Education Cannot Wait Announces a Record-high Us$64 Million Investment to Support New Multi-year Education Programmes in Chad, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Syria

 Education Cannot Wait (ECW) has allocated US$64 million in seed funding grants to support four new multi-year resilience programmes in Chad, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Syria. This is the largest new investment announced by the Global Fund for Education in Emergencies to date.

The seed funding will roll out interventions that are part of wider multi-year programmes facilitated by Education Cannot Wait to support quality inclusive education for marginalized and vulnerable girls and boys affected by the protracted crises in the four countries.

Taken together, the multi-year programmes aim to mobilize over US$1 billion across the four countries over the next three years to provide about 5 million children and youth with improved access to inclusive, equitable, safe and protective learning environments.

“Across the world, the number of children and youth suffering the brunt of wars, disasters and forced displacement is on the rise, as humanitarian crises are lasting longer than ever before. Girls and boys living in the most challenging conditions in Chad, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Syria have been waiting for too long for the hope and protection that only education can offer,” said Yasmine Sherif, Director of Education Cannot Wait. “Today, together with our partners, we are taking action to end this interminable wait. We are investing in the opportunity of a brighter future for these children and youth, their communities and their countries.” 

The multi-year resilience programmes are designed to bridge the gap between emergency response and long-term development. In ensuring no one is left behind, the programmes all have specific focuses on reaching the most marginalized and vulnerable children and youth, such as girls and children with disabilities.

The programmes were developed on the ground in partnership with a wide range of stakeholders – national   governments, UN organizations, donors, private sector and civil society. Interventions are designed to provide whole-of-child solutions in protracted crises situations where armed conflict, forced displacement, climate change, poverty, hunger, gender-based violence and discrimination are jeopardizing children’s future and derailing efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Programme interventions include everything from building protective learning spaces, training teachers and expanding school feeding programmes. Specific retention initiatives for girls and boys whose education has been interrupted due to harmful practices such as early marriage and forced recruitment are also included, as well as targeted psychosocial and mental health support to help children and youth cope with the stress and adversity that stems from living through conflict and displacement.

Multi-Year Resilience Programme in Chad  [Read the full announcement here: En, Fr]

• US$16 million in seed funding grant allocated by ECW to UNICEF to support the first two years of the programme and help catalyse additional funding
• Total cost of the multi-year programme: US$51 million over three years

The programme includes comprehensive interventions to reintegrate out-of-school girls and boys into learning and training programmes, improve learning environments and train teachers, support early childhood education, increase enrolment and retention and strengthen the education system in emergency situations. Psychosocial and school feeding services are also included. Out-of-school adolescent girls and boys will also benefit from non-formal education and skills development to gain basic literacy and improve their employability.

H.E. Aboubakar Assidick Tchoroma, Minister of National Education and Civic Promotion of Chad, said: “With generous funding from Education Cannot Wait, this new programme will reach girls and boy that have been left behind as the result of ongoing crises and emergency in the region. It’s an investment in our children and in a more prosperous future for the country.”

Multi-Year Resilience Programme in Ethiopia  [Read the full announcement here] 
 

• US$17.9 million in seed funding grants allocated by ECW to UNICEF and Save the Children to support the first two years of the programme and help catalyse additional funding
• Total cost of the multi-year programme: US$161 million over three years

The programme supports the delivery of learning through equitable access to relevant (crisis-sensitive) and quality education. Interventions target displaced children and youth, host communities as well as refugee and national teachers. The programme will bridge short-term humanitarian education responses; medium to longer-term capacity development and resilience building efforts of key education systems, institutions, and constituencies.

H.E. Dr. Tilaye Gete, Minister of Education of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, said: “This multi-year investment from Education Cannot Wait will help address one of the most important yet often overlooked needs for vulnerable children and youth in times of crisis. By building a programmatic response that brings together multiple stakeholders including the local community, this is a sustainable investment in the future of our children and in the prosperity of our country.”

Multi-Year Resilience Programme in South Sudan [Read the full announcement here]

• US$20 million in seed funding grant allocated by ECW to Save the Children to support the first two years of the programme and help catalyse additional funding.
• Total cost of the multi-year programme: US$189 million over three years

The programme is grounded in the reality of South Sudan, where systemic change in the education sector is needed to drive results for all children, with a focus on girls and children with disabilities, while also supporting recovery and the return of refugees and internally displaced persons and the transition from emergency to development. Given the impact of displacement, conflicts and crises, and extreme levels of poverty, the programme ensures a holistic support to learners and teachers to achieve quality education outcomes.

Multi-Year Resilience Programme in Syria

• US$10 million in seed funding grant allocated by ECW to UNICEF to support the first year of the programme and help catalyse additional funding
• Total cost of the multi-year programme: US$783 million over three years

As the war in Syria enters its ninth year, the three-year “Reaching Syria’s Underserved Children” programme is designed to get children and youth back in safe, protective and equitable learning environments, prevent future drop-outs, and scale up the results of the Education Cannot Wait-financed two-year Initial Investment in the country.  

To download the press release as PDF, please click here.