Yasmine Sherif, director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW), announced the grant on Friday in the capital Port-au-Prince, during a major UN mission to the Caribbean country.
The aim is to reach nearly 75,000 children and young people in the hardest-hit departments of Ouest, where the capital is located, and Artibonite.
The power of education
Ms. Sherif urged world leaders not to turn their backs on the boys and girls of Haiti.
“With the power of education, we can protect these girls and boys from the serious risks of sexual violence, forced recruitment into armed groups and other human rights violations,” she said. said.
“With the power of education, we can free an entire nation from an endless cycle of hunger, poverty, economic insecurity and violence.”
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) will provide the grant in partnership with the UN World Food Programme (World Food Programme), and other local and international partners.
The funding will support return-to-school measures, school feeding programmes, early childhood education, integration of people with disabilities, mental health and psychosocial support, cash transfers to families in need and other forms of support to ensure children have access to a safe learning environment.
Serious humanitarian needs
Haiti is experiencing unprecedented levels of lawlessness and brutality at the hands of coalitions of armed groups. The situation is exacerbated by climate change, recurring cyclones and earthquakes, including a devastating one in 2021 that killed more than 2,300 people and caused severe damage.
Nearly half the population, some 5.5 million people, are dependent on humanitarian aid, while five million are acutely hungry. Nearly 580,000 Haitians are displaced, a 60 percent increase since late February.
The armed groups target schools and hospitals, with disturbing reports of brutal forms of sexual violence, including gang rape. They are also accused of forced recruitment of children, with estimates that 30 to 50 percent of their members could be children.
Education crisis unfolds
In addition, estimates show that 1.2 million school-going children are in dire need of quality education.
Schools are being closed or used as displacement centers across the country. In the departments of Ouest and Artibonite alone, some 919 schools are closed, representing 10 percent of all schools in these areas.
“The education crisis unfolding in Haiti has almost become an education tragedy,” said Bruno Maes, UNICEF representative in the country.
“While enrolment rates were already low before the latest escalation of violence, school closures and mass displacement are robbing thousands more children of their chance to learn.”
Expanding investments worldwide
This grant brings total ECW funding in Haiti to over $15.8 million.
Despite the urgent needs, ECW said the $30 million required for an education response in Haiti – part of an overall humanitarian plan for the country – is less than 30 percent funded, according to the UN’s humanitarian affairs office, OCHA.
ECW supports quality education for refugees, displaced persons and other crisis-affected children. The Fund and partners are calling on world leaders to urgently mobilize an additional $600 million for the three-year strategic plan.
These new resources will enable the fund to expand its investments in Haiti and other crisis areas, reaching 20 million girls and boys.
