Faced with reduced donor funding, high inflation, and competing national priorities, many governments—particularly in the MENA region—are struggling to meet recurring teacher salary costs. These financial constraints are undermining the reliability of salary payments, affecting teacher motivation, retention, and performance. As a result, there is growing interest in innovative financing approaches, including public-private partnerships and cross-sectoral lessons from sectors such as health, where alternative mechanisms have supported frontline worker compensation.

In response, a rapid assessment was commissioned to equip Education Advisors in the MENA region and similar contexts with knowledge of best practices and innovative financing models that can strengthen domestic resource mobilisation for teacher salaries. This includes exploring non-traditional donors, lessons from fragile and conflict-affected settings, and strategies to engage Ministries of Education and Finance in securing sustainable funding for recurring education costs.

This country brief focuses financing teacher pay in Sudan. Teacher pay is central to school functionality, learning outcomes, retention, and the continuity of education in times of crisis. Since the outbreak of conflict in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), government-payrolled teachers have seen their wages reduced to levels far below what is needed to support a typical family, while in many areas teachers have not been paid at all. Many are now dependent on community financing, about which little is known.

Against this backdrop of polycrisis, collapsing education provision, and declining external assistance, this brief examines the potential for innovative and strengthened domestic financing mechanisms to support teacher pay in Sudan.