In many countries around the world, children are struggling to learn to read. While there are many factors affecting this, such as overcrowded classrooms and lack of teacher training, one of the most significant obstacles is the lack of access to reading books with which to practice reading skills and learn new words.

GBA partner the World Bank recently released a report titled Realizing the Future of Learning: From Learning Poverty to Learning for Everyone, Everywhere. In it, the authors describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing inequities which they called a “crisis within a crisis,” because of the sharp increase in students now living in “learning poverty,” that is, without school and/or appropriate learning experiences.