Education Cannot Wait Scales-Up Investments in Colombia with US$12 Million Catalytic Multi-Year Resilience Programme Grant, Total Funding Now Tops US$28 Million

Multiple challenges are derailing efforts toward peace, stability and economic progress in Colombia. To address these challenges, Education Cannot Wait (ECW) and its strategic donor partners announced today a US$12 million Multi-Year Resilience Programme grant that will reach over 180,000 children and adolescents with access to quality education.

Total ECW funding in Colombia now tops US$28 million. To address the Venezuela regional refugee crisis, ECW has invested approximately US$70 million to date in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela.

The second-phase of ECW’s Multi-Year Resilience Programme in Colombia will expand the scope of existing investments, with the aim of overcoming barriers to quality education for migrant, refugee and internally displaced children, and will be delivered jointly by the Norwegian Refugee Council and UNICEF together as a consortium with Corporación Infancia y Desarrollo (CID),  Corporacion Opción Legal and  Fundación PLAN in coordination with Colombia’s Ministry of National Education.

Colombia remains in the top four countries with the highest number of internally displaced persons in the world and hosts the largest number of Venezuelan refugees and migrants in the region,  amounting to some 2.86 million, while large numbers of Venezuelan migrants’ transit through its borders as they move towards other countries in search of protection and better opportunities. Climate risks and other challenges have also led to massive internal displacements.

“Without access to quality education, these children face significant risks, including gender-based violence, recruitment into armed groups, discrimination and other violations of their human rights. To build peace and stability in Colombia, and across the region, we must invest in their education. Colombia deserves the unlimited potential of today’s children and adolescents. Their education is not a luxury – it is a right,” said Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait, the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the United Nations.

Despite the Government of Colombia’s groundbreaking open-door policy, which allows internally displaced people and children from Venezuela to access public schools, registry and other public services, the education system is heavily underfunded and overstretched. In all, 787,000 children are out of school. Only 57% of Venezuelan primary-school-aged refugees and migrant children are in school, while the number drops to just 22% for lower secondary education. Refugees, migrants and internally displaced children face significant risks of dropping out of school, with close to 2 out of 10 dropping out of school entirely.

"Colombia is committed to educating for peace, which is why we are incorporating comprehensive education in schools that includes socioemotional and citizenship-building components. The programme supported by Education Cannot Wait contributes to these national efforts to guarantee access to the right to education for historically segregated populations, including migrant and host communities, as well as victims of conflict and violence. This initiative emphasizes the need to promote pedagogical practices based on experiences for and with the educational community, advocating for the valuation and respect of people’s diversity and their learning conditions. This comprehensive approach seeks the full development of children and adolescents in vulnerable conditions, aiming to combat the deep inequality that exists in our country, especially in dispersed rural areas,” added Oscar Sanchez, Vice Minister of Education, Preschool, Primary, Secondary and Upper Secondary.

The new funding will scale-up the impact and reach of ECW’s investments in Colombia, which have already reached close to 100,000 children since 2019. The programme seeks to remove barriers to access to quality education for migrants, refugees and internally displaced children affected by armed conflict and violence in Colombia. It also aims to ensure that those out of school are brought to the education system through multiple pathways for learning tailored to their needs, and that they are supported to gain the foundational learning and skills they need.

In all, the programme will provide access to formal and non-formal education for 183,000 girls and boys. It also seeks to enroll over 50,000 out-of-school children into ECW-funded programmes. The programme places significant emphasis on inclusive access to education for girls, children with disabilities, migrants, refugees, internally displaced and other marginalized children. In all 46,000 students will receive support to develop their citizenship and life skills.