Germany Announces €50 Million in New, Additional Funding to Education Cannot Wait for Crisis-Affected Children and Youth

The new funding brings Germany’s total contributions to over US$137 million. With this generous new announcement, Germany becomes the second largest donor to the ECW global trust fund, following the United Kingdom.

“We all see the dramatic crises worldwide. Children and young people suffer the most from hunger, violence, and lack of education. Every child has a right to education. Thus, I am proud to announce that Germany will commit €50 million to Education Cannot Wait,“ said Gerd Müller, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany.

“We must not accept a global education crisis. We need to act now, because we know that in times of crisis, education can offer stability, protection and prospects for the future. And it can also have a positive impact in terms of integration and can help promote democracy and peace,” said Dr. Maria Flachsbarth, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany. “We support and endorse the multi-year resilience programmes via which ECW is strengthening the resilience of education systems worldwide. This is why ECW will also continue to be Germany’s key partner for promoting education in emergency situations and persistent crisis in the future.”

The support from Germany comes at a critical time as world leaders step up to address the interconnected crises of armed conflicts, COVID-19, forced displacement climate change and other challenges, which 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.

“I would like to thank the Government of Germany and the German people for these generous supports and continued partnership. Germany is a leading force in our efforts to reach the world’s most vulnerable children and adolescents with the power, hope and opportunity of a quality education. These girls and boys have an inherent human right to go to school, and to find safety and protection in quality learning environments,” said Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait. “This strategic donation is a call to action and a strong signal of Germany’s important contribution to achieving universal and equitable education. We urge additional strategic partners to follow suit and join our collective efforts to mobilize millions more to leave no one behind.”

Through its innovative multi-year resilience programmes and first emergency responses, ECW has already reached more than 4.6 million crisis-affected children and adolescents.

The Fund’s COVID-19 education in emergency response has provided distance learning, life-saving health messages and other supports to an additional 29.2 million vulnerable girls and boys.

ECW’s multi-year resilience progammes bridge the divide between humanitarian interventions and longer-term development aid in countries affected by protracted crises. These multi-year investments support holistic education services for the most vulnerable children and youth, including girls, marginalized communities, refugees, internally displaced children and children with disabilities.