European Union/European Commission Announces €25 Million to Education Cannot Wait for Crisis-Affected Children and Youth

The European Union/European Commission today announced €25 million (approx. US$29.3 million) in new funding to support Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises.

The new funding brings the EU/EC total contributions to Education Cannot Wait to over US$62.3 million.

“We want all children to be born with the same opportunities. All too often, the fate and lives of our children are determined by the lottery of birth. This is why I am pleased to announce that Europe will be donating €25 million to the Education Cannot Wait global fund. An investment in education is an investment in a better world,” said the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen.

“We must unite to put the SDGs back on track. As we continue to witness, we can never take access to education for granted. Team Europe has, to date, contributed to more than 40% of the funding of Education Cannot Wait, and the new €25 million contribution from the EU will further support it to reach the most vulnerable children and bring them back to education,” said European Union Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen.

This generous, expanded support from the EU/EC was announced on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly during ECW’s High-Level Steering Group meeting today. Along with other notable contributions, this important new funding will accelerate the impact, scope and reach of ECW investments across more than 30 countries across the globe.

“I am deeply grateful for the generous and continued strong support to Education Cannot Wait’s mission by the European Commission. I would like to thank the EU and the people of Europe for making it possible to reach millions of children and youth left furthest behind in the most difficult circumstances of brutal conflicts, punishing climate-induced disasters and as dispossessed refugees. The European Union’s leadership in putting education first enables us to deliver with both speed and quality at a time when the world needs action to achieve universal and equitable education,” said Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait.

ECW’s Multi-Year Resilience Programmes and First Emergency Response investments have already reached 4.6 vulnerable children and adolescents. The Fund’s COVID-19 education in emergency response has provided distance learning, life-saving health messages and other support to an additional 29.2 million vulnerable girls and boys.

Armed conflicts, COVID-19, forced displacement, climate change impacts and protracted crises are pushing millions of vulnerable children and adolescents out of school and disrupting progress toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG4, which calls for universal, equitable education for all by 2030.

Learn more in the European Commission Press Release.