Education Cannot Wait Announces US$3 Million First Emergency Response in Yemen to Support Children Affected by the Crisis in Resuming Their Education

Education Cannot Wait (ECW) announced today a US$3 million first emergency response to support education in emergencies efforts for girls and boys who are affected by the escalating crisis in the Western Coastal governorates of Yemen, which are currently hosting more than one third of the 3.6 million internally displaced population in the country.

The 12-month programme will be implemented by the Education Cluster through a consortium of civil society partners led by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). The investment will reach over 14,000 internally displaced and crisis-affected children in Hodeidah, Hajjah and Taizz,  with a special focus on girls and children with disabilities.

The programme builds on ECW’s US$15 million Initial Investment in Yemen launched in 2017, which has reached 1.3 million children and youth (45 per cent of whom are girls), including providing safe learning spaces to children,  supporting 1.2 million students in preparing and taking national exams, and paying incentives for teachers whose salaries were not paid in the affected regions of Yemen.

Yemen is considered the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today with approximately 80 per cent of the population – 24 million people – requiring some form of humanitarian or protection assistance. In all, approximately 4.7 million out of the total 7.5 million children in Yemen need humanitarian assistance to ensure continuation of their education, with 3.7 million classified as severe, and at least 2 million children being out of school across the country. Girls are more likely to lose out on education, with 36 per cent of all girls being out of school compared to 24 per cent of boys.

“Education is essential to rebuilding a strong and peaceful Yemen and protecting girls and boys from the devastating consequences of this conflict. Built in partnership with national partners, the Education Cluster and other key stakeholders, this emergency response will allow children and youth to quickly resume their education. This is a crucial step for them to recover from the severe impacts of displacement, poor health conditions, food insecurity and brutal poverty brought upon the people of Yemen for the past four years due to armed conflict,” said Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait.

The investment will contribute to developing the capacity of educators to support learning and help children better cope with the stress and adversity that stem from enduring war and displacement, strengthening the coordination of Yemen’s education in emergency response, as well as providing much needed educational materials and supplies. To provide students with safe learning environments, the investment will rehabilitate damaged classrooms and build and repair water and sanitation facilities.

The first emergency response will address the needs of at least 10 per cent of the children in the targeted governorates. A US$64 million funding gap remains for the education in emergencies response in all of Yemen.