This paper reviews the benefits and challenges of providing adult literacy education services in fragile states. The goal of the paper is to provide guidance to adult literacy practitioners and program planners about design adaptations based on the challenges in such settings. Using project experiences from Sudan and Afghanistan and existing literature on education in emergency settings, this paper proposes practical suggestions for implementing adult literacy programs in fragile states. A comparison of recent reviews of adult literacy program implementation is followed by options for adaptations to program design in fragile states, including suggestions for what should count as successful outcomes of such programs. Finally, the paper calls for research and collective interagency dialogue to capture lessons from adult literacy programs currently running in fragile states.