
Access to appropriate educational supplies is essential to the fulfilment of children’s right to education. UNICEF works with governments, NGOs and communities to assess needs and procure these supplies where appropriate. Evidence from many countries shows that when families have to buy educational materials themselves, such as exercise books and text books, and the greater the percentage of family income spent on this, the less likely it is for children to attend school. Read more about basic education and gender quality here.
Education supplies
In 2008, the amount of educational supplies procured totalled $89 million. Supply Division procures various items of educational equipment and materials that can be ordered as separate items or assembled in a kit (such as the School-in-a-Box). Specific sets, based on the local requirements of a Country Office or external customer (through Procurement Services), can also be assembled. The School-in-a-Box and the Recreation Kit are now part of the UNICEF standard response in emergencies. In 2008, UNICEF supplied 207,200 education kits and 9,800 recreation kits to 43 and 29 countries respectively. A new kit, the Early Childhood Development Kit, targets children up to the age of six years.
The supply component of UNICEF education programmes is often most visible in emergency situations, largely because of the success of the School-in-a-Box, which has been used by UNICEF since the mid-1990s.
UNICEF is interested in working with a broad range of suppliers in order to procure quality commodities at competitive prices. For more information on how to become a supplier with UNICEF and conditions for suppliers, click here
To see the 2009 Bid Plan for education materials, click here
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| © ©UNICEF/SD05-010/Sandie Blanchet |
| In a school near Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar, Esperance and Sambata (centre) and their friends show the school bags they received for free at the beginning of the school year in 2004. |
Education and MDGs
UNICEF is working with various local, national and international partners to implement the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on education (MDG 2) and gender equality (MDG 3).
Among other things, UNICEF education programmes support education opportunities for children by taking their specific needs into account and making sure that education kits are gender sensitive. Recreation kits include child friendly items such as sponge balls, skipping ropes and frisbees. Based on gaps in existing kits, requests from Country Offices and developments in the market, products are regularly reviewed to determine their relevance.
UNICEF Supply Division regularly reviews progress towards the MDGs.
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UNICEF Supply Catalogue
