In the News

The AU Theme of the Year 2024 is dedicated to Education, and it presents a crucial opportunity for African Union Member States to collaborate with various stakeholders to enhance education delivery for children affected by conflicts, displacement and climate disasters.

Leveraging existing frameworks like the Continental Education Strategy for Africa (CESA 16-25), countries can embark on policy alignment, ensuring the alignment of national education policies, prioritizing inclusive and quality education for all, particularly in crisis-affected areas.

In addition, AU Member States can embark on work with civil society partners, multilateral organizations such as UNICEF, UNESCO, WFP, Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and Education Cannot Wait, and multilateral or bilateral funding partners, to mobilize resources for education programs in conflict zones and areas affected by displacement and climate disasters; and they can advocate for increased attention and investment in education in crisis settings at regional and global forums, while forging partnerships with governments, NGOs, and international agencies to amplify impact and reach. Many examples can be drawn, throughout the continent.

To strengthen systems to better protect education from attack globally, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) announced today a US$500,000 grant to GCPEA. This three-year Acceleration Facility grant will enable stronger global and regional policies and coordination around school protection, and improve the quality and availability of education in emergencies and protracted crises data and knowledge products.

Qatar continues to prioritize educational initiatives, pointing out that Qatar succeeded in enrolling over 11.6 million children in schools in more than 57 countries through the prominent "Educate a Child" program by Education Above All. She explained that in 2023, Qatar and Education Above All committed to supporting education sectors in many African countries to provide quality education for over 2.3 million out-of-school children, adding that in 2023 also, Qatar donated USD20 million to support the Education Cannot Wait fund for education initiatives in emergencies and protracted crises.

Last Thursday, more than 280 Nigerian students were kidnapped from their school in Kuriga, a town in the northern state of Kaduna – the second mass abduction of young Nigerians in the span of a week. The international community must urgently act to secure the release of these children, some of whom are as young as eight years old. But equally important is creating safer schools for students throughout Nigeria’s 36 states, so that all children can pursue an education without fear of abduction or violence.

Alors que le conflit en Ukraine entre dans sa troisième année, le gouvernement ukrainien et Education Cannot Wait (ECW) ont annoncé mardi une subvention de 18 millions de dollars pour un nouveau programme pluriannuel de résilience qui bénéficiera à plus de 150.000 enfants dans dix des régions les plus touchées de l’Ukraine. Les investissements du fonds onusien en Ukraine s’élèvent désormais à 24,5 millions de dollars.

La estrategia Mi Escuela mi lugar Seguro promueve la inclusión y mitiga la discriminación en lugares donde vive población migrante y refugiada en Colombia. Tenga presente que el programa “La Educación No Puede Esperar”, integrado por el Consejo Noruego para Refugiados - NRC, Fundación PLAN, Save the Children, World Vision y UNICEF, le apuestan a la promoción de la inclusión con esta miniserie que busca llegar a todos los rincones de los hogares de las niñas y niños en Colombia.

Sheikha Alya explained that in 2023, Qatar and Education Above All committed to supporting education sectors in many African countries to provide quality education for over 2.3 million out-of-school children, adding that in 2023 also, Qatar donated USD20 million to support the Education Cannot Wait fund for education initiatives in emergencies and protracted crises.

The Education Cannot Wait global fund has given $8.5 million USD to a consortium led by FCA and partnering with Ukrainian organisations.

The ‘Empowering Children Through Education’ project will target children and teachers in Sumy, Poltava, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, and Odesa oblasts.

Over 24 months, FCA and partners will rehabilitate and renovate schools and pre-schools to make them safe and modern places of learning. They will improve education quality by designing modular programmes for vocational education training, learning kits for use in shelters and specialised teacher training.

In New York, Ukraine’s Minister of Education and Science, Oksen Lisovyi, and Education Cannot Wait (ECW) Executive Director Yasmine Sherif announced the launch of a multi-year resilience program that will take effect from March 2024 until February 2026. In addition to the 18 million, they called on donors to mobilize an additional USD 17 million to fully fund the program. The program is building on ECW’s previous investments in Ukraine, which totaled USD 6.5 million; this has already reached over 360,000 children and youth for the purpose of quality education support.

Міністр освіти та науки Оксен Лісовий підписав із фондом Education Cannot Wait угоду про виділення Україні міжнародного гранту у розмірі 18 млн доларів, які підуть на модернізацію шкільної освіти. Про це повідомляє РБК-Україна з посиланням на Укрінформ.

Selon le Fonds mondial des Nations Unies pour l’éducation en situation d’urgence (Education Cannot Wait), des centaines d’établissements d’enseignement ont été endommagés ou détruits pendant le conflit. Des estimations récentes indiquent que plus de 3.500 établissements d’enseignement ont été endommagés, dont plus de 340 détruits.

The Government of Ukraine and the UN-backed Education Cannot Wait (ECW) initiative announced $18 million in catalytic grant funding on Tuesday for a new Multi-Year Resilience Programme that will benefit over 150,000 children across ten of Ukraine’s most impacted areas.

The new catalytic grant builds on ECW’s $6.5 million in previous investments in Ukraine, which have already reached more than 360,000 children and youth – 65 per cent of whom are girls – with quality education support.

The new ECW grant was announced by Ukraine’s Minister of Education and Science Oksen Lisovyi and ECW’s Executive Director Yasmine Sherif at UN Headquarters, in New York.