Nairobi, Jan. 8 -- Africa stands at the edge of a historic demographic shift. By 2050, one in three young people in the world will be African. This represents an extraordinary opportunity for the continent to shape global innovation and economic growth. But the promise of this moment depends on something very simple: whether every child in Africa learns to read and do basic maths in the early grades.

While we've seen steady progress from country governments committing to improving learning, we risk missing the mark if this prioritisation isn't accompanied by high-quality, evidence-backed solutions.

One of the most consistent patterns we have seen is that too many programmes are either poorly funded, poorly designed or poorly implemented...