On May 20, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) celebrated the successful completion of the READ II Activity, which has addressed the evolving educational needs of children in Ethiopia since 2018 for over $73 million. Education stakeholders, implementing partners, and key figures in the educational sector gathered to share experiences, knowledge, and lessons learned. Initially focused on Early Grade Reading, the program adapted to reach more than four million primary school students across the country. 

In response to the crisis arising from the conflict in Northern Ethiopia, the READ II Activity has played a pivotal role in supporting the reopening and operation of primary schools in conflict-affected areas of the Afar, Amhara, and Tigray regions. During its implementation of education recovery activities, READ II has successfully supported about 700,000 children to return to learning, built the capacity of caregivers to provide psychosocial support to traumatized students and established local support mechanisms to reduce school related gender-based violence.