In the News

For nearly 75 years, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East has been delivering education to refugees in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Gaza, and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

In celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) today named Somaya Faruqi as a new ECW Global Champion. The former captain of the Afghan Girls’ Robotics Team will serve as a global advocate for ECW and will headline an important Spotlight on Afghanistan panel discussion at the upcoming ECW High-Level Financing Conference, 16 and 17 February in Geneva, Switzerland.

Lors de la Journée internationale des femmes et des filles de science, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) a nommé samedi Somaya Faruqi comme nouvelle ambassadrice. L'ancienne capitaine de l'équipe féminine afghane de robotique appelle à soutenir l'éducation des filles.

Children should not have to wait for wars to end, or for the effects of natural disasters to subside, for the opportunity to learn and thrive. It is to finance the education of the forgotten 222 million that Education Cannot Wait (ECW), which I chair, was created in 2017.

À l'occasion de la Journée internationale des femmes et des filles de science, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) a nommé aujourd'hui Somaya Faruqi en tant que nouvelle ambassadrice mondiale d'ECW.

La próxima semana se celebrará la única conferencia internacional dedicada a la educación en emergencias, Education Cannot Wait. La ONG considera que ahí los donantes tendrán que demostrar su compromiso con esta agenda. La organización recuerda que cuando los niños y niñas abandonan la escuela temporalmente por una catástrofe como la de Siria y Turquía, es muy difícil que retomen sus estudios si no se toman las medidas necesarias cuanto antes.

With 22 million children out of school in Pakistan alone – and 222 million crisis-impacted children in need of education support worldwide – the time is now to fund education for the world’s most vulnerable children. This February in Geneva, the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, Education Cannot Wait (ECW), will host a High-Level Financing Conference. The Conference builds on the momentum of the recent Transforming Education Summit and provides donors, the private sector and other education champions with the chance to stand and be counted.

More than 240 million children and adolescents worldwide have had their education disrupted due to war and violent conflict. With so many years of learning lost to conflict and displacement, there is an urgent need to enable out-of-school children to return to formal education. Fostering cooperation among policymakers, multilateral agencies, and civil society will be critical. To this end, the first Education Cannot Wait High-Level Financing Conference will convene later this month in Geneva.

The UK is also a co-founder of, and leading donor to, the United Nationals global, billion-dollar fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, Education Cannot Wait. Established 2016, ECW is delivering quality education to over 7 million children across more than 30 crisis-affected countries. 

With less than two weeks until Education Cannot Wait’s High-Level Financing Conference in Geneva on February 16 & 17, members of the Finnish Parliament called on the country’s Development Minister, Ville Skinnari to affirm Finland’s commitment to education in emergencies and pledge at least EUR 20 million to ECW in Geneva. The cross-party letter was sent by a group of three Finnish MPs. 

Education, especially for girls, is a top priority for this Government. Over five years from 2015, UK aid supported more than 15 million children, including 8 million girls, to benefit from a decent education. We are supporting education for the poorest through UK-led programmes in 19 countries. That is complemented by our significant investments through the Global Partnership for Education and Education Cannot Wait, which supports children through emergencies. 

“The dreams of 222 million girls and boys are being crushed by conflicts, displacement, and climate chaos. Nobody knows this better than Education Cannot Wait — an education lifeline for children across 40 countries in crisis,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.