UNITED NATIONS, Sept 17 (IPS) – Education Cannot Wait (ECW) has provided quality education to children in crisis “against all odds,” ECW Executive Director Yasmin Cherif told the United Nations today. “And you can imagine the odds. We are seeing more armed conflict, an increase in climate-related disasters, the largest refugee movements since World War II.”
Education Cannot Wait’s ‘Achieving Against All Odds: Annual Results Report 2023’, published today (17 September 2024), details how the number of children in urgent need of education support has almost tripled since 2016, while for the first time in a decade there has been a reduction in education funding during emergencies and long-term crises, leaving an urgent need for additional funding.
The report says the international community is falling short of its promise to ensure “quality education for all” by 2030. More than 224 million children are in crisis due to armed conflict, forced migration, climate change and other emergencies and long-term crises, and are in urgent need of education support – a sharp increase from 75 million in 2016.
According to the report, overall humanitarian funding for education fell 3% last year, from $1.2 billion in 2022 to $1.17 billion in 2023.
Despite this, Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the UN’s global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, and its strategic partners continue to make multi-year, life-saving investments in education for the world’s most vulnerable children and youth.
Sheriff thanked ECW partners and the global community for supporting the education of at-risk children.
“Maximum~ ofevery,wehavetoThank youthatChildrenWHO~isObsessed~ intohopeDespite ~thatdarkandthatmultiplicationAgainst ~them,yetwithouttogotoschool,withouttolearnandwithouttochangetheirLife.now,Despite ~everyThesesurprisingTrendandreality,educationCan’t do it“Just a minute,” Sherif said, noting that the report contained details of many children. Reached From ~Acwell Oh~ becameoperate~ in2017.
“thatsixyears,11millionWith ~no wayHolisticqualityeducation,oneeducationThat~ischildren-Centrally locatedandThatQualifythatentirespectrum~ ofschoolmethodstudenttraining,artsandMentalhealthandPsychosocialservice,protect,teachertrainingandteacherSupport,During ~somanydifferentthose.” In 2023 alone, 5.6 million boys and girls were helped, she said.
More funding is needed to reach 2026 goals
To date, the fund has raised more than $1.6 billion from public and private donors. However, ECW and its strategic partners urgently need $600 million in donor contributions to provide comprehensive, quality education to 20 million children and youth by the end of the 2023-2026 strategic planning period.
“These transformative investments by our 25 strategic donor partners provide child-centred, holistic education and demonstrate their commitment to sustainable development, human rights, economic resilience and global security,” said Gordon Brown, UN Special Envoy for Global Education and Chair of the ECW High-Level Leadership Group.
“Education is the most powerful tool to restore hope in a world torn by brutal conflict, human rights abuses and inequality. It is our investment in a new generation of leaders.”
From Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gaza, the West Bank, Haiti, the Sahel, Sudan, Ukraine and other hotspots around the world, the ECW report highlights the profound impact education has in crisis situations.
Financing Education: A Moral Choice
“At-risk girls and boys are bearing the brunt of the devastating impacts of brutal human-caused conflict, forced migration, climate change and other disasters. Our new report demonstrates that despite these challenges, access to quality, holistic education can provide protection, hope and life-changing opportunities. To that end, we are urgently requesting $600 million to meet our strategic plan goals and secure a better future for 20 million girls and boys by the end of 2026,” said ECW Executive Director Yasmin Sherif. “Now is the time to make moral choices aligned with political action.”
According to the new report, ECW is focusing on the world’s most vulnerable and at-risk children. More than half of the children receiving support in 2023 were girls (51%), 17% were internally displaced and 22% were refugees.
Even in the most challenging settings, the quality and impact of education delivered is improving. Overall, nine out of 10 programs improved school enrolment and 72% made progress toward gender equality. ECW reported that among programs with monitored learning outcomes, 80% of investments resulted in academic improvements and 72% resulted in improvements in children’s social and emotional learning and wellbeing.
ECW investments have also improved the continuum of learning, with significant increases in the number of girls and boys accessing education through funding investments in early childhood education and secondary schools, disability inclusion, gender-transformative approaches, mental health support, and agile, holistic solutions that address the needs of the whole child.
The climate crisis is an education crisis. The number of children helped through First Emergency Responses due to climate-related risks nearly doubles from 14% in 2022 to 27% in 2023.
The report describes ECW’s unique approach and its results in improving coordination across the humanitarian-development nexus, joint programming, expanding localization and community engagement, and building stronger data and evidence systems.
This report shows how ECW has worked with partners to implement key UN initiatives and reforms, including the Grand Bargain Agreement, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the UN Secretary-General’s reforms. This report shows that the system is in place and that Education Cannot Wait has brought about a revival through bold support to ensure that the system is working at its best. However, funding is needed to achieve the goals.
“Education is a public good and a fundamental right. To achieve our goals, global leaders must align policies, funding, and humanitarian principles. Multilateral aid funding must increase immediately to reverse the current downward trend, and partnerships and collaborations across humanitarian, development, and peace efforts must be strengthened. Education Cannot Wait has shown that, with funding, even the ‘impossible’ can actually be possible,” Brown said.
IPS UN Secretariat Report
Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
Follow IPS News UN Bureau on Instagram
© Inter Press Service (2024) — All rights reservedOriginal Source: Inter Press Service
