In the News

Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora, Sean Fleming T.D., today announced a further €1 million in support for Education Cannot Wait, the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies. 224 million children around the world are deprived of a quality education due to armed conflicts, forced displacement, climate-induced disasters and other prolonged crises. Funding from Ireland will assist Education Cannot Wait to provide education to children living in areas experiencing crisis. The additional funding will help to provide school infrastructure, learning materials, teacher training and mental health and psychosocial services. It will also provide water, sanitation and food for pupils.

Minister Fleming said: “Providing education is a key priority for Ireland’s work around the world. Conflicts and disasters are keeping 224 million young people around the world out of education. Depriving children of education is damaging for them and also sets back their entire communities. Ireland’s partnership with Education Cannot Wait supports children caught up in crisis to stay in, or to return to, education.

To accelerate the impact of Education Cannot Wait's (ECW) investments in over 40 crisis-affected countries, ECW announced today a US$1 million grant to the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE). This 36-month Acceleration Facility grant will bring together diverse stakeholders, know-how and resources to inform public policies and share best practices to scale-up impact across ECW's broad global portfolio of programmes which have already reached almost 9 million children. 

To accelerate the impact of Education Cannot Wait's investments in over 40 crisis-affected countries, ECW announced today a US$1 million grant to the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies. This 36-month Acceleration Facility grant will bring together diverse stakeholders, know-how and resources to inform public policies and share best practices to scale-up impact across ECW's broad global portfolio of programmes which have already reached almost 9 million children.

"Education Cannot Wait and INEE share the firm conviction that learners in crisis contexts deserve to thrive, not just survive. INEE has been instrumental in advancing the right to quality education in emergencies and protracted crises through powerful advocacy, standard setting, knowledge sharing and capacity building of practitioners. Through this innovative partnership, we are strengthening capacities on the ground to improve the quality and impact of our investments and support holistic education for children in the world's toughest contexts," said Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of ECW, the UN global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises.

In addition, the EU has pledged a further 25 million euros for the global “Education Cannot Wait” fund. This fund focuses on educating children in emergencies and ongoing crises, particularly disadvantaged groups such as girls, children with disabilities and minorities. Since the fund was founded, the EU has already provided support with 27.5 million euros. With the additional 25 million euros, the total amount provided by the EU amounts to 52.5 million euros for “Education Cannot Wait” to ensure that vulnerable children have access to high-quality education and no one is left behind.

These measures underline the importance of quality education as a fundamental human right and key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Millions of children worldwide have been out of school during the COVID-19 pandemic, and this additional funding will help improve educational opportunities for the most vulnerable children and advance global education goals.

We are also experiencing a very concerning increase in the number of children in emergency and crisis situations, often as a result of conflict or climate-related natural disasters.  Figures released in June of this year by Education Cannot Wait put the number of children whose education has been disrupted by conflict, climate change and other disasters at 224 million. Only 11% of these children are in school and reaching minimum standards in their reading or maths.

Now, as called for by UNESCO at the United Nations General Assembly last year, we must ‘reboot’ our education systems to ensure they are fit for purpose, fit for the future, and fit for every child – including the most vulnerable.

An innovative program in Ethiopia is keeping girls like 14-year-old Mellion in school by providing a high-energy biscuit when they need it most. The First Emergency Response, delivered by UNICEF with funding from Education Cannot Wait, is providing new hope to girls and boys impacted by the crisis in Tigray and beyond.

Around 1,000 adolescents and young people affected by the armed conflict receive modular skills training thanks to Education Cannot Wait and UNICEF.

This modular training project for adolescents and young people affected by the armed conflict was conceived by UNICEF with funds allocated by  Education Cannot Wait (ECW) fund, and implemented in the field by local NGOs such as Children Believe and the Centre Diocésain de Communication (CDC). It covers the Nord and Centre Nord regions.  Groups of 40 to 50 students per centre are offered a package of three training courses. The courses cover sewing, mechanics, renewable energy, tiling, poultry farming, juice production, hairdressing, and Amadé's favorite, sheep farming. At the end of their three months' training, the best students will be lucky enough to receive a start-up kit. As for Amadé, he's hoping to be provided with sheep, so that he can launch his cattle-breeding project.

The educational rights and development of the next generation are at serious risk from the crises due to COVID-19 and then the 2021 coup according to a World Bank report.

The report indicates that from 2020 -2022, public schools in Myanmar were closed for a total of 532 days, marking the longest among countries in the East Asia and Pacific region. As a result, the majority of children in Myanmar lost over three and a half years of educational opportunities.

Education Cannot Wait (ECW) also made an announcement at the beginning of this year, stating that the consequences of the armed conflict resulting from the coup have deprived 17 million children in Myanmar of their right to education.

The United Nations is continuously working to meet the educational needs of the millions of children who do not currently receive the benefits of education. Most of these children cannot attend school due to a lack of qualified teachers, inadequate teaching materials and poor sanitation. These obstacles are magnified when a nation faces further turmoil. The Education Cannot Wait (ECW) program provides education to children in the most uncertain times of emergencies and protracted crises. Here are three examples of how the ECW provides education despite conflict, climate disasters and epidemics. 

"The United Kingdom is a member and largest bilateral donor to the Global Partnership for Education and Education Cannot Wait initiatives," he said.

"Through these initiatives, the United Kingdom has made significant contributions to promoting access and quality of education in Kenya. This has been the case, especially for marginalised learners in rural and economically disadvantaged regions."

Including refugee children in the education system of their host country is the most practical and sustainable way of turning this around.  Access to existing schools provides refugees with accredited and certified learning opportunities that can be monitored for quality and with the right support, it can offer a route to improve the national system for host community children as well.

In cases where the inclusion of refugees in the national education system isn’t possible, the international community still has an obligation to act and make alternative arrangements, through mechanisms such as Education Cannot Wait.

Education in Armed Conflict: Protection, Prevention, and Access
Armed conflict often has a devastating impact on children’s access to education in a variety of ways. In numerous conflicts, schools are attacked, looted, and used for military purposes. This side event, organized by Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict, the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA), and the Permanent Missions of Luxembourg, Japan, and Malta, aimed to: 1) identify challenges related to the protection and provision of education in conflict settings; 2) discuss measures that should be taken to protect education from attack and ensure children’s free, equal, and safe access to education in armed conflict; 3) share practical measures and good practices that can be replicated across the globe to better protect and provide education in conflict affected areas; and 4) strengthen intersectional gender analysis of the interlinkages between attacks on schools and other grave violations against children.

Co-sponsors: Child Fund Alliance, Colombia, Committee on the Rights of the Child, Education Cannot Wait (ECW), European Union, France, Geneva Call, Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack (GCPEA), Japan, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, OSRSG-CAAC, Plan International, Philippines, Save the Children, Switzerland, UNESCO, UNICEF, Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict