Our world faces unprecedented challenges. Armed conflicts have intensified, forced displacement is at an all-time high, and the climate crisis threatens to reverse decades of development gains.
Millions are at risk. From Gaza to Sudan to Ukraine and beyond, the horrors of war continue unabated. In forgotten crises – such as those in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Myanmar, Nigeria and Yemen – millions of children are being denied their fundamental rights, including their right to quality education.
Responding to Global Challenges
OCHA’s 2024 Global Humanitarian Overview presents a stark picture: one in five children worldwide lives in, or flees from, conflict. Nearly 300 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2024 due to conflicts, climate emergencies and other crises. The estimated number of crisis-affected children needing quality education has surged from 75 million in 2016 to 224 million today.
This silent crisis is particularly severe in specific regions. Half of all out-of-school children in emergencies are concentrated in eight countries: Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Mali, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan and Sudan. In Sudan, 17 million are missing out on education; over 2 million people – the majority children – have fled to neighbouring countries since the conflict started in April 2023, adding pressure on already overstretched education systems.
This is just one of many examples of the ripple effect one conflict can have on the future of entire generations in a whole region. Without access to safe, quality education, these children face a future marred by recruitment into armed groups, child marriage and other grave violations of their rights.
Even those in school are struggling. By 2030, without decisive action, 300 million children could lack basic literacy and numeracy skills. Yet, Latifa in Burundi, Ali in Syria and Kansi in Ethiopia, and those taught by Hafsat in Nigeria, are just a few of the millions of children benefiting from ECW support: examples of how quality education that encompasses a range of services meets the specific needs of crisis-affected children and transforms lives. We must #ShareTheirVoices and uphold our commitment to reach every single child in crises.
Economic uncertainty, dwindling resources and other global challenges undermine efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Disturbingly, while needs are escalating, humanitarian funding for education decreased for the first time in a decade, dropping by 3% from US$1.2 billion in 2022 to $1.17 billion in 2023.
Despite the odds, Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the United Nations, is achieving significant results. In 2023 alone, ECW, together with its strategic partners, provided quality education to 5.6 million children and adolescents. Since starting its operations in 2017, ECW has reached over 11 million girls and boys and mobilized more than $1.6 billion for its Trust Fund, which has helped millions more.
For our 25 strategic donor partners, these transformative investments go well beyond getting children into the classroom for the first time and funding teachers and building schools. They deliver a quality child-centred and holistic education, and thus represent a commitment to sustainable development, human rights, economic resilience and global security.
As a proven, results-focused global fund, ECW’s agile approach will continuously evolve to ensure faster, deeper and more targeted responses to reach those overlooked by traditional aid systems. By combining the urgency of humanitarian action with sustainable developmental efforts, and fostering collaboration among key stakeholders while mobilizing funding, ECW is pioneering what we believe is a new vision for universal education.
However, to truly address escalating needs, we must urgently scale up efforts and will require more funding, and ever-improving strategies to mobilize resources most effectively. And we will need to accelerate the speed, impact and sustainability of our investments.
A New Vision
ECW’s 2023 Annual Results Report showcases the impact and opportunities of our global investments. It demonstrates the added value of ECW’s unique operational model and its impactful rapid growth as a change-maker within the United Nations system and the multilateral education aid sector.
As we advance our 2023–2026 Strategic Plan, we must focus on increasing educational participation, learning, and well-being in crisis contexts. This requires substantial investments in early childhood education, increased support to improve completion rates at secondary levels, more gender-transformative approaches, mental health support, and agile, holistic solutions that address the whole-child needs: academically and social-emotionally.
Teachers are the unsung heroes of these efforts. We must ensure they have the capacity, resources and support needed to succeed. At the community level, building on successful models of engagement with local organizations, parents and governments is crucial to fostering safe, inclusive learning environments and fulfilling our Grand Bargain commitments.
Financial Resources Are Key
As ECW and our strategic partners accelerate efforts, so must the donor community. Every G7 nation has joined the ECW movement, marking a significant step. Many of our generous strategic donor partners are making multi-year contributions, significantly enhancing the predictability and continuity of our funding. Innovative private-sector partnerships, including those with the LEGO Foundation, Swiss Cantonal Banks and Porticus, help scale these efforts. In-country resource mobilization is also yielding significant results.
But this is not enough. We must urgently mobilize $600 million to close our funding gap for ECW to reach 20 million children through our Strategic Plan. We can do so with public- and private-sector donor support. ECW has a proven record and the structures in place to deliver with efficiency and speed. This is an investment in our collective efforts and our demonstrated successes.
Education is a public good and a fundamental right. To achieve our goals, global leaders must align policies, funding and humanitarian principles. Multilateral education aid funding must immediately be increased to reverse the current downward trend. National governments of lower-middle-income countries must be supported to boost their education budgets with new financing mechanisms such as the International Finance Facility for Education (IFFEd). Partnerships and collaboration must be strengthened across humanitarian, development and peace efforts, with holistic, human-centred interventions.
Education is the most powerful tool to restore hope in a world marred by brutal conflicts, human rights violations and inequality. It is our investment in a new generation of leaders. By acting now, we can unlock the vast potential of the world’s most marginalized children and empower them to build a more equal, social and peaceful pact for our humanity.
