In the News

Key donors such as the World Bank (through their Early Learning Partnership), the International Finance Facility for Education, Education Cannot Wait, and the Global Partnership for Education verbally made additional commitments at UNGA to increase their financial support for young children, particularly in early childhood education.

This included stakeholders such as the World Health Organization, Education Cannot Wait, and more. Crucially, youth activists committed to gender equity and climate change now see ECD investment as a critical driver of change.

With nearly 8 million children out of school due to emergencies alone, ECW calls of donors to urgently increase funding for life-saving quality education in Ethiopia. Save the Children and a consortium of international and local partners will deliver the three-year programme in coordination with the Government of Ethiopia. Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and its strategic partners announced today a US$24 million catalytic grant to scale-up the impact of the Fund’s Multi-Year Resilience Programme in Ethiopia, which has already reached close to half a million children. Total ECW funding in Ethiopia now tops US$88 million, and ECW called on donors to significantly expand funding for education in Ethiopia and across the Horn of Africa. “Ethiopia is facing a humanitarian crisis caused by conflict, climate change, forced displacement and economic stresses. The humanitarian funding gap for education is significant and, as a result, 8 million children are out of school. Without access to an education, they risk child marriage, forced recruitment, killing and maiming. This is the very reason we today announce an additional $24 million catalytic investment. However, our investment alone does not meet the needs of 8 million crisis-affected girls and boys and thus we call for the public sector and private sector to contribute with financial resources to this well-coordinated and holistic multi-year education programmme,” said Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait, the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises in the United Nations. These compounding challenges are deepening the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia and across the Horn of Africa. In all, approximately 21.4 million people urgently need humanitarian support in Ethiopia alone. Prior to this most-recent contribution by ECW and its strategic donor partners, only 12% of the US$101 million required for the education response was funded, according to the 2024 Humanitarian Response Plan. The three-year ECW grant seeks to crowd-in more resources from donors, the private sector and philanthropic foundations to reach over 170,000 crisis-impacted girls and boys in Ethiopia’s hard-hit Amhara, Somali and Tigray regions. Built in coordination with the Government of Ethiopia, the grant will be led by Save the Children with a consortium of international and local partners, including the Norwegian Refugee Council, Humanity and Inclusion, Development Expertise Committee, OWS-DF, Tigray Development Association, and Forum for African Women Educationalist. In building on the commitments outlined in the Grand Bargain Agreement, local organizations will receive approximately 50% of the total budget. “Save the Children is committed to working with the Ministry of Education in Ethiopia, our partners and other stakeholders to address both conflict and climate-induced challenges and other stressors, which are disrupting access to education for millions of girls and boys. We are jointly working to strengthen coordination and collaboration at all levels and ensure coherent, aligned responses for children that get them back to learning in flexible, appropriate, and safe learning environments. Closing gaps in financing of education is a matter of urgency, and we strongly call upon the support of all stakeholders,” said Dragana Strinic, Country Director at Save the Children Ethiopia. The grant will increase access and retention of out-of-school girls and boys – including internally displaced people, returnees, host community, refugee, and children with disabilities – into non-formal education, improve the quality of foundational learning, support girls and boys to transition from non-formal accelerated programmes to formal education, and improve coordination mechanisms across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus. ECW and its strategic partners are racing to mobilize US$600 million in additional resources to reach the targets outlined in the Fund’s four-year strategic plan. By crowding-in resources, this continued support will accelerate the United Nations’ efforts to deliver on the promise of universal, equitable education as outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

"Every child has the right to learn in a safe and supportive environment. By increasing the learning space, we are helping more children access the education they need to thrive. UNICEF extends its gratitude to the Ministry of Local Governance and our partner, “Education Cannot Wait”, for making this initiative possible."

UNICEF extends its sincere gratitude to Education Cannot Wait (ECW) for their critical support in making this project a reality. This initiative reaffirms UNICEF’s commitment to partnering with local and international partners to ensure every child in Libya can quality and inclusive education for a brighter future.

Os conflitos e desastres climáticos têm impactado profundamente a educação das crianças ao redor do mundo. De acordo com o Fundo Global Education Cannot Wait (ECW), da Organização das Nações Unidas (ONU), cerca de 222 milhões de crianças em idade escolar viram sua educação interrompida por essas crises. Esse cenário torna ainda mais grave o fato de que, segundo o ECW, apenas 120 milhões dessas crianças, ou uma em cada dez, atendem aos requisitos de proficiência em matemática e leitura.

As the reopening of schools becomes a priority amid these dire circumstances, UNICEF — supported by the European Union, Education Cannot Wait and UNICEF regular resources — continues to provide critical education supplies. 

Les ressources financières fournies par nos partenaires ont également permis d’obtenir des résultats majeurs en matière d’accès à l’éducation. Grace à l’Allemagne, à Education Cannot Wait, aux Fonds Central Emergency Response Funds (CERF) et à l’Union Européenne, 50 458 enfants hors de l’école (dont 24 160 filles) ont pu être insérés ou réinsérés en 2024, facilitant ainsi leur accès à un environnement propice à l’apprentissage depuis la rentrée scolaire 2023/2024.

Par ailleurs, la phase II (2024-2027) du Programme Pluriannuel de Résilience du Mali (PPR-II) de Education Cannot Wait (ECW) vise à soutenir 204,500 enfants dans les régions les plus touchées par la crise (Gao, Ménaka, Kidal, Tombouctou et Mopti).

With funding from Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and the Self-Inclusive Learning and Skills (SILSA) project of the Norwegian Government, UNICEF is ensuring education continuity for over 10,000 children across three locations affected by flooding in Borno State.

Les ressources financières fournies par nos partenaires ont également permis d’obtenir des résultats majeurs en matière d’accès à l’éducation. Grace à l’Allemagne, à Education Cannot Wait, aux Fonds Central Emergency Response Funds (CERF) et à l’Union Européenne, 50 458 enfants hors de l’école (dont 24 160 filles) ont pu être insérés ou réinsérés en 2024, facilitant ainsi leur accès à un environnement propice à l’apprentissage depuis la rentrée scolaire 2023/2024. 

La phase II (2024-2027) du Programme Pluriannuel de Résilience du Mali (PPR-II) de Education Cannot Wait (ECW) vise à soutenir 204,500 enfants dans les régions les plus touchées par la crise (Gao, Ménaka, Kidal, Tombouctou et Mopti). 

Impedir el aprendizaje en zonas de conflicto tiene un impacto de por vida, pues limita las oportunidades e impide que ellos puedan aprender y desarrollarse, así como tener un espacio en la sociedad (Delphine Dorsi, directora de Right to Education Initiative citado por Bonet E, Ibarra D., 2023). En este sentido, los autores supra referidos, señalan que los desafíos que tiene la educación no son imposibles de resolver por lo que es necesario que los gobiernos respalden y apoyen la declaración de escuelas seguras a la que Ucrania se unió en 2019 para proteger a estudiantes y educadores del conflicto armado. No obstante, las bombas no han podido acabar con el sistema educativo de Ucrania. De hecho, el Ministerio de Educación retomó las actividades sin dejar de mencionar el apoyo institucional y financiero de las Naciones Unidas. Por ejemplo, el fondo especial de la ONU es una muestra. Su lema "la educación no puede esperar". Este último ha ofrecido cinco millones de dólares en ayuda humanitaria para los niños afectados en la guerra tanto en educación como para su salud mental (Bonet E, Ibarra D. 2023).

“Our collective support is now more urgent than ever. It is the smart thing to do for economic progress. It is the right thing to do for equality and equity. It is the least we can do for the people with such immense potential and yearning to study, to become and to live a full life,” Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait, said in a statement released on Africa Youth Day.

“As the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the United Nations, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and our strategic partners are working tirelessly to create sustainable education and lifelong learning pathways for all of Africa’s children and youth.”

Africa Youth Day Statement by Education Cannot Wait Executive Director Yasmine Sherif

As the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the United Nations, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and our strategic partners are working tirelessly to create sustainable education and lifelong learning pathways for all of Africa's children and youth.

According to our latest Annual Results Report, ECW investments reached over 900,000 children in East Africa with quality learning supports in 2023 alone. In West and Central Africa, we reached over 1.8 million!