CAIRO & NAIROBI, Aug 26 (IPS) – As peace eludes war-torn Sudan, thousands of displaced people fleeing deadly fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have sought refuge in neighbouring countries, including Egypt.
The Sudanese refugee population in Egypt has increased almost sevenfold in what is considered the world’s worst displacement crisis, with implications for 10 million peopleof which at least 2 million have fled to neighbouring countries, including Egypt. In Egypt, more than 748,000 refugees and asylum seekers are registered with the UNHCR, most of whom are women and children who recently arrived from Sudan. This number is expected to continue to rise.
“When Sudan entered conflict, the international aid agency, UN agencies, civil society and governments developed a response plan to address the urgent needs of refugees who fled Sudan and sought safety in five different countries, including Chad, Ethiopia, Egypt, South Sudan and the Central African Republic,” said Yasmine Sherif, Executive Director of Education cannot wait (ECW)the Global Fund for Education in Emergencies and Protracted Crises within the United Nations, to IPS.
To put it into perspective, the Sudan Regional Refugee Response Plan of 2024 calls for $109 million to respond to the education needs of refugees in the region. So far, only 20 percent of this amount has been mobilized, including $4.3 million, or 40 percent of the requirement for Egypt.
ECW was one of the first to take action in the education sector, providing emergency grants to support partners in all five countries.
The Egyptian government is committed to providing refugees with access to education, but with 9,000 children arriving each month, the needs are enormous.
According to the most recent assessment, almost 54 percent of newly arrived children are currently not in school.
Sherif says that despite Egypt’s generous refugee policy, needs are great, resources are scarce and additional funding is urgently needed to increase access to safe, inclusive and equitable quality education for refugees and vulnerable host children.
“Families fleeing Sudan’s brutal conflict have endured unspeakable violence and seen their lives torn apart. For girls and boys uprooted by the internal armed conflict, education is nothing short of a lifeline. It provides shelter and a sense of normalcy amid the chaos, and gives them the tools they need to heal and thrive again,” she said.
The Egyptian government is committed to providing refugees with access to education, but with 9,000 children arriving each month, the needs are enormous.
During a UN high-level mission to Egypt in August 2024, ECW, UNHCR and UNICEF urge donors, governments and well-meaning people to contribute to closing the remaining gap and scaling up the education response for refugee and host community children.
“We have seen the important work being done by UNHCR, the Catholic Relief Service and local organisations. But needs are rapidly outstripping response and Egypt now has a growing funding gap of $6.6 million. The classrooms hold as many as 60 children, most of whom are from host communities,” Sherif said.
Emphasizing that additional resources are urgently and desperately needed to ensure that refugee and host community children in Egypt and other refugee hosting countries in the region can go to school and continue learning. With the future of the entire region at stake, ECW is calling on as many donors as possible to step up and help provide the needed $10 million here and now to adequately support refugee and host communities.
“We have seen the important work being done by UNHCR, the Catholic Relief Service and local organizations like the Om Habibeh Foundation, but the needs are quickly outpacing the response,” Sherif said.
“In the spirit of shared responsibility as enshrined in the Global Compact on Refugees, I call on international donors to urgently scale up their support. Available funding comes from ECW, ECHO, the EU, Vodafone and a few other private sector partners. We cannot abandon children in their darkest hour. This is a call to the public and private sectors, and governments to step up and deliver for children affected by conflict,” she said.
Dr. Hanan Hamdan, UNHCR Representative to the Government of Egypt and to the Arab League, agreed.
“Forcibly displaced children must not be denied their fundamental right to continue their education; their flight from conflict must no longer be a barrier to their rights. UNHCR, together with ECW and UNICEF, will continue to ensure that children’s education, and therefore their future, is safeguarded,” she said.
“That is why it is crucial to continue supporting Egypt as a host country. The country has shown remarkable resilience and generosity, but the growing number of displaced people requires more international assistance. By strengthening Egypt’s capacity to support refugees, we can ensure that more children have access to education and ultimately a better future,” Hamdan added.
During the ECW high-level mission to Egypt, the ECW delegation met with key strategic partners, including donors, UN agencies and local and international NGOs, and Sudanese refugees to take stock of the scale of needs and the ongoing education response of aid organizations.
Jeremy Hopkins, UNICEF Representative in Egypt, reiterated the agency’s commitment.
“UNICEF is steadfast in its commitment to ensuring that Sudanese children affected by conflict have the opportunity to resume their education. In Egypt, UNICEF, through innovative learning spaces and the Comprehensive Inclusion Programme, is working diligently, under the leadership of the Egyptian government, in partnership with UN sister agencies and development partners, to create inclusive learning environments and strengthen resilient education systems and services,” Hopkins said.
“This will not only benefit displaced Sudanese children, but also support host communities by ensuring all children have access to quality education.”
In December 2023, ECW announced a First emergency aid of 2 million dollars Grant in Egypt. The 12-month grant, implemented by UNHCR in partnership with UNICEF, will reach more than 20,000 Sudanese refugees in the governorates of Aswan, Cairo, Giza and Alexandria.
The grant supports interventions such as non-formal education, cash grants, social cohesion with host communities, mental health and psychosocial support, and construction and renovation works in public schools that house refugee children, for the benefit of both refugee and host community children. As conflict escalates worldwide, ECW is committed to ensuring that all children have a chance at lifelong learning and earning opportunities.
Outside Egypt, ECW has allocated $8 million in First Emergency Response grants in the Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia And South Sudan to address the urgent protection and education needs of children fleeing armed conflict in Sudan. SudanECW has invested $28.7 million in multi-year and emergency grants, reaching more than 100,000 girls and boys affected by the crisis.
During the mission, ECW called on leaders to increase funding for the regional refugee response and other forgotten crises worldwide. ECW urgently calls on public and private donors to mobilize an additional US$600 million to reach 20 million crisis-affected girls and boys with safe, quality education by the end of the 2023-2026 strategic plan.
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© Inter Press Service (2024) — All rights reservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service
