"This survey is one of a series prepared for the UNESCO Education for All (EFA) Assessment, under the auspices of the UNESCO Division of Basic Education and the United Kingdom Department of International Development for the International Consultative Forum on Education for All. The EFA objectives are concerned with broad policy goals and targets in the provision of school books and other learning materials, including distribution mechanisms. While this survey also covers the situation in South and Central Asia, the Pacific Islands, the Anglophone Caribbean, and some parts of Central and Eastern Europe, special attention is paid to Africa, “where the book shortage has attracted more external support and generated more documentation over the past decade than any other region.” Part of the synthesis is based on a range of classroom studies commissioned by the UNESCO/ Danida Basic Learning Materials Initiative (119), covering Egypt, Guinea, India, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Samoa, Senegal, and Tanzania. The survey first examines the basic issues and constraints relating to textbook availability and provision, and the role of funding agencies and donors. Thereafter it looks at global trends – in terms of decentralization, liberalization, funding, quality and use, etc. – followed by a survey of regional developments in the areas covered." (Hans M. Zell, Publishing, Books & Reading in Sub-Saharan Africa, 3d ed. 2008, nr. 231)