In the News

AID agencies are racing to deliver a fast-acting response and provide education and protection to children affected by the recent floods in Libya.

In addition to claiming 11 000 lives and impacting 880 000 people, the inclement weather damaged at least 280 schools in the North African country. Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and its strategic partners are scurrying to ensure the revival of education.

“The climate crisis is an education crisis,” said Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of ECW.

It is the United Nations (UN) global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises.

Leaders, experts, businesses, celebrity champions and activists have committed to join the global Act for Early Years campaign.

Voices as diverse as government ministers, influential YouTube star Ms Rachel, United Nations agencies and Sesame Workshop recognised the crisis and the need to work together to drive much-needed investment in the early years.

They gathered yesterday in New York at the Act For Early Years event, co-hosted by Theirworld, the Early Childhood Development Action Network (ECDAN) and Sesame Workshop during the United Nations General Assembly

In response to the catastrophic floods in Libya -- which have taken thousands of lives, severely damaged at least 280 schools, and directly impacted over 880,000 people -- Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and its strategic partners are racing to deliver a fast-acting response that will provide education and protection to children affected by the cataclysm.

The 2023 Global Citizen Festival will broadcast live to the world on Saturday, September 23 from New York City’s Central Park, where 60 thousand global citizens, along with the world’s leading artists and advocates, will gather for a day of action and advocacy for equity, for the planet, for food and for jobs, to end extreme poverty NOW, as world leaders gather for the UN General Assembly.

With hope and courage, we must rise to the challenges before us. We must rise to the challenge of a world set afire by climate change, forced displacement, armed conflicts and human rights abuses. We must rise to the challenge of girls being denied their right to an education in Afghanistan. We must rise to the challenge of a global refugee crisis that is disrupting development gains the world over. We must rise to the challenge of brutal and unconscionable wars in places like Sudan and Ukraine that are putting millions of children at risk every day.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Close to 14 million children in Sudan are in dire need of humanitarian assistance and protection. The ongoing war has displaced over 2 million children within the country and across borders.

• UNICEF, with partners, has reached 5.1 million people with health supplies, 2.9 million children with malnutrition screening – of whom around 152,200 received life-saving treatment, 2.8 million people with safe drinking water, and 282,000 children and caregivers with psychosocial counselling, learning, and protection support through over 464 safe spaces across Sudan. But much more needs to be done. Insecurity, massive internal displacement, and inadequate services are aggravating the impact of disease outbreaks on young children, many without vaccination and already malnourished, exacerbating protection concerns, including gender-based violence, and putting at risk the re-opening of schools.

My dream is to become a teacher,” says 13-year-old Alia. A small glimmer of hope can be traced in her beautiful, almond-shaped, brown eyes. Together with her mother, siblings and aunt, Alia has fled the conflict in Sudan to Chad. With extraordinary courage to survive, she made the harrowing journey at night across checkpoints, threatened by guns and militia roaming around in the dark. While her eyes are still hollow from the flight, I see that sparkle for a split second: she still has hope.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are in peril. Converging challenges of climate change, armed conflicts, mass displacement, and other protracted crises are derailing global efforts to achieve human security through the SDGs.

Vilka utmaningar står FN inför efter coronapandemin och med pågående krig och klimatkris i världen? Vilken roll kan och bör Sverige spela? Vi ställde några frågor till Olof Skoog, EU:s FN-ambassadör, och Yasmine Sherif, chef för FN:s fond Education Cannot Wait. 

Hur skulle du summera de utmaningar som FN-arbetet står inför i dagsläget?  

The international community must ensure that every girl in Afghanistan has an opportunity to learn, the head of the UN fund for education in emergencies said on Monday (Sept 18), the second anniversary of the Taliban’s edict banning secondary education for girls.

“Denying education to girls is a violation of universal human rights,” said Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW).

The international community must ensure that every girl in Afghanistan has an opportunity to learn, the head of the UN fund for education in emergencies said on Monday – the second anniversary of the Taliban’s edict banning secondary education for girls. 

“Denying education to girls is a violation of universal human rights,” said Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait .

“The de facto authorities can do the right thing for the long-suffering people of Afghanistan by ensuring that every girl in Afghanistan can access quality education and contribute to rebuilding their war-torn country,” she added.

Denying education to girls is a violation of universal human rights, Quoting Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW). She called on the de facto authorities in Afghanistan to ensure that every girl in the country can access quality education and contribute to rebuilding their war-torn nation.