Reaching Those Left Furthest Behind, With Speed, Efficiency and Quality

Image

Download our new Added Value Note to learn more about ECW’s unique value proposition to deliver quality education to the children and youth left furthest behind in emergencies and protracted crises. 

Education Cannot Wait (ECW) is the global fund dedicated to education in emergencies and protracted crises. We reach those left furthest behind: refugee, internally displaced and crisis-affected children and youth, and their teachers and communities – all of whom are desperately holding on to hope in refugee camps and communities torn by war, forced displacement, climate-induced disasters and other crises. THIS IS OUR ADDED VALUE.

Today, an estimated 128 million vulnerable girls and boys live in crisis settings where official or de facto authorities are either unable or unwilling to deliver their inherent human right: the basic service of an inclusive, equitable quality education. Their lives are a constant survival amidst conflicts, disasters, and systematic violations of human rights, humanitarian and refugee law.

To reach these girls and boys, ECW works directly through aid partners on the ground: United Nations (UN) agencies, and international and national civil society organisations. This allows ECW to act swiftly, strengthen accountability, and cut through red tape to deliver faster, better results in complex crisis situations, both in middle- and low-income countries.

The Fund’s investments are aligned to existing government strategies, as well as to humanitarian and refugee response plans, and are targeted to fill identified funding and programmatic gaps so these girls and boys can benefit from the hope, safety and potential of a quality education.

ECW is established within the UN system and works closely with other multilateral stakeholders (e.g. European Union, African Union, World Bank/Global Partnership for Education, amongst others). The Fund works in partnerships – at the global, regional and national levels – to end siloed responses through joint programming, increase efficiency, and connect immediate relief and longer-term interventions; thus, achieving quality education outcomes and strengthening resilience amid crises.

As the world grapples to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and to address climate change threats, ECW is uniquely positioned to answer the UN Secretary General’s call for a ‘New Social Contract and a New Global Deal’ that creates equal opportunities for all and respects the rights and freedoms of all – with education and digital technology as the ‘two great enablers and equalizers.’

Read the full Added Value Note here.

“As we enter 2021, education must be at the core of pandemic response and recovery efforts. Without resolute political commitment by global leaders, as well as additional resources for Education Cannot Wait, and its UN and civil society partners, millions of girls and boys may never return to school. Investing in the education of these vulnerable children and youth is an investment in peace, prosperity and resilience for generations to come –and a priority for the United Nations.” –ANTÓNIO GUTERRES, UN SECRETARY-GENERAL