In the News

As we work to build social justice for all, we must ensure all these children and adolescents have access to quality learning in safe environments. We must ensure a holistic, continued and child-centered education – including early childhood education, quality academic materials, access to mental health and psychosocial services, school feeding, art, sports, teacher trainings, infrastructure, and sufficient and relevant teaching and learning resources. Given the epic, and growing, number of vulnerable girls and boys not able to access quality education – while also struggling with the traumas of armed conflicts, climate disasters and forced displacement – we must deliver education for them with speed, agility, coordination and sustainability.

To achieve these goals, we call on world leaders, the public and private sector, as well as philanthropic foundations and high-net-worth individuals, to invest in the future today by urgently mobilizing US$1.5 billion for Education Cannot Wait, the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the UN system. 

As we work to build social justice for all, we must ensure all these children and adolescents have access to quality learning in safe environments. We must ensure a holistic, continued and child-centered education – including early childhood education, quality academic materials, access to mental health and psychosocial services, school feeding, art, sports, teacher trainings, infrastructure, and sufficient and relevant teaching and learning resources. Given the epic, and growing, number of vulnerable girls and boys not able to access quality education – while also struggling with the traumas of armed conflicts, climate disasters and forced displacement – we must deliver education for them with speed, agility, coordination and sustainability.

To achieve these goals, we call on world leaders, the public and private sector, as well as philanthropic foundations and high-net-worth individuals, to invest in the future today by urgently mobilizing US$1.5 billion for Education Cannot Wait, the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the UN system. 

By 2026, Education Cannot Wait (ECW), as the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the United Nations, has committed to mobilize a total of US$1.5 billion to reach 20 million crisis-impacted children and adolescents. In Ethiopia, through our innovative investments, we are ensuring children with disabilities like Rewda Abdi are able to access accelerated learning programmes. In Somalia, we are building safe spaces for girls like Bisharo. And in Chad we are providing a lifeline for girls and boys fleeing the conflict in Sudan to continue their studies in quality learning environments, where they can find a sense of safety and hope in a world turned upside down by war and chaos.

For far too long, progress toward sustainable development across much of Africa has been faced with obstacles for generations after generations. The time has come and education cannot wait. Africa deserves to achieve its unlimited potential.

By 2026, Education Cannot Wait (ECW), as the global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the United Nations, has committed to mobilize a total of US$1.5 billion to reach 20 million crisis-impacted children and adolescents. In Ethiopia, through our innovative investments, we are ensuring children with disabilities like Rewda Abdi are able to access accelerated learning programmes. In Somalia, we are building safe spaces for girls like Bisharo. And in Chad we are providing a lifeline for girls and boys fleeing the conflict in Sudan to continue their studies in quality learning environments, where they can find a sense of safety and hope in a world turned upside down by war and chaos.

For far too long, progress toward sustainable development across much of Africa has been faced with obstacles for generations after generations. The time has come and education cannot wait. Africa deserves to achieve its unlimited potential.

C’est une séance de travail fructueuse que le ministre des Arts et de la Culture, Bidoung Mkpatt, a eu avec le sous-directeur général pour la Culture à l’Unesco, Ernesto Ottone Ramirez, dans la soirée de mardi dernier. Il était question pour Bidoung Mkpatt d'exprimer les remerciements du gouvernement à l'Unesco pour les assistances financière et technique accordées au Cameroun. La reconnaissance du Cameroun a également été exprimée pour la mise en œuvre des projets Peacebuilding Fund « Multiculturalisme » et Education Cannot Wait développés par le bureau régional de l’Unesco à Yaoundé.

C'est une séance de travail fructueuse que le ministre des Arts et de la Culture, Bidoung Mkpatt, a eu avec le sous-directeur général pour la Culture à l'Unesco, Ernesto Ottone Ramirez, dans la soirée de mardi dernier. Il était question pour Bidoung Mkpatt d'exprimer les remerciements du gouvernement à I'Unesco pour les assistances financière et technique accordées au Cameroun. La reconnaissance du Cameroun a également été exprimée pour la mise en ceuvre des projets Peacebuilding Fund, Multiculturalisme, et Education Cannot Wait développés par le bureau régional de I'Unesco à Yaoundé. 

In 2023, UNICEF required USD 173.5 million to provide life-saving support to women and children affected by the floods.　The appeal was 65 per cent funded, which left a gap of USD 63 million (36 per cent). In addition to the re-purposing of regular resources, funds from Australia, Denmark, the European Union, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Kuwait, the Republic of Korea, Norway, Romania, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, UNHCR, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Education Cannot Wait, Global Partnership for Education, UNICEF National Committees (Denmark, France, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Norway, Republic of Korea, United Kingdom, United States), private sector partners Telenor, Unilever, Ernst & Young, Rangoonwala Trust, Ze Shan Foundation, DP World, Flexport, Maersk and flexible thematic humanitarian funding were critical to the response. UNICEF is grateful to its partners for the much-needed resources, as these have been essential for the continued response and recovery, particularly flexible funds provided to meet the most urgent and emerging needs.

ECW: At this year’s UN General Assembly, Finland announced a generous new €8 million ($11 million CAD) contribution to Education Cannot Wait, bringing total commitments to €16 million ($23 million CAD). Why is investing in education for children and youth living on the frontlines of the world’s toughest contexts a continued priority for the Finnish Government?

Tavio: The rights of children and youth are not suspended during an emergency. This includes the right to education. Education in emergencies—providing quality learning opportunities in crisis situations—often depends on international assistance since the national duty-bearers are incapable of fulfilling their obligations due to conflicts and violence, public health emergencies or disasters.

Girl’s education globally is a priority for the FCDO. The UK has not specifically engaged with NGOs in Afghanistan on STEM teaching for girls. Our support focuses on foundational learning, which includes numeracy, literacy and socio-emotional skills. We are working with the international community to press the Taliban to reverse their restrictive decisions on girls’ education, while we continue to support the delivery of education, including through NGOs, UN partners, the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, Education Cannot Wait, and the Global Partnership for Education. Our bilateral support has enabled 125,000 children, of which 83,700 are girls, to access education between September 2022 and June 2023.

Proporcionar educación a todos los niños y adolescentes de Cox’s Bazar es una iniciativa de magnitud considerable. Unicef y sus socios ayudan a 240.000 a aprender en 3.000 centros de aprendizaje, con donantes como La Educación no Puede Esperar (ECW, por sus siglas en inglés), el Banco de Desarrollo KfW y los gobiernos de Canadá, Australia, Estados Unidos y Reino Unido, entre otros. Gracias a ellos fue posible poner en marcha en 2021 el proyecto piloto del plan de estudios de Myanmar, lo que significa que todos los estudiantes rohinyá pueden recibir educación en su lengua nacional, un paso importante para ayudarlos a regresar algún día a sus hogares.
 

In 2018, Hear the World Foundation, World Wide Hearing Foundation International and Vibes, a company specializing in earplug manufacturing, partnered “to address this situation and bring access to hearing healthcare to 30,000 children in need in Peru.” Together, they “began a hearing screening campaign in schools in Lima to identify school children with hearing loss and provide them with services to improve their ability to hear, listen and speak.”

In addition, there are organizations focused on assisting children with disabilities more broadly. The U.N., in partnership with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), is “helping girls and boys with disabilities” in Peru through the Education Cannot Wait (ECW) Act. This initiative aims to help many young boys and girls feel included in the classroom and help them find growth opportunities.