New York/Berlin , US and Germany//– Russia’s war in Ukraine has severely impacted access to education for approximately 7 million children. In response to that, the Government of Germany announced today €10 million in new, additional funding to Education Cannot Wait at the Global Citizen Festival.
Germany is the largest donor to Education Cannot Wait, the United Nations global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises, with almost €330 million in total funding to date.
“The international community urgently needs to increase its investments in education. Global Citizens, thank you for raising your voices to call for more support for Education Cannot Wait, so that all young people everywhere in the world will have access to quality education: this will enable us to end extreme poverty – now,” stated Svenja Schulze, Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany.
“Thank you, Germany! Your inspiring leadership and strong support has taken Education Cannot Wait to the next level. Education is the most crucial investment to make today, to build a more equal, prosperous and peaceful future for all! Through global and local partnerships, we can deliver on our promise of quality education for crisis-affected children and youth, ensuring that no one is left behind,” said Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait.
The new contribution connects to Education Cannot Wait’s First Emergency Response grants in Ukraine. The current investments are managed by Save the Children and UNICEF and focus on protecting the wellbeing of Ukraine’s conflict-affected girls and boys, while also ensuring continuous access to education and psychosocial support.
Schools across Ukraine have been the target of repeated attacks throughout the seven-month war. Recent government reports indicate that as many as 2,300 educational institutions had been hit, and over 280 have been destroyed. Millions of refugees have fled into neighboring countries, straining resources, ripping families apart, and denying children and adolescents to their inherent human right to 12 years of quality education.
With the war in Ukraine, massive displacement in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia, the compounding impacts of the climate crisis, and global economic uncertainty, the world is facing a worsening global education crisis.
Shocking new analysis from ECW indicates that 222 million crisis-impacted girls and boys are in need of urgent education support – up from previous estimates of 75 million in 2016.
In response to the global education crisis, ECW launched its Case for Investment and 2023-2026 Strategic Plan during this year’s United Nations General Assembly. To make good on promises outlined in the Sustainable Development Goals (especially SDG4 – Education For All), Safe Schools Declaration and other international accords, the Fund is rallying donors and strategic partners to mobilize US$1.5 billion in funding to reach at least 20 million crisis-impacted children and adolescents over the next four years through its #222MillionDreams
campaign.
Education Cannot Wait’s High-Level Financing Conference will take place in Geneva in February 2023. Hosted by Switzerland and Education Cannot Wait – and co-convened by Germany, Niger, Norway and South Sudan – through the 222 Million Dreams campaign, the conference calls on government donors, private sector, foundations and high-net-worth individuals to turn commitments into action by making substantive funding contributions to ECW.
