Global and national organisations launched a new fund to better coordinate support for, and drive investment in, education for children and youth affected by humanitarian emergencies and protracted crises.
Today one in four of the world’s school-aged children – nearly half a billion – live in countries affected by crises. Around 75 million of these children and youth are either already missing out on their education, receiving poor quality schooling or at risk of dropping out of school altogether.
‘Education Cannot Wait’ – a fund for education in emergencies, announced during the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, aims to reach more than 13.6 million children and youth living in crisis situations, such as conflict, natural disasters and disease outbreaks, with quality education over the next five years, and 75 million children and youth in desperate need of education by 2030.
Dubai Cares, the European Union, Netherlands, Norway, the UK Department for International Development, and the United States Government have all made financial contributions so far.
Across the world education systems are being destroyed by violent armed conflict, natural disasters and health emergencies, robbing children of the skills they need to build safe, strong communities and economies when they reach adulthood.
On average less than 2% of humanitarian aid goes towards funding education. Moreover, education systems equipped to cope with protracted crises cannot be built on the foundations of short-term – and unpredictable – appeals.
‘Education Cannot Wait’ Fund, which has a target of $3.85 billion over five years, aims to bridge the gap between humanitarian interventions during crises and long-term development afterwards, through predictable funding.
The new fund will help to make the crucial link between humanitarian aid and long-term development ensuring that children’s education is not forgotten.