The Government of Puntland State of Somalia, Education Cannot Wait and Save the Children Launch Major New Education Programme for Children Affected by Conflict and Drought

The Government of Puntland, Education Cannot Wait and Save the Children launched a comprehensive new multi-year education programme today to improve learning and wellbeing of children affected by crises in Puntland.

The three-year 5.6 million seed-funding grant from Education Cannot Wait is designed to catalyse contributions from additional donors to cover the remaining $54.4 million required to implement the full programme over the next three years.

The programme will be implemented by Save the Children in partnership with the Government of Puntland to bridge the education gap for children and youth who have been forced out of education due to conflict and drought.

Access to education in Puntland is still limited with more than 41.2 per cent of children still out of school. Many of these children are recovering from being recruited into armed groups or have suffered significant psychological distress as the result of the on-going drought and conflict in the region. Girls are especially at risk for gender-based violence, early marriage and being left behind. The programme puts special emphasis on reaching children with disabilities.

H.E Said Abdullahi Deni, the President of Puntland, said the programme is a new beginning for Puntland’s children, and is a critical part of the state’s education in emergency strategy, which was finalised in December 2018.

“Puntland welcomes the new funds which bridge the humanitarian and developmental gaps within the education sector in the region. Save the Children and its partner Education Cannot Wait are responding to the chronic underfunding of education in emergencies and crises by placing education as a priority,’’ H.E Said Abdullahi Deni said. 

“It is our collective moral obligation to fulfil every child’s right to education. Girls and boys in Puntland deserve no less,” said Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait. “With Education Cannot Wait’s catalytic grant, today’s launch marks a milestone in global efforts to ensure universal and equitable access to education as outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG4). We must now work together to mobilize the resources for the full scope of the programme to ensure we leave no child behind in Puntland.”

Save the Children’s Country Director in Somalia, Mohamud Mohamed Hassan emphasised the importance of funding education for children in crises. 

“This new initiative comes at the right time. Many children in Somalia have missed years of education because of the massive disruption caused by conflict, loss of livelihoods through natural disasters, and insecurity. Children from this region deserve the opportunity to learn and develop, so they are fully able to participate in society when they get older. Children cannot miss out on education, even in emergencies, and for that, we thank Education Cannot Wait and the Government of Puntland for their timely support,” Hassan said.  

Save the Children is a close global partner with Education Cannot Wait. ln 2015, Save the Children published a report supporting the creation of a new funding mechanism for education in emergencies, which contributed to the development of the Fund. On the global level, Save the Children represents civil society organizations through Education Cannot Wait’s central governance structures, both in the High-level Steering Group and in the Executive Committee.

Education Cannot Wait and its wide range of partners – governments, UN agencies, international and national NGOs, the private sector and philanthropic foundations -are working to mobilize $1.8 billion by 2021 to support quality education for 9 million children living in conflict and protracted crisis.