UNITED NATIONS, Sept 19 (IPS) – Amid unprecedented global challenges and a growing list of countries in crisis, decades of development gains are under existential threat. The global community is being marked by intensifying armed conflict, forced displacement and the debilitating effects of climate crises.
One in five children worldwide lives in or is fleeing conflict. The number of crisis-affected children in need of quality education has increased from 75 million in 2016 to 224 million today.
The UN Global Fund for Education in Emergencies and Protracted Crises, Education Cannot Wait, has released its 2023 results report, revealing a vision of determination, hope, courage and success amidst challenges.
“The title of the report is ‘Results Against All Odds’. And you can imagine that this is all true, as we see increasing armed conflict, an increase in climate-related disasters and the largest forced displacement since World War II,” said Yasmine Sherif, ECW Director.
To provide a lifeline to all children everywhere, the report highlights the importance of joint programming and financing, pointing to a $600 million shortfall against the Global Fund’s $1.5 billion funding target to support quality education for a total of 20 million children by 2026.
“When you fund education… you are investing in these children; you are making their dreams come true. By supporting Education Cannot Wait, donors are also investing in the United Nations, as we help deliver the Secretary-General’s reform on joint programming and coordination and quality outcomes,” Sherif reminded funders. “It’s a proven model. Whether you are from the public or private sector, you can join Education Cannot Wait and be part of reducing the education crisis and making a difference in the lives of 224 million children.”
And the need is enormous.
Key challenges include gender inequality, which ECW and partners are addressing, with girls representing 51 percent of all children reached by the Fund’s total investments. Within the Fund’s emergency response portfolio, the percentage of children reached in response to a climate-induced emergency has almost doubled, from 14 percent in 2022 to 27 percent in 2023. The report also highlights the education crisis in Afghanistan, the only country in the world that bans girls’ education, denying 1.5 million girls their most basic right to education. The report also highlights funding gaps and calls for increased investment to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goal on education by 2030, as a basis for all other goals.
The report found that school enrollment or attendance improved in 95 percent of ECW-supported programs. In 72 percent of these programs, there was gender-equal progress, with enrollment or attendance improving for both boys and girls and progressing toward gender parity.
Notably, programs in Nigeria, Pakistan, and Somalia reported significant increases in children’s participation in formal education, despite challenges such as conflict, displacement, and climate shocks. About 86 percent of reported programs had transition rates from nonformal to formal education above 60 percent. Just over half of programs achieved retention or completion rates above 75 percent, demonstrating how volatile crises exacerbate global challenges to primary and secondary education completion.
The already enormous needs are growing. Sherif says that in less than a year of renewed conflict in Gaza, “according to UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini, the entire school system has been decimated.” She also pointed to intensifying conflicts in the Sahel, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine, Haiti and the Middle East. “We currently have the largest displacement crisis in the world in Sudan, with 4.6 million children displaced, most of them in Sudan, and more than a million as refugees in neighboring countries.”
“I was in Ukraine last week, where the education of 4 million children has been disrupted, especially in areas close to the frontlines.” She also highlighted the crisis in Afghanistan. “We are now celebrating the third anniversary of the ban on girls’ education after grade six; an estimated 1.5 million girls cannot go to school because of their gender, this is unacceptable,” she noted.
ECW supports holistic, quality education to ensure that no child is left behind. There is a specific focus on closing the gender gap in education, reaching children with disabilities, refugee children and vulnerable children from host communities, highlighting that these children show great determination and resilience in the face of adversity.
Despite the many, complex and growing challenges, the report shows that ECW and its partners have increased educational participation, learning and well-being of children in crisis situations.
This progress, together with the growing number of children reached, underscores the consistent work of ECW and its partners to meet the educational needs of children affected by the crisis.
However, the report highlights how persistent underfunding is preventing ECW from scaling up its portfolio allocations to reach more boys and girls. ECW and its partners urgently need an additional US$600 million in donor contributions to meet the Fund’s 2023-2026 Strategic Plan target of reaching a total of 20 million girls and boys by 2026.
“Speed is important when you are operating in a crisis. At the same time, it is important to also have depth, quality, inclusivity and sustainability.” Sherif called on funders to join ECW and its global partners in providing a package that will enable children affected by the crisis to learn, recover from their trauma and thrive.
IPS UN Office Report
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